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Settling Accounts Book 3: In At The Death by Harry Turtledove
02/02/2008 . Source: Paul Hanley 
pub: Del Rey/Ballantine Books. 609 page hardback. Price: $26.95 (US), $34.95 (CAN). ISBN: 978-0-345-49247-0). Buy In At The Death in the USA - or Buy In At The Death in the UK  check out website: www.delreybooks.com
This is the fourth and final book in Harry Turtledove's 'Settling Accounts' series. It combines the two major themes of his writing namely The American Civil War and World War II.
Turtledove is a very prolific author who has written very many alternative history books, a number of which have dealt with the Confederacy successfully maintaining its independence from the USA. An earlier series showed the Confederacy winning against the US with British and French help. Subsequent books show how the world then developed with the quarrels of Europe becoming embedded in the Americas. Whilst the Confederacy remained an ally of Britain and France, the US became allied with Imperial Germany. The previous set of books dealt with the equivalent of the First World War which in this scenario the US and Germany won. Canada and chunks of the Confederacy were annexed by the USA.
The 'Settling Accounts' series has the Confederacy, smarting from its defeat, electing Jake Featherstone, a character who parallels Adolf Hitler. The earlier books in this series showed Featherstone building his power, his Freedom Party and creating a one party state. Agitating in former Confederate territory and finally launching a blitzkrieg against the US which nearly succeeded. Now, in the final book, the vengeful US forces are fighting their way onto Confederate territory with the intention of destroying the Confederates once and for all.
As usual with Turtledove, this vast story is told from many viewpoints. Soldiers, sailors, airmen, politicians and civilians and people from all ranks, walks of life and, of course, from all sides in the conflict.
If you have read Harry Turtledove's books you will know what to expect. Amazing amounts of detail as he takes the story forward. He is very good at dealing with combat and this book, like the others in the series, has plenty of action. Much of what he writes echoes events in World War II, such as concentration and extermination camps, area bombing, blitzkrieg and so forth. I feel that if you know something of the actual period this adds to the enjoyment of his story. This is set in the equivalent of late 1944-45 in Europe with Confederate controlled territory, rather than Nazi Germany, shrinking as overwhelming force hammers them into defeat. The question is can they complete the development of nuclear weapons before they are over-run and turn disaster into triumph.
It is jolly well done. I would say if you have read his books before you will know what to expect and this is as good as always. I would also suggest that if you have not read any of his books, you at least start with the first in this series 'Settling Accounts: The Return Engagement' if not going back to the very beginning and reading one of his alternative American Civil War books. Thoroughly recommended.
Paul Hanley
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