End of the Beginning

by Harry Turtledove Narrated by John Allen Nelson

Overview

Six weeks ago, Imperial Japanese military forces conquered and occupied the Hawaiian Islands. A puppet king sits on Hawaii's throne, his strings controlled by the general of the invasion force. American POWs, malnourished and weak, are enslaved as hard laborers until death takes them. Civilians fare little better, struggling to survive on dwindling resources. And families of Japanese origin find their loyalties divided.



Meanwhile, across the United States, from Pensacola, Florida, to San Diego, California, the military is marshaling its forces. Steel factories and fuel refineries are operating around the clock. New recruits are enlisting and undergoing rigorous training exercises-all for the opportunity to strike back and drive the enemy from American soil...

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

The human price of war, regardless of nationality, is the relentless focus of this chilling sequel to Turtledove's alternative history Days of Infamy (2004), in which the Japanese conquer Hawaii after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Times are hard for Americans under the occupation. Scarce food and resources result in privation and a thriving black market. Japanese soldiers work POWs to death with heavy labor on insufficient rations. Women are forced into prostitution as comfort women. But the U.S. armed forces have a few tricks up their sleeve, notably a new kind of aircraft that can hold its own against the Zero. Both the Japanese and American militaries scheme, plan and train, while surfer bums, POWs and fishermen just try to get by. A plethora of characters, each with his or her own point of view, provide experiences in miniature that combine to paint a broad canvas of the titanic struggle, if at the cost of a fragmented narrative. Agent, Russell Galen. (Nov.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

The Japanese are regretting their occupation of Hawaii after all. In this sequel to Days of Infamy (2004), Turtledove chronicles what happened in the aftermath of Imperial Japan's conquest of Hawaii after Pearl Harbor. A quick American counterattack hadn't worked, and, when the book opens, American POWs and Hawaiian civilians-including Japanese-Americans, Hawaiian natives and the Anglos they pejoratively refer to as "haloes"-are settling under the thumb of Japanese oppression. A Japanese immigrant, Jiro Takahashi (who, along with many like him, was a victim of American discrimination) is only too happy to collaborate with his countrymen, while his Hawaii-raised sons are desperately hoping for the U.S. to return. The King and Queen of Hawaii have been restored to their (symbolic) throne. Back on the mainland, the American industrial machine is gearing up for the next assault, the proximity of enemies to the West Coast having put beating the Nazis on the back burner. There's little attempt to subdue the racial nastiness that marked the period (references to "Japs," "Nips" and "slanty-eyed bastards" abounding). While much of the second half is composed of roaring Pacific Campaign combat, Turtledove avoids aside the padding found in so much of his work. This is a leaner and meaner, thrilling and thought-provoking in a way that not nearly enough alternative history is. Supremely satisfying speculative combat fiction.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170715886
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	05/31/2010
Series:	Days of Infamy , #2
Edition description:	Unabridged

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