cover image The War That Came Early: The Big Switch

The War That Came Early: The Big Switch

Harry Turtledove. Del Rey, $27 (432p) ISBN 978-0-345-49186-2

Hugo-winner Turtledove slowly reaches the midpoint of the five-book War that Came Early series, in which numerous countries fight an alternate WWII and Spanish Civil War. Viewpoint characters in Spain, France, Poland, and the U.S.S.R. are joined by Philadelphian Peggy Druce, who seeks to influence the U.S. to fight against the Nazis; soldier Pete McGill in Manila, recuperating from injuries suffered in Shanghai; and detainees in Manchukuo, making the full global scope of the war more evident. An unexpected death changes everything as alliances are re-examined and reworked, and finally a Japanese attack on American territories draws the U.S. into the war. There are obvious similarities to our own world's time line, but at last the alternate history has begun to diverge. (July)