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Stars and Stripes in Peril Stars Stripes Trilogy Paperback Harry Harrison Books

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Stars and Stripes in Peril Stars Stripes Trilogy Paperback Harry Harrison Books

From a single small change in history came a British invasion of the United States and the reunification of Union and Confederacy. The British were driven out, Canada declared its independence from the United Kingdom, and then things settled down for a little while. But Harry Harrison knows his history (unfortunately, he knows his history better than our current gaggle of politicians), he knows that an enemy unconquered is an enemy undefeated. Britain has a new plan: to invade the United States through a politically divided and tumultuous Mexico. How successful have we been at securing our border with Mexico today? Would it have been possible to secure that border in the 1860s? No. A bold counter-invasion is necessary. Considering how many Irish have emigrated to America, considering America's easy access, then, to military intelligence of the Emerald Isle as well as soldiers who are highly motivated to return home in triumph, an American invasion of Ireland is a plausible counter-move to the British presence in Mexico.

Harrison's "Stars and Stripes" series continues to entertain, with stories not too spare in detail, but not bogged down in detail either. Innovative machines of war, which began to appear in reality during the Civil War, are further accelerated by the new threat from Britain, as innovation is always driven by the pressures of war and security. These weapons launch General William Tecumseh Sherman well ahead of his Continental counterparts, and catch them wholly unprepared. He discovers "Lightening War"--Blitzkrieg--quite by accident when he realizes that he can move his troops quickly by train and overwhelm traditional defenses with his modern weapons. Warfare has inadvertently leapt into the 20th century in an eerie precursor of what we all know was to come.

I know the Brits are none-too-fond of this series, and I don't blame them, but these books are fun reading on this side of the pond. Just the alternate-idea of General Robert E. Lee's invasion of northern Ireland is enough to thrill.


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Stars and Stripes in Peril Stars Stripes Trilogy Paperback Harry Harrison Books Reviews

Yeah, that kind of surprised me too, till I figured out why - it is no longer based on our REAL history. It has gone so far off track that Harry Harrison can write it anyway he wants and as long as he keeps to the logic and reality he set up in the first book it works. I also loved the scene between John Ericsson and William P. Parrott as well as the scene between Mr. Ericsson and Captain Raphael Semmes.

But most of the book feels rushed and the characters are bland, cut out paper dolls, set up to do certain actions and say certain things for the plot to go in THAT direction.

Anyway, the plot is England and allied European nations invade Mexico. The invasion of the US is just around the corner and Lincoln decides he has to do something about it. So they decide the best way to open a second front and force Britain to withdraw its troops is to invade Ireland.

It sounds simple, but even Mr. Harrison shows that the United States Army and Navy would have a few problems they couldn't foresee.

But after 334 pages you know there is going to be a third book.
Having read both "Stars and Stripes Forever" and "Stars and Stripes in Peril", I must say Harry Harrison's second volume in his alternate history trilogy is certainly better than the first book. Much of what was wrong with the first book is not present in the second text, and "Peril" definitely has more to offer in terms of entertainmen value. However, "Peril" also from many of the same flaws that plagued "Forever", and is still far from perfect.
The valid complaints of implausibility that were aimed at "Forever" probably won't be directed at "Peril". Harrison pretty well established his divergence in "Forever"(as clumsily as that was), and "Peril" simply picks up in the new history that Harrison has created. Harrison begins "Peril" with a brief recap of the events of "Forever" in the form of a "memoir" by General Sherman, introducing new readers as well as reminding old readers.
Harrison is also very effective at keeping the action in one self-contained book. Though it is the second book in a trilogy, there are really no dangling plotlines that a reader will be plagued by until the next book.
Further, Harrrison's plot is extremely entertaining overall. Britain, still steaming over her loss in the first novel, plans to attack the U.S. through Mexico. At the same time, the U.S. is still dealing with several unresolved issues of the brief War Between the States, as the South is forced to adjust to the emancipation of the slaves,a more low-key analog to Radical Reconstrucion in our time line. With British invasion seemingly unavoidable, America looks to take the war to England's backyard.
"Stars and Stripes in Peril", as stated, is an entertaining read overall, but it does suffer many of "Forever's" faults. Harrison uses a third-person omniscient narrator to tell his story, which I must admit is not my favorite means narration. What is worse, while Harrison uses this method to further his plot at a rapid pace, he does so at the expense of characterization and effective sub-plots. The reader is allowed briefly into the minds of nearly every character that appears int his novel. The end result, however, is that no single character develops any actual depth, and the reader does not care one way or another who lives or who dies.
Another problem is Harrison's clear optimism with regards to America's relationship with the world. In "Stars and Stripes Forever" America cheerfully lets Canada go on her merry way, with no expansionist intent whatsoever, flying in the face of history. In "Stars and Stripes in Peril" America comes into possession of what can only be called an overseas empire, and again, Harrison, despite history, has his Americans let it go. While certainly idealistic, it just doesn't hold water.
Finally, though another conflict with Britain made sense for this book, Harrison certainly leads the reader to believe that the final book will feature the ultimate conflict between America and Britain. I must say that this idea has lost a great deal of luster. I would rather see new challenges to America's rising power in the world, rather than see yet another volume of America trounce on Britain yet again.
Ultimately, Harrison tells and entertaining yarn, that, much like a summer blockbuster film, gets a great deal of mileage out of a cool, larger-than-life concept. Taken in this way, it works just fine. Taken any other way, and it begins to wither. Still, I will read the third book when it comes out, and I am vaguely curious to see how this history could play out over time. For all of its flaws, it is, as I said, a cool concept.
Volume One was a great story and Volume 2 is also a great story of Alternate History. The newly Reunited Americans take the war to the British by invading and conquering Ireland. It was done with soldiers in Union Blue and Confederate Gray with a Legion of Irish-Americans in the Union Blue. The whole of Ireland is liberated and becomes the Republic of Ireland based on the model of American Democracy with rule of law & equality with the Separation of Church & State. Great smashing story in my opinion!
From a single small change in history came a British invasion of the United States and the reunification of Union and Confederacy. The British were driven out, Canada declared its independence from the United Kingdom, and then things settled down for a little while. But Harry Harrison knows his history (unfortunately, he knows his history better than our current gaggle of politicians), he knows that an enemy unconquered is an enemy undefeated. Britain has a new plan to invade the United States through a politically divided and tumultuous Mexico. How successful have we been at securing our border with Mexico today? Would it have been possible to secure that border in the 1860s? No. A bold counter-invasion is necessary. Considering how many Irish have emigrated to America, considering America's easy access, then, to military intelligence of the Emerald Isle as well as soldiers who are highly motivated to return home in triumph, an American invasion of Ireland is a plausible counter-move to the British presence in Mexico.

Harrison's "Stars and Stripes" series continues to entertain, with stories not too spare in detail, but not bogged down in detail either. Innovative machines of war, which began to appear in reality during the Civil War, are further accelerated by the new threat from Britain, as innovation is always driven by the pressures of war and security. These weapons launch General William Tecumseh Sherman well ahead of his Continental counterparts, and catch them wholly unprepared. He discovers "Lightening War"--Blitzkrieg--quite by accident when he realizes that he can move his troops quickly by train and overwhelm traditional defenses with his modern weapons. Warfare has inadvertently leapt into the 20th century in an eerie precursor of what we all know was to come.

I know the Brits are none-too-fond of this series, and I don't blame them, but these books are fun reading on this side of the pond. Just the alternate-idea of General Robert E. Lee's invasion of northern Ireland is enough to thrill.