tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post7026506093911503590..comments2024-03-11T06:48:32.094-05:00Comments on Alternate History Weekly Update: Review: "Without Warning" by John BirminghamMitrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-14247170590189012272018-06-02T14:20:54.819-05:002018-06-02T14:20:54.819-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Muhammad Hassanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04282277249728542966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-46546611709688007212012-04-03T12:04:58.770-05:002012-04-03T12:04:58.770-05:00Glad to see the book touches on just what a world ...Glad to see the book touches on just what a world without America would be like - not at all a happy place. May need to pick this up.Korsgaardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10443395238567257553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-15476720712828247562012-04-01T10:32:53.966-05:002012-04-01T10:32:53.966-05:00True, Mitro...but I must clarify I didn't mean...True, Mitro...but I must clarify I didn't mean to imply Birmingham conceptually borrowed an inciting incident from King. I was merely noting the use of an identical SF device on which to erect a story. Technically, "Without Warning" was published several months before "Under the Dome" in 2009, and that very proximity in dates makes it unlikely either work borrowed from the other. I suppose it could be just another example of parallel thinking, except..."The Simpsons Movie," as you note, was release a full two years earlier...William Peter Grassonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-65662607946302111612012-03-31T10:23:44.010-05:002012-03-31T10:23:44.010-05:00Not exactly. "Under the Dome" involved ...Not exactly. "Under the Dome" involved a small community being trapped under a dome. "Without Warning" involved most of the populations of the US, Canada and northern Mexico being wiped out. Birmingham is focusing on what would happen to the world if America did not exist, while King discusses the thin veneer of civilization (along with some social commentary on Bush and Cheney). In some ways "Under the Dome" is a serious take on "The Simpsons Movie".Mitrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12415640801753049329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-55518642557162743712012-03-31T09:26:25.899-05:002012-03-31T09:26:25.899-05:00Oops...I published the above comment a bit too fas...Oops...I published the above comment a bit too fast. Allow me to add this:<br /><br />On the theme of biting off more than you can chew, this story sounds like Stephen King's "The Dome" taken to global levels.William Peter Grassonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080248961176338496.post-33066593317080254682012-03-31T09:22:57.682-05:002012-03-31T09:22:57.682-05:00Based on the comments in this review, I would conc...Based on the comments in this review, I would conclude this book suffers from a pitfall common to all writers of alternate history: biting off more than the author can chew. Or, at the very least, a divergence between what the author feels is relevant to the story versus what is relevant to an individual reader.<br /><br />That said, I'd give it a read anyway.William Peter Grassonoreply@blogger.com