• Has anyone read his Southern Victory Series? It’s an alternate History where the Confederate States wins the Civil War and becomes it’s own Nation. through the 11 book series goes through WW1 the interwar years and WW2 on North American Soil. He makes it really feasible and are amazing books to read. Historical figures play large roles through out the books. During WW2 Confederate General Patton employed Blitzkrieg tactics to break through Ohio and cut the country in Half. The Battle of Pittsburgh is based off of the Battle of Stalingrad in our History. They’re Really good books and I’d recommend them to anyone.
    This was mainly to see If anyone else had read these books or not


  • I enjoyed ‘Guns of the South’ but have not read further. I thought it would be rather a lot of work to keep the fiction straight from the real history. I had too many moments where I couldn’t tell what was an artistic liberty and what was an actual event to feel I would enjoy further tales in the series.


  • @frimmel:

    I enjoyed ‘Guns of the South’ but have not read further. I thought it would be rather a lot of work to keep the fiction straight from the real history. I had too many moments where I couldn’t tell what was an artistic liberty and what was an actual event to feel I would enjoy further tales in the series.

    Ditto for me.  It was entertaining…but it was way too much to keep up with.  Lee with an AK is classic though.


  • I’ll look into the series Jermofoot.


  • guns of the south isn’t part of the series, it’s a stand alone book written by Turtledove, I actually haven’t read that one


  • @MadMc:

    guns of the south isn’t part of the series, it’s a stand alone book written by Turtledove, I actually haven’t read that one

    I believe it’s the start of two separate series that all have some continuity to them.  Basically it’s beginning of the “what if?” scenario concerning the South winning the Civil War and what happens with the US after that.  If I recall right the nation does not reunite, which makes the Spanish American War, WW1 and WW2 interesting.

    I did read another book in a separate series (can’t remember the name currently) where aliens come to the planet to conquer Earth and find WW2 going on.  They had traveled for so long to get here that the primitive humans had evolved and found the largest war we’ve experienced going on.  I didn’t continue that series, but it’s basically Us (humans) vs. them (some reptilian race) yet I think some alliances are made through the series…


  • yea the worldwar series, where aliens attack right in the middle of ww2 and stalin, hitler, FDR, churchill, and Hirohito ally against the aliens
    guns of the south is part of another series about timetravel


  • Is there a box-set where you can get the whole timeline?
    I wanna read them but I don’t want to have to scourge the earth looking for them


  • i wish the series is 11 books long, most are about $8, and you can find alot them in borders or online
    here’s a list of the books in order
    How Few Remain (Second Mexican War 1880’s)
    The Great War: American Front
    The Great War: Walk in Hell
    The Great War: Breakthroughs
    American Empire: Blood and Iron
    American Empire: The Center Cannot Hold
    American Empire: Victorious Opposition
    Settling Accounts: Return Engagement
    Settling Accounts: Drive to the East
    Settling Accounts: The Grapple
    Settling Accounts: In at the Death


  • @MadMc:

    i wish the series is 11 books long, most are about $8, and you can find alot them in borders or online
    here’s a list of the books in order
    How Few Remain (Second Mexican War 1880’s)
    The Great War: American Front
    The Great War: Walk in Hell
    The Great War: Breakthroughs
    American Empire: Blood and Iron
    American Empire: The Center Cannot Hold
    American Empire: Victorious Opposition
    Settling Accounts: Return Engagement
    Settling Accounts: Drive to the East
    Settling Accounts: The Grapple
    Settling Accounts: In at the Death

    Thanks, I googled it but no box set showed up
    Having the correct order helps out though  :-D


  • @MadMc:

    yea the worldwar series, where aliens attack right in the middle of ww2 and stalin, hitler, FDR, churchill, and Hirohito ally against the aliens
    guns of the south is part of another series about timetravel

    Actually, I checked after I posted and you are right.  Guns of the South is just a standalone and that list you put up had the series of where the South wins the Civil War without time traveling soldiers.  I just thought it was all the same thing.


  • Last question, I promise:

    How are the books written, is it like a fake non-fiction book (oxymoron :lol:) or does it follow the story of characters?


  • it’s all from the perspectives of people, throughout most of the books (save How Few Remain) you’re following about the same people, when one dies another character either a family member or friend takes over, so you get plenty of perspectives. From frontline troops, Pilots, Navy men, to two Canadian Farmers, a doctor, a family of spies in washington DC, and a few perspectives from blacks living in the Confederacy. you really get connected to characters (I’m reading The Center cannot hold and one of my favorite characters has just died  :cry: ) Through the war years character die off quickly, like one or two a book, compaired to the interwar years where only Reggie has died so far.
    In How Few Remain you get perspectives from many historical figures, Abe Lincoln (hated for loosing the war) Custer (Little Bighorn never happened) Sam Clemens (Mark Twain, who never becomes a writer, but stays a reporter) Fredrick Douglas, Teddy Roosevelt, and Stonewall Jackson


  • @MadMc:

    it’s all from the perspectives of people, throughout most of the books (save How Few Remain) you’re following about the same people, when one dies another character either a family member or friend takes over, so you get plenty of perspectives. From frontline troops, Pilots, Navy men, to two Canadian Farmers, a doctor, a family of spies in washington DC, and a few perspectives from blacks living in the Confederacy. you really get connected to characters (I’m reading The Center cannot hold and one of my favorite characters has just died  :cry: ) Through the war years character die off quickly, like one or two a book, compaired to the interwar years where only Reggie has died so far.
    In How Few Remain you get perspectives from many historical figures, Abe Lincoln (hated for loosing the war) Custer (Little Bighorn never happened) Sam Clemens (Mark Twain, who never becomes a writer, but stays a reporter) Fredrick Douglas, Teddy Roosevelt, and Stonewall Jackson

    Thanks, definite buy for me


  • @Jermofoot:

    I did read another book in a separate series (can’t remember the name currently) where aliens come to the planet to conquer Earth and find WW2 going on.  They had traveled for so long to get here that the primitive humans had evolved and found the largest war we’ve experienced going on.

    This sounds like something Erich von Daniken could have wrote


  • @Adlertag:

    @Jermofoot:

    I did read another book in a separate series (can’t remember the name currently) where aliens come to the planet to conquer Earth and find WW2 going on.  They had traveled for so long to get here that the primitive humans had evolved and found the largest war we’ve experienced going on.

    This sounds like something Erich von Daniken could have wrote

    Or Killgore Trout


  • @bbrett3:

    @Adlertag:

    @Jermofoot:

    I did read another book in a separate series (can’t remember the name currently) where aliens come to the planet to conquer Earth and find WW2 going on.  They had traveled for so long to get here that the primitive humans had evolved and found the largest war we’ve experienced going on.

    This sounds like something Erich von Daniken could have wrote

    Or Killgore Trout

    :lol:  I think Kilgore is more likely.  Probably Trafamadorians.


  • @MadMc:

    it’s all from the perspectives of people, throughout most of the books (save How Few Remain) you’re following about the same people, when one dies another character either a family member or friend takes over, so you get plenty of perspectives. From frontline troops, Pilots, Navy men, to two Canadian Farmers, a doctor, a family of spies in washington DC, and a few perspectives from blacks living in the Confederacy. you really get connected to characters (I’m reading The Center cannot hold and one of my favorite characters has just died  :cry: ) Through the war years character die off quickly, like one or two a book, compaired to the interwar years where only Reggie has died so far.
    In How Few Remain you get perspectives from many historical figures, Abe Lincoln (hated for loosing the war) Custer (Little Bighorn never happened) Sam Clemens (Mark Twain, who never becomes a writer, but stays a reporter) Fredrick Douglas, Teddy Roosevelt, and Stonewall Jackson

    Custer is actually quite funny in the series. Totally incompetent, but actually correct in his “crazy” use of early armored vehicles. He even becomes a most famous war-hero.

    Turtledove tries to stay “historical” and use actual ww2 history battles “re-played” in the USA. But his history does get well off the tracks.

    He does have Germany winning ww1, when they were destined to lose (even before the USA joined the allies). And you can see the new “hitler” coming for miles. But it is a good read.


  • Germany is able to win World War 1 because the British have to expend huge amounts of resources defending Canada from invasion by the United States, and is subject to many economic attacks by the United States Navy.

    England is also attacked in the Pacific by the United States. This seems more than enough to tip WW1 in favor of Germany, especially with all those things happening against England from the get-go.

    It’s not just a case of “a neutral USA causes Germany to win WW1” - unlikely. It’s “Central-Powers aligned USA helps Germany out and they win WW1”

    And I think it is actually quite realistic of Turtledove to have authoritarian forces take over in different countries based on the alternate history. IRL Spain, Italy, Germany, Portugal…they all went fascist. Russia went communist. What’s wrong with a distraught CSA following a similar path?

    I don’t think Turtledove takes the easy way out of writing history; rather, he believes that certain things in history create cauldrons of inevitability.

    I love timeline 191.

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