From: schmunk@spacsun.rice.edu (Robert Schmunk)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews
Subject: Review: Turtledove's THE GUNS OF THE SOUTH
Date: 8 Oct 92 22:04:36 GMT
Reply-To: schmunk@spacsun.rice.edu (Robert Schmunk)
Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written
Organization: Dept. of Space Physics, Rice University, Houston TX


                THE GUNS OF THE SOUTH: A NOVEL OF THE CIVIL WAR
                              By Harry Turtledove

                         A book review by R.B. Schmunk
                                (Copyright 1992)


THE GUNS OF THE SOUTH is a new alternate history novel from one of the
more prolific writers of that sub-genre, Harry Turtledove. Although
Turtledove's specialty in graduate school was Byzantine history (see
his Agent of Byzantium short stories), he turns in this case to the
American Civil War, or as it is called in THE GUNS OF THE SOUTH, The
Second American Revolution (actually, I was rather surprised that was
only one very late reference to the War Between the States). But be
careful; you may not find this volume in your favorite bookstore's
science fiction section. Like Robert Harris' recent FATHERLAND, this is
apparently being pushed to a more mainstream audience, perhaps too
catch the wave of interest set in motion by the PBS documentary of two
years back. Although the book was published by Ballantine, it does not
bear the DelRey imprint, and the only cover blurb is by James
MacPherson, author of the Civil War history BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM (much
recommended, by the way).

The premise of the story is not new, having been used before in Harry
Harrison's A REBEL IN TIME and Charles L. Harness' "Quarks at
Appomatox" and that is of someone going back in time to give aid to the
Confederacy. In this case it is Afrikaaners from the year 2014 who have
decided to smother that pernicious concept of racial equality  before
it evers reaches South African shores. To this end, they show up at
Robert E. Lee's encampment in January 1864 and offer to provide the
entire Confederate army, both Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and
elements elsewhere, with AK-47 automatic rifles. After a demonstration
of that weapon's capabilities, Lee readily accepts.

Marse Robert is, however, not without his suspicions. The strangers,
who only state that they're from Rivington, North Carolina, have other
strangely new technology besides automatic weapons, and the cost at
which they are selling the guns to the Confederacy is ridiculously low.
Six weeks later, when the strangers demonstrate uncanny advance
knowledge of Kilpatrick's cavalry raid on Richmond (in our history an
embarrassment to the Union; in this book a rout before it barely
commenced), he puzzles out that they must be from the future. When he
confronts their leader, Lee is told that they have come back to prevent
the North's vicious postwar subjugation of the South, implemented by
Abe Lincoln and his successor, Thaddeus Stevens. This sounds well
enough to Lee and he now happily accepts their aid in the soon-to-occur
battle of the Wilderness, details about which they provide. When that
battle begins May 4, it immediately becomes an overwhelming Confederate
victory, and by the end of the month, rebel troops have occupied
Washington, DC, captured Lincoln and forced the end of the war.

Sounds like quite a story, right? And to think that's only the first
175 pages of a 500-page novel. What remains to be told is the history
of the CSA over the next four years (particularly the settlement of the
border between USA and CSA and the Confederate presidential election of
1867) and of their relationship with these men from "Rivington".  To
tell the tale, Turtledove has essentially employed two main characters.
One of course if Lee, and the other is a member of the 47th North
Carolina, a sergeant named Nate Caudel (who actually existed, though
Turtledove has presumably invented much of the detail about him).
Following the war, Lee continues to serve the govt in various
capacities, but Caudel is mustered out and returns to his home town,
which lies near Rivington.

While I admire Turtledove for attempting something in this book that I
don't recall seeing in any previous alternate Civil War novel, I found
myself not getting terribly involved with the characters and perhaps
the story itself.  What he has done that is perhaps unique is attempt
to describe in relatively fine strokes what the Confederacy would have
done after the war was over, both in its dealings with the US and with
itself. Other authors have used some of the same ideas before, notably
Winston Churchill in his "If Lee had not Won the Battle of Gettysburg"
and Ward Moore in BRING THE JUBILEE, but both of those authors usually
made broad statements about history and kept going.  Turtledove has put
some more meat on the bones, and I particularly liked the arguments he
used to explain why Lee comes around to deciding that the slaves must
be freed. The only author I can think of who attempts to detailing a
post-war CSA was Leonard Skimin in GRAY VICTORY, and that novel was
focused in another direction.

What's the problem then? Well, two major ones in my eyes. First, having
seceded because the Federal govt was too bossy, many of the Southern
states were no better in their dealings with the govt in Richmond.
During the war, several governors were often openly defiant of the
soon-despised Jeff Davis, and his own Vice President Andrew Stephens
spent the bulk of the war at his plantation back home in Georgia. In
THE GUNS OF THE SOUTH, such fractiousness is barely hinted at and no
sign is seen of any conflict between Davis and Stephens.  Given
Turtledove's PhD in history, I know he must be well aware of this and I
can only assume that he omitted such detail in order to prevent
cluttering up the story.

The other flaw is perhaps more important, and that is the lack of
information about the "benevolent" Afrikaaners. It's obvious that
they're trying to preserve apartheid in South Africa, but little else
of real import is shown about them until near the end of THE GUNS OF
THE SOUTH and it is too little.  Turtledove has taken the easy way out
by depending on the modern rejection of apartheid and in this case the
skeleton contains no flesh.

Connected with this last point is perhaps a trivial point, but one that
will niggle at the back of my brain for some time. This is the
connection between the Afrikaaners in the 1860s and their home time.
From the amount of equipment they bring back in time, one can only
assume that they have a very large time machine or that there is a
continuing link with home. If the latter is true, wouldn't that
connection be severed when they alter history? Alternatively, they may
be returning to the 2010s to measure the effect of their changes. Or
possibly the 1864 and 2014 which have been connected are not in the
same timeline, as James Hogan did in his PROTEUS OPERATION. Well,
whichever the case may be, Turtledove doesn't get into it and I am left
sitting here, stewing in my own juices.

And two other truly trivial points which somehow got under my skin. At
one point the "Star-Spangled Banner" is played to salute the American
flag. It's my recollection that the SSB did not become the national
anthem until the 20th century, and earlier in the novel Turtledove does
mention the use of "Hail Columbia" in a somewhat similar situation.
Pardon me, but I'm a bit confused by that one. The other trivial
bugaboo occurs when Caudel returns to his home town, goes to the local
postmaster to buy some writing paper and off- handedly asks for a
postage stamp. The US did not begin using stamps until 1847, and the
Confederacy issued so few that I wonder if a butternut soldier would
have had much opportunity to use one. In both these cases Turtledove
may be correct in his usage, but I wonder.

I mentioned above a major point in favor of THE GUNS OF THE SOUTH and I
suppose I ought mention a trivial one also. Early in the novel,
Turtledove describes a baseball game being played by the encamped North
Carolina soldiers. I have long been aware that the Civil War was
responsible for the spread of my favorite game through the country and
for the relative standardization of its rules. This book, though, is
the first Civil War novel in which I have ever seen the game mentioned.
Finally!

To sum things up then, my recommendation is that THE GUNS OF THE SOUTH
is not worth purchasing in hardback. Alternate history fans with some
money may wish to rush out and grab a copy, but other should wait for
the paperback or get their local public libraries to order it. Those of
you who don't care for alternate history can safely give this one a
miss.


%A	Harry Turtledove
%T	THE GUNS OF THE SOUTH: A NOVEL OF THE CIVIL WAR
%I	Ballantine
%C	New York City
%D	1992
%G	ISBN 0-345-37675-7
%O	hardback, US$19.00
%P	517 pp.

-- 
Robert B. Schmunk <schmunk@spacsun.rice.edu>
SPAC, Rice Univ, Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251 USA