Rutledge Books, 2001, $14, trade paperback or $6 e-book, ISBN 1-58244-211-8, 324 pages

The premise isn’t pretty: Germany won WWII while Japan stalemated the US into an armistice. Years later, Hitler realizes his greatest triumph by conquering the US. The Nazis steadily consolidate their hold into a totalitarian state. After 10 years of occupation, the fledgling American Underground is ready to strike…1960 would prove a decisive year.

The Last Reich offers an alternative history plot whose background is etched in Allied disasters but whose future offers hope. Two American militiamen--David Schultz and William Allen--take part in an uprising timed to coincide with the only event that offered a chance of winning: a German Civil War between the German Army and the Blackshirts (think SA or SS).

Rhodes crafts a rapidly-escalating scenario, followed by desperate battles and efforts to maintain civil order. His prose pushes the story on and on -- this is very much a plot driven book. His ideas can be as creative as a Turtledove, although he needs to work on smoother transitions between scenes and additional descriptions of surroundings to reach that level of popularity. It reminds me a little of Tom Clancy's situation: his first book Hunt for Red October had plot and technical details, but was not well-written fiction. It sold primarily because a US president carried it off a helicopter and (unfounded) complaints about leaked classified data. His second and subsequent books received major editorial polishing with suggestions, rewrites, and multiple drafts. That's not a knock. It just shows the difference professional editorial support can supply.

Yet, despite terse characterizations of heroes and villains, you start to root for the good guys and hiss at the bad guys. And there are plenty who enter and exit the story.

This is a good first effort at an alternative history novel. It’s also the first in a trilogy. It contains a number of interesting ideas and ramifications and is well worth a buy if you’re into such a genre. I also have to give Rhodes a thumbs up for offering a $6 pdf version available from his website: www.3mpub.com/rhodes

This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other military history and related articles are available at http://www.magweb.com