The Great War: American Front

This would be a review covering the first book in the Great War trilogy, American Front. Taking place within the Timeline 191 series, the book covers, as the name suggests, the Great War, as the Allied Powers battle against the Central Powers. It is just like our worlds World War 1, with technology at the same level as our worlds 1914, but with a difference: The United States is a member of the Central Powers. Why, you ask? Because there is another America, the Confederate States,enemy of the U.S, and ally of Britain and France. The United States, having spent years plotting its revenge against their southern brethren, is fighting in a two-front battle against them and Canada, recreating No Mans Land in North America, and while the Confederacy is fighting the 'American Huns'(USA), southern blacks, armed with the teachings of Marx and Lincoln, plot a socialist revolution within the country.

With the U.S an ally of Germany, the balance of power is tilted against the Allies. Not only are they deprived of the industrial juggernaut herself, Great Britain must also contend with US troops invading Canada and the presence of a powerful US Navy pitted against their not-so-infallible Royal Navy. After all, it was US soldiers that pulled the two countries from defeat when Germany mounted a full scale assault on the Western Front in 1918 and came close to winning the war. With that, it is quite clear on who would win the war (minor spoiler).

Now, as with How Few Remain, the plot is told from the viewpoint of several characters; this time, they are fictional ones, from civilians caught up in the war, to soldiers from both sides, and main characters from the previous book(two of them are still alive) have mostly taken the backseat. The writing style is very different from the first book and the events depicted seem plausible enough to be real (if the U.S. lost the American Civil War, of course). Of course, the book is not without its faults. The entire Timeline 191 series is based in North America. It would have been interesting to know how the situation in Europe is developing with the difference in alliances, and the viewpoints of Canadian or British soldiers fighting against the U.S. would have also been appreciated. Also, the  socialist revolution in the Confederacy seems a little weak, ending at the end of the book, and going into depth only in the second book. Still, it is an interesting book. I would gladly recommend this book, rating it at 4 out of 5.