OPERATION HERKULES ( The Malta Fulcrum WW2 Alternate History Series Book 1 )

Just finished this and I could kick myself for waiting so long to buy and then read it. Where to start? Characters, quite a few, but thankfully not as many as a Turtledove book. The characters are for the most part rich and full of detail. I know some reviewers have stated their respective pleasure or displeasure about this, but I personally like to have an understanding as to what motivates or drives a character to do what they do. Sure it is sometimes disappointing to gain an insight or liking for a well thought out character just to see them perish, but hey that is War, isn't it and we are reading about death and destruction. I'll admit, I thought Kuno was a just a wee bit too good to be true, but hey he paid his dues in other ways which new readers will discover. I was a bit put off at the beginning with the obligitary "American in the RAF" character, especially since he merited mention in the book summary, but I suppose in the end that worked out well since he didn't prove to be a major character, at least in my mind. My favorite characters though proved to be the enlisted and officers of the RN and frankly this was the best part of the story. Details. Outstanding with the details. The descriptions were excellent such as the need to endlessly grease a bearing so the ship can continue the mission shows the realities of complex machinery in war. The battles details were good too, I appreciated the attention to detail right down to the distinction made between sounds of the respective served machine guns, i.e., the Vickers vs. the MG34's. I believe while there were a few minor quibbles, overall the author performed excellent research to provide a view into what was a true combined operations battle. Lets not forget the island and the geography and environment which is Malta, the author had to have spent time walking and breathing the air there to have the knowledge and descriptions (down to the dust and wind) which we read in this novel. Having said that I enjoyed the naval aspect the best. On a whim I decided to check a comment which was made concerning the U212 and the depth under her keel, well, based upon her approximate location, that was either a great guess, in a shallow sea or the authors research shines through. Battle scenes. They were definitely very stirring and got the blood a boil at different times, in fact I thought they were very well written; yet, sometimes they seemed a bit too good to be true. Don't get me wrong, courage and desperation are sometimes hand in hand when your back is against the wall but it seemed too often this led to some awesome feats or perhaps more accurately, attempts by one side or another to try some awesome feat. I guess the author took the real life heroics of the Commonwealth troops on Crete in 1941 as his inspiration. Concerning the naval ops, I really enjoyed the naval portions of the story, have I mentioned that yet? Always had a soft spot for naval operations and these had the Honor Harrington Death Ride excitement tempered with the realism of the era and weapons. In fact these seemed the most authentic, since in many cases the actions described at here actually occurred in the Med in 1941-43 or even in one case I can think of the Norway campaign. The author appeared to simply bundle many of them together for a stirring tale concerning Force H. Sequels. A must, not simply because I liked the story line, but because the author left a few loose ends at the end of the story. Some of these were delibrate and even alluded to in the book, but I really wanted to find out about Commander Smith RN and his "crew", the U212, the Perla and Leading Stoker Booth. I hope the author intends to wrap up these stories in his sequels, especially Commander Smith who is one character we really didn't meet like the others but seemed so interesting. Overall I enjoyed the flow of the story. I appreciated the technical detail despite one or two small hiccups or when I questioned something which implied the point of divergence in this history was further back (Italian amphip tank lighters(?) or German Radar on Regia Marino ships in mid 1942(if ever?), but overall, they made the story more dramatic. There were a few times I wanted the story to move along or get to the point but I feel I not only got my money's worth, but I was entertained (and isn't that why we are here?) and plan to buy more from this author when he publishes again. In fact, independent of this book, I would like to see the author bring the Regia Marino and the Royal Navy back together again in another thread just to see what the outcome would be if there was a stong Italian commander willing to push the issue. I think that would be interesting to explore, but that may be a different story.

This book lays out the interesting premise that if Malta was taken, then the Germans would gain a decisive advantage against the British. I enjoyed the characters in the book, which featured however an astonishing amount of gruesome violence. It was sad so many of them died so suddenly.

I'm retired military, Masters in European History, and an avid reader of history and historical fiction. Mr Ward's book is excellent. His facts are accurate. He created compelling characters whom he uses very well to show the reader the technical and historical facts underlying his fiction. He does this with a skillful touch so that the reader doesn't feel lectured. That is the story doesn't stumble as he adds necessary background facts. The result is an action packed story that is very compelling and impossible to put down. Wonderful read.

very good book

While there were inevitably a few minor errors as happens with any longer work this was well written and generally fast paced. I do think the author overstates the accuracy of both aerial bombardment and flak defensive fire but these are common failings in WW II literature and his overstatements balanced effects for both sides. I do think the novel could lose about ten percent to make it flow better and tighten up the action. I would give it 4.5 of 5 stars if that were an option because of the pacing issue. Looking forward to the next in the series.

It's absolutely a great read, full of action, great battle scenes and with well developed characters. Yet as an alternate history book it should be a bit more grounded in truth. I understand for the majority of readers it won't be a problem but to call the Folgore and or the Regia Marina a bunch of incompetent cowards is a bit too much hence the 3 stars. For anyone interested below are some quick reads available on kindle: Avanti: Mussolini and the Wars of Italy 1919-1945 FROGMEN FIRST BATTLES Dark Navy: The Italian Regia Marina and the Armistice of 8 September 1943 There's nothing on Folgore in English but any quick search on the net about the second battle of El Alamein should be more then enough. This said I am waiting for Operation Aida

As a big fan of alternative history I can honestly say that this book was truly brilliant and kept me gripped right until the end. Fantastic roller coaster of a read. The funny thing was that this was one of the 1st AH books I spotted when I first got a kindle a few years ago but as the price was about £6 at the time I filed it away under 'buy if cheaper' as I thought the sample was quite promising. Boy that was a mistake, I bought it when it was a more standard £4 price but having read it now, I wish I had just bought it back then. If you like AH or even just military fiction, the do yourself a favour and read this book. It is high octane stuff where you a constantly guessing if the British/axis will win the next engagement. The author avoids the common route of having the Baddies/Germans/confederates getting off to a good start, but you know early on that it is only a matter of time before the 'goodies/allies/Yankees win. No character is safe and they may as well all be wearing the proverbial star trek red jerseys ...... which given the tight confined combat is perfectly justified. Wow.

Mr Ward employs the multi character storytelling method of grandmaster Turtledove, but – better than him- keeps the number of persons smaller, so the story he develops can be followed much easier. His description of war scenes is – in my view- uniquely realistic to the degree that I could see how this “reality” would come down to be told afterwards in newspapers and books. At times the scenes are set and fit for “Operation Hercules – the movie”. My perspective on the novel is that of a descendant of the people described, ie my father’s generation. The characters are well described, though not completely immune to some heel- clicking stereotypes. Raising the arm to a nazi salute was out of the question in the German army of 1942. This was only forced down the throat of the Wehrmacht by the nazi party after the failed 1944 coup attempt of officers, and ignored, if at all possible, if I remember correctly. Hiccups in technical matters are sometimes slightly irritating, even for me as a non-expert. A Ju87 cannot lift a 5000lb bomb and a Ju52 will fly happily with only one engine working, right? The overall story is told in a brilliant way though, excelling both in telling the perspective of a single combatant and on operations level, especially in the vivid description of the chaos, change of fortune and fog of war that a battle is. I could not lay the book down. Please Mr Ward, continue writing. You made me a loyal customer already.

This was well executed. The point of divergence is an invasion of Malta. The story moves along at a fare pace with enough detail to keep military buffs interested without over doing it. Well described action scenes, the invasion hangs in the balance for most of the book with the advantage swinging between invader and defender. Every military endeavour has it's friction and the Malta Fulcrum is no exception. We see the action from multiple character points of view and the reader gets, fighter duels, parachute drops, a desperate relief convoy under constant air and sea attack and hand to hand combat on the ground. The characters were both believable and sympathetic, no cardboard cutouts in this one. The reader could almost feel the exhaustion of those involved in events. I'll be reading the rest of this series.

As a WWII buff I've found the author lacking enough tecnical and historical knowledge about weapons, units and tactics. As an example, the quality and effectiveness of German night air support over Malta airports is unrealistic. Some Italian Units name are really questionable, and I stopped reading when a group of Ba-88 entered the fray (have a read of the Ba-88 voice on wikipedia to understand why). The author hasn't done his homework. Pity.

I haven’t even finished reading this book fully yet and Im giving it a five! This book and potentially the other two if there as good as this one are just brilliant. I love alternative history and recently finished the Red gambit series before starting this one, this book is just great. The thing I feel that makes it stand out over similar stories is the effort and detail gone into not just the background of the battles the ships and weapons involved but the characters in the book. You end up getting a lot more back story than maybe you need but it just makes the story that much better. You end up rooting for certain people and hoping they survive or get out of a sticky situation. The end of some plotlines and characters good or bad is just great and very Game of Thrones!. All round im loving this book and hope the series continues in the same way.