The Guns of the South

Great imaginative book

This is a piece of fiction and is intended for the personal pleasure of the reader. Of course it isn't realictic- if you are looking for a historical piece of writing intended for the knowledge of the reader go find a history book. Now back to business. The Guns of The South is a very interesting book and the action mixed with military strategies are very intriguing. It gives you a better understanding of what really would have happened if the south did win the war. Contrary to popular beleif, i did not find this book to be far-fetched but I did feel that certain parts inbetween fighting and military plotting were very boring. This book is overall, however, a good one , worthy of buying and reading. If you enjoy science fiction or alternate history you will like this book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Much more than simply an alternate history

This novel is at once a compelling story about what might have happened if the Confederate forces had the benefit of modern firearms and ammunition and a commentary on attitudes and prejudices not only in the South of the 1860s but in the world of the 21st century. 'Guns of the South' is the prototypical 'page turner' ... read the forst 50 pages and you will not be able to put it down. Guaranteed.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

For my next performance:

Magical unicorns interrupt the last battle of the Civil War by bringing humanoid mechs, built to destroy all racists, from the planet of Yarthes, a future human colony in the year 15030, the headquarters of the Temporal Alignment Faction, a group which believes in re-aligning all alternate realities to its own. They are fought by the Anomalous Management Agency and the armies of both appear in different stages of time........................ The Civil War is their latest battle. Robert E. Lee grabs an AK and a newly-acquired lightsaber, says, 'Let's rock and roll,' sticks two plasma grenades to the nerve center of the controlling Necrotosis Elder's Exoskeletonal Shell. Though the Union is plagued by this setback, Abraham Lincoln reveals that he is actually John Wilkes Booth's son, here to fix his father's mistake and he's secretly constructed a nuclear missile strike underneath the tallest buildings of every Northern city, with the aid of his allies Harriet Tubman and a Martin Luther King Reploid from the future.................................................. . Much of the South is devastated, but a secret alliance with the mysterious Order of Signor, a little-known splinter group from the Illuminati that can use magic, allows it to quickly retaliate. It appears that the South has won, when suddenly, a united Native American nation attacks from the West with dragons, armed with lasers. These Native Americans find themselves hard-pressed when Celtic druids, protesting the mistreatment of magical creatures, arise from the inner nation of Dundria, a reverse layer of the Earth within the planet's core............................................... . Meanwhile, a liberation front, under the fugitive General Grant, frees the prisoners from the death camps, while General McClellan, armed with his trusty crossbow and aided by his trusty band of elves, dwarves, and Martians, searches for the mystical city of El Dorado, which is said to be made completely out of liquid silver that will grant the drinker eternal life and access to the Tyur, a powerful weapon from the lost world of Atlantis, populated by the ancestors of modern man, two million years before the last ice age. Encased in ice, on the highest peak of Dundria, they open a giant sealed circle, which unleashes upon the world the Pandorans, demonic shadow beings from beyond the Rift, who can only be damaged by silver bullets...................................................... There are bigger problems, however, as an Artificial Intelligence named 'Marcus' conquers the world's newly developed coal-based cybernetic network and begins altering mankind's perception of existence, consciousness and reality as virtual world meshes with the physical and nothing is as it seems. Yet Marcus will fail, as Elvis and Martin Gaye, freedom fighters from this alternate version of the 1970's, hack into its mainstream and bypass its photosynthetic filters, causing it and most of civilization to collapse in a dark psychic storm........................................... But the physical world is changed and in place of Europe is a metallic, geometric landscape called the Archetype by the Tyuric Sage, who, in a vision, discovers that the Earth was once two worlds, that collided in the Last Age of Eldren, devastating much of mankind. The Universe, crippled by this blow to sanity, begins to resemble Dali's clocks, who, in this alternate reality, has been able to recreate a working version of his paintings........................................................ Grant, with this combined power, in this nonsensical world, rises to conqueror of this and every universe, in all realities, in all timelines and in past, present, future, and subjunctive. But then a glowing rope loops itself around Grant's neck and he falls, stabbed through the heart. Behind him steps up a regal man in a crown: King Arthur of Briton, brought back through the corruption of temporal reality, rea

1 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

an excellent idea, and not much more

This book's main idea (the effects of putting advanced weaponry in the hands of Civil War 'frontal assault' generals) is enticing, and its development here is both believable and satisfying. The author has done his history homework, and it shows. It must be said, though, that once this original hook wears off, there is little else here to write home about. Outside of the military-strategy scenes, the plot is drastically oversimplified, and at times even silly. Worth checking out, but not a cover-to-cover winner. Skip to the battles and enjoy.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

not anonymous

my enjoyment of the story was spoiled by the very poor quality of the text which was riddled with formatting, spelling, punctuation and capitalization errors. otherwise my rating would be probably four stars instead of one.

Enjoyable book but horrible ebook quality

I have enjoyed this book many times, simply for its comical value of the contents. However the quality of the ebook format is atrocious. An editor REALLY needs to go through this book to fix the formatting errors, punctuation and spelling issues.

Great story -- terrible eBook quality

Story 4 stars, quality of the ebook 1 star. I have read and enjoyed this book several times, and is why I made it my first eBook purchase. I am sorely disappointed in the quality of the eBook. The number of typos, incorrect words and even incomplete sentences is absolutely ridiculous. It is clear that there was no editorial oversight whatsoever when the print book was converted to an eBook.

Good

The Guns of the South was a well written novel. I would say it was one of Harry Turtledove's best works. With actual facts and realistic history points, this is a wonderful alternative history. A book of "What If" that tops them all. This is a must read for alternative history readers, history fanatics. With a good plot and believable characters, anyone would enjoy this read. CC: on my blogspot( https://bookworms-bookwormusa.blogspot.com)

Alternate History

A blast to read. Semi-thougtful escapism. Yes, it has its slow moments in the middle, but is much better than most of his novels, which tend to take off like gangbusters and then slow way down after the first few chapters and end in sort of a muddle. A good book with interesting characters drawn from actual historical records. His first "World at War" series is fun, also, but the second series wasn't that hot. Those who are offended by Turtledove's fantasized Civil War history might enjoy "The Flying Dutchmen" by Suhrer, one of the more entertaining books I have read lately

Great book for reading for civil war and sci-fi

I really liked the book The Guns Of The South it is great book for anyone looking for a book in the civil war history or sci fi or if they are intrested in what role blacks played in the civil war. The book has many diffrent twist and turns to it. I did like the book but did not like some of the weird sci- fi twist to it if is if the south would have won the civil war with the modern advancements of the ak-47. Overall the book has good vaule to the reader to get a action packed book.

the great guns

I think this is a very good book for someone to read who has said 'the south would have won, if they had food, and better weapons.' From the time I got the book to the time I finished the book I just couldn't stop thinking how the world would be if that had really happen.

How laughable!

Tell me exactly, Mr. Turtledove, why the AWB would go back in time to the Confederacy? They very easily could have reshaped the History of their own nation - South Africa. With the technology they held, in fact, they easily could have made South Africa a strong power in the world which would have had a better outcome in the long run. This is a boring read and lackluster plot, I was truly let down by this one.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

The ultimate historical revisor creates another time bending success!

It is a wonderfully written book. It is extremely accurate in its portrayal of the attitudes of the historical figures such as Abraham Lincon and Nathan Bedford Forrest. It gives a view of the bigotry of some people.

Yeah, Right

This book was boring, long, and a waste of life. It doesn't live up to its plot.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

It was great

This was one of my first books when i really started to read. I also read the second enstalment to this classic tale and find it just as good

Decent story..less Glory

The story ideal is a good one..'what would have happened if the South won the Civil War?'. The only drawback I could find was that there was less altenate battles leading up to story line and a lot more of politics/story line. All in all it's a good book for people that like to think about..'What if?'.

Rides like a cavalry charge

This is a great book that explores many issues and is a blast to read. Would make a good movie.

Very Good

I thought Guns of the South was a very good novel. I think it portrayed the generals very well. Other than Nathan Bedford Forrest.He was not the devil against blacks as depicted.He treated yankees equally bad black or white. Other than that. It held my attention. i read it in 4 days. And being only 19 years of age i think is very rare. I hope Turtledove's other books are just as good or better.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A thoughtful, fun novel.

I try not to award five stars too often, as the rating system oversimplifies somewhat. Some of the earlier reviews, I think, miss the point. This book is not so much about the Confederate States of America winning the Civil War, it's about how the CSA becoming their own country would affect their lifestyle and policies. The plot with the advanced weaponry is, I feel, more of a means than an end; the character of Robery E. Lee is well defined and written, as is most of the dialogue; the political scenes, which a previous reviewer derided as 'a waste of time', are truly the meat of the book.

Great!!!!

This book was so awesome.I reccommend this book to anyone up for a great read.