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Museum Store Company : The Finest Selection of Historic and Museum Jewelry, Art History Replicas and Museum Reproductions! Own a Piece of History...Give a Piece of History (tm) MuseumStoreCompany.com | |  | Australia & Oceania | Home » » » » Final Impact: A Novel of the Axis of Time (The Axis of Time Trilogy, Book 3) | | | | | | | Description: | | “The action is nonstop, the characters very real–and very different from each other–and, to coin a phrase, it makes you think.”
–S. M. Stirling, author of Island in the Sea of Time
In the year 2021 a multinational fleet–experimenting with untested weapons technology–pitched through time, crash-landing in 1942. The world is thrown into chaos as Roosevelt, Hitler, Churchill, Tojo, and Stalin scramble to adapt to new, high-tech killing tools, and twenty-first-century ways of war.
For “uptimers” like Britain’s Prince Harry and the men and women who serve aboard the supercarrier USS Hillary Clinton, war is a constant struggle with their own downtime allies, who are mired in ignorance and bigotry.
As the Allies counter the Nazi assault and set off for the coast of France, Japan begins to buckle, soon every battle will be played out in a lethal dance of might and intelligence, unholy alliances and desperate gambles, and each clash will be fought with the ultimate weapon; knowledge from the future.
Thanks to the historical records, all sides know that two superpowers will emerge, while the losers will be pounded into submission. But time has shifted on its axis, so none know who will survive, or how peace will take hold in a world turned upside down. These are the questions that John Birmingham brilliantly answers in his critically acclaimed adventure of war and imagination.
Praise for John Birmingham’s Weapons of Choice
“Birmingham’s enthralling battleground mixes provocative historical fiction and socially conscious futurism.”
–Entertainment Weekly
“High-tech intrigue and suspense similar to the works of Tom Clancy.”
–Library Journal
From the Trade Paperback edition. | | | Product Details: | | | Average Customer Rating:
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Average Customer Review:
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26 of 27 found the following review helpful:
Gripping conclusion to an alternative history epicJan 30, 2007
By Marshall Lord
I found the first two episodes in this trilogy so fascinating that when I learned that the final instalment had been published in Australia several months before the US and UK releases I could not wait, but had to order this one from Oz. It didn't disappoint me.
The full "Axis of Time" trilogy is
Weapons of Choice
Designated Targets
Final Impact
In the first book, "Weapons of Choice" a multinational force from the 21st century is accidentally sent back in time to 1942 when a scientific experiment goes wrong. The first unfortunate effect of their arrival is that the Japanese fleet which was about to be sunk at Midway gets wind of something unusual, retreats and consequently survives. The second is that elements of the multinational force turn up all over the world and some are captured by the Imperial Japanese, Nazis, and Soviet Union - all of whom resolve not to repeat the mistakes which in our world consigned them to the dustbin of history.
In this volume a very different and even more brutal second world war is grinding towards its conclusion. The Allies, the Soviets, and the Nazis are all desperately trying to expedite their Atomic weapon programmes, and Stalin is determined that when the Axis powers have been defeated he will control much more of the world than in "original" history so as to go into the Cold War in a stronger position.
Meanwhile the men and women from the 21st Century face a continuing struggle both to adapt to the very different world they find themselves in, and to persuade the "temps" (short for contemporary) from their own side to accept such things as an African-American U.S. Marine colonel, and an RN Commander who is a half-asian woman. I would like to think that my parents and grandparents' generations would have treated members of the 21st century forces better than they are treated in this book: however, no doubt that Mr Birmingham is right that some people would have treated them well and others very badly.
The action scenes in the book are very well done and make it almost impossible to put down; there is also some excellent use of humour. One of the members of the multinational force from the 21st Century is Prince Harry, who has become a Colonel in the S.A.S. and has some very funny lines. Another moment which had me laughing was the incongruity of Himmler struggling with a Windows laptop and threatening dire revenge against the family of Bill Gates.
None of the books in this trilogy are suitable for those of a squeamish disposition. Faced with Axis and Soviet powers who have become even more cruel and ruthless in their desperation to avoid defeat, the allies have to be almost equally brutal to defeat them. I can't remember reading a story in which the "good" guys kill so many innocent people since E.E. "Doc" Smith's Lensman series.
Bottom line: if you are into alternative history or war stories, you will almost certainly enjoy the "Axis of Time" trilogy.
28 of 31 found the following review helpful:
 Disapointing but WorthwhileFeb 27, 2007
By John A Lee III
"jal3"
I really loved the first volume of the AXIS OF TIME trilogy. I enjoyed the second one as well, though, like most trilogies, I thought it not up to the first. I was prepared for the third installment to make everything right once again. Unfortunately, it was the least of the series.
The scenario is that of a multinational naval task force from the year 2021 finding itself thrust back through time to the second world war. This causes disruptions for both the allies and the axis. Most of the fleet winds up in the hands of the allies but a few wind up in Japanese or Russian hands. The armaments of this fleet of the future are quite welcome but the historical references to things that have not yet happened are bound to be chaotic. Even more intriguing are the interaction between those from the future and those from the 40s. Black or Japanese officers are treated with suspicion and women are not really taken seriously. It would be expected that the Nazis would be insulted by having so many of their plans thwarted by a woman commanding an uptime British ship and they consider their injuries even worse since the woman is of Muslim descent. The really awful thing is that she is treated as a pariah by her own countrymen as well. This is just one of the many examples of cultures in conflict.
In this third installment, things finally come to a climax. The Russians under Stalin have been busy and want to avoid the mistakes of the alternate history. That they are the first in this world to develop nuclear weapons seems to put them in the catbird seat. The American admiral from the future recognizes the Soviets as an even bigger threat than the Nazis and Japanese but passions are so inflamed over the latter that his warnings are not taken seriously until too late. The uptimers are in conflict with the downtimers (who appreciate the toys but don't want to play by "modern" rules) and it is a wonder that anybody really has time to fight a world war.
In the first two volumes, Birmingham did a good job of setting up conflicts and situations that the reader would reasonably expect to be solved by the third volume. They were but they were not done so in a particularly pleasing manner. What seemed like major story lines are solved with hardly a whimper and the war itself is ended almost on a note of anticlimax.
Having read the first two, this one was certainly worth the effort to finish but it could have been more. The story ends with the possibility of further sequels but now I am unsure if I would want to invest time in them.
19 of 22 found the following review helpful:
 A Thunder Clap of a BookFeb 02, 2007
By Mark R., Whittington
"author of Children of Apollo"
Final Impact concludes World War 2.1 with literally a bang. Or, perhaps, a whole lot of bangs as the Allies, armed with the weapons developed by crew of the 21st Century battle fleet that popped into the middle of the Battle of Midway, close in on both Nazi Germany and Japan. But the Nazis and the Japanese, armed with their own weapons and a desperation born from the foreknowledge of what was due to happen to them in the old timeline, will not go down without a fight. And the Soviets, who are also armed to the teeth, will not accept the verdict of original history and go into that good night.
Though the revised version of World War II concludes with a blood letting even greater than what occured in our history, it may be only the beginning. John Birmingham has allowed himself room for ample sequals for a Cold War 2.0, which may not be "Cold" for very long.
Highly recommended for fans of technothriller, action, and historical fiction.
9 of 11 found the following review helpful:
An Excellent Tale - And A Very Well Done FinaleMar 06, 2007
By Madoc Pope
"Avid reader and alternate history fan"
What an excellent read!
John Birmingham really did himself well by this - and he did even better by the fans of his earlier books in this series.
This tale could easily have devolved into an overblown fanboy raving where the good guys get all sorts of super high-tech weaponry to mow down endless waves of cardboard character bad guys. Thankfully, Birmingham didn't fall for such banal writing and setting.
The whole Axis of Time series is very intelligently written and smartly focuses on its characters with the high tech stuff coming in a distant second. Birmingham takes a step away from the standard tropes of the genre by examining the political and social changes that such an arrival of highly advanced and highly different, socially, solidiers from the future would wreak upon even their allies - let alone upon their enemies. The result is a far more believeable and far more "real" read.
I found this one as much a page turner as the previous two. Sure, as a fan, I wanted more and would've been happy enough to have every bit of what happened be completely detailed in the telling of the tale. But, I can also appreciate the need to prune some things and to have others happen "off stage." Otherwise the book would wind up an almost unreadable six inches thick and thus appeal only to a few die hard fans. I appreciate the way Birmingham handled this as it did not reduce the impact of the story nor seem otherwise out of place. I wish other authors could exercise such discretion in the way they tell their tales.
All in all this was an excellent read. The plot was realistic and briskly paced. The characters were at the forefront of the tale and the technology depicted was realistic and described just well enough to support the rest of the story while not overwhelming it. This series would be an excellent introduction into the alternate history genre as it does a wonderful job of examining the political and social changes such a history altering event might have.
As a last thing, please ignore the cover illustration chosen for the US edition of this book. Why the publishers felt compelled to go with such an appallingly awful image is beyond me. It has nothing to do with what's in the book and you shouldn't let that dissuade you from plucking it off the shelf and diving right into its pages.
Madoc
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Finished to quickly.Oct 11, 2007
By Future Guy
"BookNut"
Waited patiently for this book for 2 years. Started reading it and found it very enjoyable until the last 3rd. The reason for this is I realized in the last third of the book that there was no way the writer would be able to wrap up everything in the pages left. Well he did and I find it was not done too well. He closed out too many story lines way to quickly. I get the feeling he was writing and then realized that he had too many pages and would have to cut the endings/wrap-up short. And he did.
Did I like the book? Yes. Was I let down by the ending? Yes.
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