Just Finished Reading: Final Impact by John Birmingham (FP: 2007)

It is the 3rd May 1944. The place is the Pas de Calais – D Day! The final assault against Fortress Europe is underway. With massive Allied firepower the Atlantic Wall is breached by air-fuel explosives. Overhead the latest American jet-fighters patrol the skies as the helicopter assault forces deliver troops directly to the front line. Meanwhile Hitler, convinced that the real attack will fall on the Normandy beachheads as in the other D Day holds back his best divisions to cover the expected invasion. In the Pacific a massive American fleet approaches Japanese controlled territory believing that they are prepared for anything that can be thrown at them. With beefed up air defences they are as ready as they’ll ever be for the Kamikaze planes that will make up Japan’s final throw of the dice. But unlike the Third Reich the Japanese are not working on nuclear weapons or other exotic weapons from the future. Instead they have developed a weapon they believe will hold off the Allies until they can be covered by the German nuclear umbrella. Admiral Kolhammer is worrying about the future though – not his already lived through future but the future legacy he has imposed on this world in 1944. With future knowledge in the hands of allies and enemies alike it is only a matter of time before hot war becomes Cold War and then, quite possibly Nuclear War if Stalin gets his way. With Roosevelt determined to treat the Russians as allies now rather than future known enemies Kolhammer must play a dangerous game of manipulating his new future whilst fighting a very strange rematch of WW2 and keep his own government in the dark as to his final intentions. The only question that really matters in the final analysis is who will have the nukes first?

This this the third in the Axis of Time trilogy which started with the arrival of an early 21st century battle fleet in the Pacific in 1942. Jumping forward 2 years from the previous books we are at the final stages of the war with German and Japan fighting to hold their expanded territories long enough to hold off the Allies by any and all means – including the use of WMD. As always the combat sequences where excellent as was the characterisation of both the ‘temps’ (contemporary) and 21st century arrivals. I was particularly impressed by several strong female characters. I was a little disappointed that the overall planned manipulation of the timeline was side-lined a bit more than I’d have liked (it was one of the things that frankly fascinated me in the previous novel) but it was very much a minor issue. The ending did feel a little rushed – especially with the addition of a chapter outlining what happened next to the major players after VE and VJ Days – but again the tying up of loose ends is forgivable taking into account the quality of the rest of the book. Overall this has been a highly entertaining series and I have enjoyed it on several levels a great deal. I can certainly recommend it to anyone who likes combat-SF, Alt-History of just an action-packed story well told. More from Mr Birmingham soon….