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Villain of "The Two Georges" SPOILERS; For Unreasonable People Only
Topic Started: Sep 23 2008, 09:08 PM (522 Views)
Trebuchet
Quiet Lurky Type Person
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In "The Two Georges", the plot revolves around the theft of a painting of great historical value to the North American Union (US and Canada, minus Alaska) and the United Kingdom. The point of view sticks with a single protagonist here, Thomas Bushell, which is unusual for a Turtledove novel. He investigates the theft of the painting in a mystery which takes him all over the NAU, with the rest of the Royal American Mounties backing him up in their pursuit of the Sons of Liberty.

In the end, it turns out that his friend and superior, Horace Bragg, who was the mastermind behind the theft (and attempted assassination of King Charles), etc. Well done because there are a few clues to Horace's less than sterling character, but it's largely lost in the usual Turtledovian ramblings about food, liquor, and smokes. Bragg comes across as earnest and incompetent, incapable of such a slick plan until the end, when it suddenly flips around and he seems quite capable of coming up with a plan that more or less involves tricking the British into providing the funds for their king's assassination and making the police look like idiots.
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SladeJack
The Grand SladeJack
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Ooh, clever.

Single POV isn't that unusual for HT. AtD is single, EIaK is single, BtG is single, and in the old days it was even more common--two of the three Krispos books, Gerin the Fox, TCotTSD, Thessalonica, BtR
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Trebuchet
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OK, perhaps I should say "Unusual for a Turtledove alt-hist novel", since the rest are varying degrees of fantasy... save for AtD and BtR, because I'm not sure what books those are.

Edit: one is "After the Downfall", haven't read it - sorry.
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Custer
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Trebuchet
Sep 24 2008, 01:02 AM
OK, perhaps I should say "Unusual for a Turtledove alt-hist novel", since the rest are varying degrees of fantasy... save for AtD and BtR, because I'm not sure what books those are.

Edit: one is "After the Downfall", haven't read it - sorry.

AtD = After the Downfall.

BtR = Between the Rivers.
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SladeJack
The Grand SladeJack
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BtR was fun. Not his best, not the deepest fantasy novel you'll ever read, but it had some good ideas and a good story. The rebellion of early man against the gods.

AtD is in my bookstore at last. I saw it today. Thought about buying it but realized I never really wanted to read it all that badly, I was just annoyed by the incessant delays in its release. If it were Tsouras's BF, now, I would have snapped it right up.

You're right, it is less common in HT's AH. Double POVs happen, but not singles. The closest one I can think of is the first novella of OA. That was single-POV for the first half or so. Then again, 2G isn't really straight AH, is it?
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MapleLeafs4Ever
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SladeJack
Sep 24 2008, 01:41 AM
You're right, it is less common in HT's AH. Double POVs happen, but not singles. The closest one I can think of is the first novella of OA. That was single-POV for the first half or so. Then again, 2G isn't really straight AH, is it?

Its more of a mystery novel set in an alternate timeline. I don't think much serious thought went into how N.Am. history would be different if the AWI didn't occur although it is clear HT did do some thinking. It was more to give the story an exotic setting, a quasi-Victorian quality to it. But with AIRSHIPs!
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SladeJack
The Grand SladeJack
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That's the impression I always got: "Check it out, a mystery in a cool setting!"
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TR1
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It was actually Richard Dreyfus's idea, and he went to HT to get the book written. And HT was pretty up front about it being less-than-plausible.

Oddly enough, one or the other of them actually got some ideas on North America from...wait for it...Harry Harrison.

"Nobody's gay for Moleman." - Hans Moleman
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MapleLeafs4Ever
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"Special thanks to Harry Harrison for his thoughts on how a world without the American Revolution might look."

Acknowledgements page, PB T2G
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SladeJack
The Grand SladeJack
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What did Harrison write on the topic?
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MapleLeafs4Ever
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SladeJack
Sep 25 2008, 11:06 PM
What did Harrison write on the topic?

Not sure what you mean. HH and HT and / or Richard Dreyfus sat down over beers and had a chat on the topic. Or so I infer from the acknowledgement.
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Trebuchet
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"A Transatlantic Tunnel, Hurrah", I believe.

He wins points. The "Stars and Stripes" novels are actually more realistic, since they only require a departure point of the British adding lead paint chips to their national cuisine, entirely plausible given the generally terrifying British food. Building a tunnel that long, though... can you say 'expensive'?
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SladeJack
The Grand SladeJack
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So they had a chat on the subject? And a Transatlantic Tunnel would indeed be cause to say "Hurrah!",at a minimum.
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TR1
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I'm not sure this needed but, to clarify:

HT and/or Richard Dreyfus consulted with Harry Harrison on T2G. He gave them ideas on the political geography of the North America they depicted.

Harrison on his own wrote a book about the transatlantic tunnel. The POD of that book was that the WFI failed.

Incidentally, I wouldn't mind if HT did more of the T2G style in his work. I enjoy his "turning points of human history" stories, but sometimes, a good mystery story in an another timeline has its place.

"Nobody's gay for Moleman." - Hans Moleman
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SladeJack
The Grand SladeJack
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There did seem to be surreal elements to the story that only Harrison could add.

As for mysteries, I've never been crazy about the mystery genre at all. I don't have the patience to try to solve them as I go so I feel like they're wasted on me.
When you wipe your ass, make sure you wipe it really well.
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