Third Millennium, 2003, $15 (or $6 pdf), ISBN 1-929381-22-0, 266 pgs., softback

Rhodes’ second novel deals with the Pacific side of a post WWII German victory/Japanese armistice. It helps quite a bit to read The Last Reich, the first novel, before tackling Return of the Rising Sun. The Last Reich explains the predicament the US is in as well as background information on the cast of characters.

In any case, 1964 America is rebuilding after kicking out the German occupation. Over in the Pacific, the Japanese grip is slipping over their empire stretching across China, India, and most of the Pacific. Inefficiencies, declining food production, and increasing losses to the guerrillas foment factional strife and inter-service rivalries. Just short of an implosion, Japan faces off against the US at Guadalcanal.

The war starts with a land and naval campaign and carries through the book. Once again, Rhodes concentrates on plot and inserts battles and politics in equal proportions, along with a few twists to spice events up. It’s all well thought out and moves right along.

However, the production value of this novel needs some copy-editing attention, especially punctuation. For example, it’s distracting when you’re reading along and lose track of spoken words versus narrative prose because of a lack of quotation marks.

Other than that, Return of the Rising Sun moves right along. There’s a third novel coming in Rhodes’ series of an Alternative History of WWII. I also have to give Rhodes another thumbs up for offering a $6 pdf version available from his website: www.3mpub.com/rhodes

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