Into the Darkness by Harry Turtledove (Book 1 of the Darkness Series)

Again, Turtledove is a master of alternative history. This series is a mixing of WW1, WW2 and magic. It was not as fun a read as I find many of his books. His goal is admirable but his enormous number of short characterizations becomes confusing. Many countries, many characters and many situations provide an opportunity to get lost. Most books I can visualize the situation without referring to the occasional accompanying map. I referred to the map in this book constantly. I accept that the scope of a world war is daunting but I would be happier with fleshing out the characters in more depth before introducing another new character. It was not a quick read, I put it down and picked it up multiple times. I intend to plow through all six volumes but it may tax my tenacity. I suspect it will be worth it but it may be a struggle. If you are looking for a quick entertaining read, look elsewhere.


Body of work of Harry Turtledove

Site: http://www.sfsite.com/~silverag/turtledove.html

Review: http://www.sfsite.com/05a/into56.htm