Review: Picking up Plans in Palma by Matthew Quinn

Guest post by Sean Korsgaard.

We've reviewed a number of author and fellow blogger Matthew Quinn’s stories in the past, and for those of you who, like myself, have developed a taste for his tales, we have a treat for you. Hot on the heels of his last AH story set in his Afrikanerverse, "Coil Gun", today I’m taking a look at the his next, "Picking up Plans in Palma".

While the back story and alternate history of the Afrikanerverse is a long and interesting one, the short version is that a radical Calvinist and staunchly traditionalist state centered in Southern Africa founded in the late 1500s has expanded to include much of the Indian Ocean rim, and is locked in the midst of an intense Cold War with the United States. The year of the story is 1998, and is a tale of international espionage set deep within the Afrikaner Confederation.

American OSS Agent Conner Kelly, following some scandal caused by his bosses finding out he’s in a relationship with an Afrikaner political refugee, is sent on a dangerous mission in the heart of enemy territory. The mission? To recover plans for the Afrikaner’s newest orbital battle station, and escape with them back to friendly soil. Of course, like all spy games, the stakes are high, the odds are long, and the obstacles between Kelly and a clean getaway are both numerous and dangerous. Kelly will have to evade and overcome everything from sadistic secret police to predatory river sharks if he wants to make it home in one piece – with the awareness that if he does, he’ll have upset the balance of the ongoing Cold War in a critical way.

If "Coil Gun" was a tale of World War III waged in space, masterfully capturing the tension and horror of unleashing orbital bombardment on ones enemies with the push of a button, "Picking up Plans in Palma" is a taut spy-thriller that captures the cloak and dagger affairs that proceeded it, all the while dropping hints at the horrific conflict to come. In addition, much more than "Coil Gun", we get our first wider glimpses of the Afrikanerverse itself, on a personal level with the thoughts and concerns of Agent Conner Kelly, and a street view of the Afrikaner Confederation, which thanks to several marvelous little details throughout the story, we get our first real glimpses into its inner workings and national character, always a highlight of any alternate history story.

If there’s any complaint to be had it’s that I really wish this could have been fleshed out into a full novella – not only does it have the makings of a solid spy story, but there is a real lack of such espionage thrillers in the alternate history genre. Still, the short length doesn't hinder the story, through it certainly leaves you wanting more – hopefully we’ll see more from the Afrikanerverse in the near future, especially if we can join Conner Kelly on his next misadventures.

As we should have come to expect from Matthew Quinn by now, once again, we have a solid short story at an absolute steal of a price – if you’re a fan of spy thrillers or alternate history, this is a must buy, and if you’re curious about Quinn or the Afrikanerverse, this comes highly recommended. All in all, "Picking up Plans in Palma" is a potent short story I urge you to pick up yourselves!

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Soldier, scholar, writer and web-voyeur, Sean CW Korsgaard has been active in the alternate history community since 2006, and was recently elected to succeed Mitro as President of the Alternate History Online Facebook group. In addition to his contributions at the Alternate History Weekly Update, he writes for several websites, including his own, which can be found here.

Review: Island 731 by Jeremy Robinson

Guest post by Kieran Colfer.

The subject of genetic engineering is one that occasionally rises to the surface of public consciousness before being pushed back down by whatever a-list star is having a melt-down this week or some other equally pressing and vital news topic. Everyone has heard of what the Scots have done with sheep (I meant Dolly the clone of course, what did you think I meant?), and the topic of GM foods occasionally makes the headlines when some health watchdogs decide to dig into what exactly goes into our "frankenfood". All of the alleged dangers however are fairly benign compared to what could really be done when science loses its moral compass. What do I mean? Well, let's step onto the shores of Island 731 by Jeremy Robinson (author of SecondWorld) and find out....

The story begins in 1941 with a shipwreck. A critically wounded US Navy sailor is washed up on the beach of a deserted island, only to soon find that he's not alone. Fast forward to the present day, and a research vessel studying the Mid-Pacific gyre gets caught up in a storm and  finds itself at the same island. With two crewmembers missing after the storm, they start searching the island only to discover that during the war, it had been used as a research base by the infamous Unit 731, a Japanese army medical unit whose  chemical/biological warfare research on captured prisoners in China made Dr Mengele look like Mother Theresa. When more crew start disappearing though, they realise that perhaps for this Japanese unit, the war may not have ended in 1945, and neither did their research.....

In general, the book is very fast-paced, with enough twists and turns along the way to keep the reader eager to turn to the next chapter. In one way, it sort of feels like a computer game, with each "nasty" that the crew run into being that little bit bigger and nastier than the last (it sort of reminded me of the game Far Cry actually). This does somewhat lead to a slight loss of believability near the end, but its a fun kind of "ah c'mon now, that's going a bit too far".

On the human side, the main characters are fleshed out and sympathetic enough that you do end up rooting for them to survive, unlike a lot of books of this type where the hapless victims only seem to be there as "beastie fodder" and to provide the raw ingredients for the blood & gore. The plot twists are worked in well enough that while some come as less than a total surprise, others do give you a moment of "wait, what?" and actually serve to further the plot rather than just acting as an annoyance ( yes, I'm looking at you, Lost...).

So. overall an enjoyable read, and while it's not going to make the science textbooks as an example of the dangers of genetic engineering, there's enough on there to make you wonder at what's going on behind the scenes at some of the things you read about in the news, and maybe look twice at the spider in the web on your wall.....

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Kieran Colfer is a member of the AH Weekly Update Review Team.

Review: SecondWorld by Jeremy Robinson

Grade: B+

I am always hesitant to review books outside of the genre.  I worry that I will drive away readers who came for alternate history, but were instead presented with something different.  Nevertheless, I still enjoy reading and reviewing novels which could be enjoyed by alternate historians.  Novels like World War Z or Fitzpatrick's War transcend the definition of alternate history and get the term "honorary alternate history" bestowed on them by their fans.  The common denominator for these non-genre books, however, is that they have to be good.  I believe the techno-thriller SecondWorld by Jeremy Robinson could be one of those books.

Our protagonist, Lincoln Miller, is an ex-Navy SEAL, NCIS Special Agent of Jewish and Italian descent.  He is stationed at Aquarius, the world’s only sub-oceanic research facility located off the Florida Keys, to investigate reports of ocean dumping, but in reality it is a vacation for the hard working government agent. He is interrupted when red flakes descend from the surface killing the fish that eat them.  At first Miller believes someone is actually dumping poisons into the water, but when he discovers that he cannot breath on the surface he begins to suspect something much worse has happened.

Someone has attacked Miami, Tel Aviv and Tokyo with a strange weapon that rids the lower atmosphere of oxygen.  Millions are dead and a group called "SecondWorld", with ties to Nazi Germany, has claimed responsibility for the attacks.  Miller is more concerned with getting out of southern Florida alive after a dead blue whale collides with Aquarius.  Collecting what oxygen tanks he can find, he finds a drifting boat and sails it to Miami where he discovers a survivor and some armed SecondWorlders who want him dead.  Though he manages to survive, he wakes up and finds the situation is getting worse.  The United States is in a state of civil war as soldiers go AWOL and entire towns disappear.  Whoever is behind these attacks has completely infiltrated American society and international organizations like Internpol.  Not knowing who to trust, the President of the United States (not named, but modeled after Obama) sends Miller on a mission across the globe to find out who their enemy is and to stop them before they strike again.

Though I try to avoid spoilers in my reviews, from the cover page and my own brief synopsis, you can probably guess that the genesis of the antagonists in SecondWorld reaches back to the last years of World War II, where Nazi Germany is desperately searching for a weapon that will win the war, even if it means postponing their final victory.  In that sense the book has similarities with the Turtledove novel The Man With the Iron Heart and the film Iron Sky.  Though Robinson plays around with history for the sake of the story, he is correct when he references German scientists working for NASA and Nazis hiding in other countries to avoid arrest and execution.  Nevertheless, you can't call this novel an alternate history.  Secret history would be a better term since Robinson does make use of several conspiracy theories (Dulce Base, foo fighters, Nazi UFOs and Die Glocke).  While conspiracy theories make for poor history, in the hands of a good fiction writer they become entertaining stories and in my humble opinion that is the only thing conspiracy theories are good for.

The book was written well, though some characters spoke awfully formal as they were shot at, while the fate of the world hung in the balance.  There were only a few instances of such dialogue, so it was only a minor annoyance, but the technology featured in the novel was a major source of concern for me.  As a techno-thriller, you expect novels like SecondWorld to feature advanced, secret or hypothetical weapons in action.  Yet some of the technology described in the novel sounded so unbelievable that it make the novel a soft SF.  Robinson mentions in the book that the technologies are based on sound scientific principal and while I freely admit I do not have a engineering/scientific background, the implausibility of it made it hard sometimes to maintain the suspension of disbelief.  Perhaps if I get a chance to interview Robinson he can clear up some of the issues with the technology.

Still the book was an entertaining techno-thriller that in some ways made me feel like I was enjoying an intense FPS.  Alternate historians willing to brave other genres should enjoy how Robinson warps our understand of history to dredge up an enemy from the past and unleash him on modern society.  If you do read the novel, ponder Miller's choice in the epilogue and ask whether you would do the same.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a volunteer editor for Alt Hist and a contributor to Just Below the Law. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly and his own writing blog. When not writing he works as an attorney and enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana.

Preview: SecondWorld by Jeremy Robinson

Here is what the critics are saying about the next book I am going to review, SecondWorld by Jeremy Robinson:

"Another crisply plotted tale from the fertile imagination of Jeremy Robinson.  This one has it all, frozen Nazis, UFO crashes, Antarctica, and some really cool science.  Plan to hunker down for all-nighter with this one.  I did." –Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The Jefferson Key

"Robinson blends myth, science and terminal velocity action like no one else." –Scott Sigler, New York Times bestselling author of Nocturnal

“The popcorn novel of the summer has arrived, and Jeremy Robinson delivers an action fest that rivals the best of James Rollins, Clive Cussler and Matthew Reilly… The combination of Mad Max, I Am Legend and Where Eagles Dare provides a fresh take on the end of the world that is riveting from the first page. SecondWorld is a guaranteed one-sitting read that would make a terrific summer movie.” –Associated Press

"The year 2012 is synonymous with Doomsday, but what if the cause of the chaos to come was. . .Adolf Hitler?  Read SecondWorld, a new treat from Jeremy Robinson." --Steve Alten, New York Times bestselling author of Meg & Grim Reaper: End of Days

"A harrowing, edge of your seat thriller told by a master storyteller, Jeremy Robinson’s SecondWorld is an amazing, globetrotting tale that will truly leave breathless." --Richard Doetsch, international bestselling author of Half-Past Dawn

“Relentless pacing and numerous plot twists drive this compelling stand-alone from Robinson (Threshold)… Thriller fans and apocalyptic fiction aficionados alike will find this audaciously plotted novel enormously satisfying.” –Publishers Weekly

"A brisk thriller with neatly timed action sequences, snappy dialogue and the ultimate sympathetic figure in a badly burned little girl with a fighting spirit... The Nazis are determined to have the last gruesome laugh in this efficient doomsday thriller." -- Kirkus Reviews

“Compellingly written… But, instead, it’s gripping, propelled by expertly controlled pacing and lively characters…. Robinson’s punchy prose style will appeal to fans of Matthew Reilly’s fast-paced, bigger-than-life thrillers, but this is in no way a knockoff. It’s a fresh and satisfying thriller that should bring its author plenty of new fans.” --Booklist

And here is the description from Amazon:

The high adventure of James Rollins meets the gripping suspense of Matthew Reilly in Jeremy Robinson's explosive new thriller, SecondWorld.

Lincoln Miller, an ex-Navy SEAL turned NCIS Special Agent is sent to Aquarius, the world’s only sub-oceanic research facility located off the Florida Keys, to investigate reports of ocean dumping. A week into his stay, strange red flakes descend from the surface. Scores of fish are dead and dying, poisoned by the debris that turns to powder in Miller’s fingers and tastes like blood.

Miller heads for the surface, ready to fight whoever is polluting on his watch. But he finds nothing. No ships. No polluters.

No oxygen.

Instead, he finds a cloudless sky full of red particles dropping like snow and coating the ocean with a thick film that stretches to the horizon. When a dead blue whale collides with Aquarius, Miller begins a harrowing race to escape the affected area.  Cut off from the rest of the world and surrounded by death, Miller makes his way to Miami where he discovers just one survivor, and the awful truth: the strange phenomenon that robbed the air of its life giving oxygen was an attack by an enemy reborn from the ashes of World War II. And they’re just getting started. Miami, Tel Aviv, and Tokyo have all been destroyed. Millions are dead.

And if Miller can’t track down and stop those responsible in seven days, the rest of the world is next.

Wow, seems interesting, but does it have a book trailer...oh it does:

The good people at St. Martin's Press were kind enough to send me a review copy, so stay tuned later this week for my review.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a volunteer editor for Alt Hist and a contributor to Just Below the Law. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly and his own writing blog. When not writing he works as an attorney and enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana.