War of the Provinces Series by Harry Turtledove
War of the Provinces #1
Sentry Peak wotp-1
Harry Turtledove
In this novel, every characterisic is changed - directions are reversed, the issue of slavery is reversed to serfdom, the color of the oppressed class is changed from negro to blond - only the victors, as changed, stay the same. As a history buff, it makes a very interesting story. Sentry Peak is really Lookout Mountain. The generals are given similar names in the book, but they keep their true natures. The book covers the Tennessee fron in 1863, when U S Grant (General Bart in the book), took over from Roscrans (Guildenstern in the book) and got things moving by driving General Bragg (in the book - Thraxton) out of Tennessee in spite of an almost impossible position. Grant had the ability to cause his generals to work together and to strike his enemy with massed and combined forces. Bragg fought with his subordinates and seldom struck a solid combined blow. The book uses magic to replace science and thus has spells, flying carpets, and crossbows, and even has unicorns instead of horses in the cavalry - makes a very interesting tale out of a subject that many classes study through in boredom.
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War of the Provinces #2
Marching Through Peachtree wotp-2
Harry Turtledove
After King Avram, new ruler of Detina, frees the blond serfs upon which the northern part of the kingdom relies, civil war erupts, with Avram's cousin, Geoffrey, as commander of the rebels. The armies of the divided country face each other in the embattled province of Peachtree eager to claim the strategically vital city of Marthasville. Turtledove's sequel to Sentry Peak continues his fanciful retelling of the Civil War as a fantasy struggle involving swords and sorcery. American history buffs should enjoy figuring out the real-world parallels in the colorful cast of characters.
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War of the Provinces #3
Advance and Retreat wotp-3
Harry Turtledove
Turning the American Civil War literally upside-down, this winning fantasy brings to life a war to free the blond serfs of the North and raise them to equality beside their swarthy masters. Turtledove not only swaps South for North but replaces rifles with crossbows, horses with unicorns and railways with magic carpets. The book opens in the fourth year of the war, when it's clear that the gray-clad armies of King Avram of Detina have the advantage over the followers of the traitorous Grand Duke Geoffrey, who has proclaimed himself king of the seceded North. Many Northern infantrymen have been reduced to robbing Southern bodies for shoes and warm clothing; and while the North has the best wizards, the Southern engineers have invented a rapid-firing crossbow that gives their soldiers a tremendous advantage in battle. The course of this war closely parallels the real one, which makes for a somewhat predictable story but clears the way for a focus on the various entertaining and well-drawn characters, including numerous homages to-or parodies of-various historical figures. Charm and humor balance out the grimly realistic depictions of battlefields and occupied towns, flavor the beautifully subtle treatment of racism and help to mask the occasional lack of descriptive detail. While perhaps best suited to Civil War buffs, this tale proves quite enjoyable for the less tactically inclined, and it's a must-have for any fan of alternate histories.
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