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rfmcdonaldMy only problem with Century Rain is that the alternate history element is a bit lacking. As I mentioned last January, Earth-2's point of divergence from real-world history came in spring of 1940, when someone alerted the French to the fact that Germany was invading the Ardennes in time. The German offensive was turned back, the generals staged a coup, and Hitler was packed off to Paris for trial and imprisonment.
For western and central Europe, the early end of the Second World War is an unmitigated blessing. Events in eastern Europe, now, will still be quite bad thanks to the Nazi-Soviet alliance. Arguably, the Soviet Union was a Nazi ally in the 1939-1940 period--the invasion of Poland was, after all, coordinated with the Soviet Union, while the successful occupation of the Baltic States and the failed attempt to conquer Finland were made with Hitler's full foreknowledge and consent. What would Stalin have done if Germany collapsed? Len Deighton's SS-GB, depicting a Nazi-Soviet alliance against the Allies, is almost certainly too optimistic about the subject. There will still be the example of Finland and the Baltic States, and of eastern Poland, to stir the Allies against the Soviet Union.
Next to this neglect of eastern European affairs, the casual mention of "Kaliningrad" on on a map of western Europe is minor. The Russian city of Kaliningrad was, before 1945, the German city of Königsberg, only becoming Kaliningrad following the Soviet conquest of eastern Germany and the destruction of East Prussia. Unless Reynolds forgot to mention the Soviet conquest of Germany, Barring a Soviet conquest of Germany which--from all appearances--never happened, this is a simple enough typo that should have been caught by the editors.
For western and central Europe, the early end of the Second World War is an unmitigated blessing. Events in eastern Europe, now, will still be quite bad thanks to the Nazi-Soviet alliance. Arguably, the Soviet Union was a Nazi ally in the 1939-1940 period--the invasion of Poland was, after all, coordinated with the Soviet Union, while the successful occupation of the Baltic States and the failed attempt to conquer Finland were made with Hitler's full foreknowledge and consent. What would Stalin have done if Germany collapsed? Len Deighton's SS-GB, depicting a Nazi-Soviet alliance against the Allies, is almost certainly too optimistic about the subject. There will still be the example of Finland and the Baltic States, and of eastern Poland, to stir the Allies against the Soviet Union.
Next to this neglect of eastern European affairs, the casual mention of "Kaliningrad" on on a map of western Europe is minor. The Russian city of Kaliningrad was, before 1945, the German city of Königsberg, only becoming Kaliningrad following the Soviet conquest of eastern Germany and the destruction of East Prussia. Unless Reynolds forgot to mention the Soviet conquest of Germany, Barring a Soviet conquest of Germany which--from all appearances--never happened, this is a simple enough typo that should have been caught by the editors.
