Review: Great story, bad editing, too facile
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 29, 2012
This was a surprise.  Usually this genre produces either headline action ("USSR surrenders") or drones of detailed weapon trivia.  What separates this tale from the rest is the use of characters - actual and fictional.  Individuals were fully realized and believable except for the almost laudatory portrayal of the Nazis.  Here, a few historical changes altered the outcome of WWII:  Hitler dies, the Enigma is fixed, a spy in the USSR proves invaluable, the Atlantic British isles are taken and Japan attacks the USSR, not the USA.  All (except Hitler's demise) were based on possible outcomes but for a triumph, every Axis event must go right for the Allies must respond stupidly.Tanya was the best-realized character - a beautiful femme fatale who won the war through guile, courage and a deep-seated hatred of the Soviet state.  Heydrich, though, was a close second as a brilliant, suave psychopath who wanted (according to the author) a transition to peace.  Although the author frequently highlights Nazi atrocities he chooses to emphasize the intelligence and bold actions of the Reich and its military. Conversely the British, Russians and Americans do nothing right.  Heydrich (unlike Hitler) acquiesces to military and industrial leaders.  However the real reason for German failure is barely mentioned - a third of the war effort went into building, filling and operating death camps.  The biggest mistake of the war - brutally slaughtering Russians who welcomed them as liberators - was corrected in this version.Very weak ending.  Germany crushes the USSR way too quickly and British troops in the colonies apparently forget how to fight.  Canada blithely accepts German rule.  The US response is even worse.  Despite the obvious German intent for global domination, we twiddle our thumbs and watch baseball.  The idea that we will refuse to arm or prepare is only slightly less absurd than the notion that several states want elect pro-Nazi governors and the US comes apart within a few years without a struggle.  The real question - how ten million men maintain rule over half the Earth - is never answered.My suggestions:  Get an editor, drop the long lesbian part is occupied Britain (added nothing) and improve the ending.