Two Georges

Books written by more than one author can be very good or very bad. Most novels by Harry Turtledove just have his own name on the cover, but the two collaborations to which he has contributed - this one with Richard Dreyfuss, and "Household Gods" with Judith Tarr - are very good indeed. All the action in "The Two Georges" takes place in the late 20th Century in a world where the argument between the American colonies and the British government had been peacefully resolved two hundred years before. Hence the area which in our world became the USA has a huge amount of autonomy but is still part of the British Empire. The authors do not go into great detail about how the bargain between George III and George Washington (the "Two Georges" of the title) had been struck, but the story is set in a fascinating depiction of the kind of North America which might have resulted. They suggest things which might have been both better (Native Americans get a fairer deal, a rather less violent society) and worse (lower technological growth, significantly less democracy) in such a world. The core of the book is a detective story in which a precious work of art, a painting of "The Two Georges" (Washington and George the Third") has been stolen. The gritty, well-crafted hero is trying to track down a group of terrorists who he suspects will turn out to be - gulp - American patriots. This must take some courage to try to sell in the US market. Most of the characters in the book are fictional, but the authors have some light-hearted fun allocating alternative roles to a number of people from our universe. I particularly enjoyed the depiction of Richard Nixon as America's leading used car salesman. I would particularly commend it to anyone who enjoyed S.M. Stirling's more recent book, "The Peshawar Lancers" - if you liked that book you will like this one, and vice versa.

I recently reread "The Two Georges" for the third time. A might-have-been tale that many of us from Commonwealth countries wistfully hope could magically be transformed into reality. An America that is non-arrogant; a non-sabre-rattling America at peace with itself, its neighbours and, most importantly, amongst its races. An America without guns and shoot-em-ups. Technologically 50 years behind its current self. Yes, but so what. The peace and tranquility of the America in the book will never really be experienced by Americans; only by the far more fortunate Canadians, for this is really a tale of how Americans would live - if they were lucky enough to be Canadian. Its what America might have been. The character development warrants 5 stars, the story line about 3.5. Overall, about a 4.5.

Just as the title of this review states, Turtledove and Dryfuss have created a brillant alternate history that instead of focusing on the actual differences between timelines, uses them as a wonderfully atmospheric mystery that reminds one of the Thin Man series or Marlowe. When the painting goes missing, our authors keep us guessing on whodunit and makes us feel for our hero. If this had been a film back when noir had been popular, we'd have seen Hollywood's finest casts assembled, with the likes of Cary Grant or perhaps even Bogart in our lead. Frankly, I'd love to see this done as a film today. Simply wonderful, fans of Turtledove may not rank it as high as some of his other works but newcomers, and mystery fans, will find this a masterpiece. I think Dryfuss should consider writing more.

The Two Georges was a book I had just happened to pick up in the time between the end of school and the start of the holiday season. It promised a good story from a Hugo award winning author, Harry Turtledove and much to my surprise Richard Dreyfuss. The storyline unfolds as we find the Americas ruled by Great Britain and the King Emperor who rules the once colonies, but now protected territories of his majesty. The theft of a national symbol of unity between the British and the former colonies introduces the interplay between stanchly British subjects in the form of the loyalist police force and there opposition, the terroist group known as the Sons of Liberty.This story is spun though the eyes of the chief of the Royal American Mounted Police and romance and intrigue sneak into his rather stiff upper lip existance and we as readers are drawn into his rather mundane life. The reader has adequate suspense and mystery and oh' did i mention that this is a story about what would have been had the war of independance never been fought, but had been reconciled. It shows a portrait of America as a nation of tea drinking gun control enthusiasts. I highly recommend this novel for it's original story and highly evolved plot.

I thought this was a very interesting book that looked at an America without a revolution. I found the places and People very interesting. I thought that the mix of action and history made it almost impossible to put down. The thing that kept me on the edge the most was waiting for the point in the story when we would find out that the Sons of Liberty were the good guys. I won't spoil it for those who have not read it, but I was on the edge until the end of the book. I can't wait til Vol 2 comes out and when it does I hope they go into the alternative history in more detail.