Reddyeddy
posts on 9/9/2009 10:31:57 PM
I've noticed in his whole, Great War, American Empire and Setttling Accounts series, Turtledove has remained vague about many great and small weapon descriptions. He has the Confederacy and French come up with light automatic rifles but gives no notes on their developement(perhaps the time traveling Boer Nazis from his first Alt-history book sold them AKs?). The Mormon rebellion is a big part of the great war but no mention is made of the man who created 75% of the U.S. military's automatic weaponry John Moses Browning, a mormon who was alive at the time. It would have been a great scene if after the savage fighting in Salt Lake City or Ogden(the home of the huge Browning clan), the gunmaker was brought to Pershing and Custer. It would have been logical to reveal that Browning had developed his legendary weapons-such as the BAR and 1911 autopistol-but had only made them for the enemies of his people's oppressors(like the CSA and the Europeans). I can imagine Colonel J.T. Thompson offering him the lives of his captured family members in exchange for his technical genius! On the subject of weapons, I noticed that Turtledove is one of too many who think that the Lewis light-machine gun is a British invention! And most importantly, despite the fact that Quebec is quickly conquered and becomes an American ally in The Great War, its most famous son(as far as the History of weapons developement is concerned)is never mentioned in the following series. The reader is left to wonder what happened to Jean Cantius Garand, inventor of the M1 semiautomatic rifle?! Was he called up to serve in a Quebecoise Territorial Army unit(probably not if the Canadian militia was as anti-catholic and Anglo-centric as the OTL canada)and killed in action by the Yanks that his people would quickly embrace as Liberators?Did he simply not go into the armsmaking profession or was turned away at Springfield Armory by Bigots who still thought of Canadians and Frenchmen as enemies? Any of these possible fates committed to a few sentences on paper(e.g.-"'Eh Soorge, those bluudy Yanks got Garand!", "Poor bluudy Bruno! There goes the best gunfixer we had!")would have spared readers like me time wasted wondering why Yank troops used Mausers, revolvers and what sounded like big, clunky Maxim guns while their enemies made leaps and bounds in small arms designs. I mean when was the last time a Frenchie or a Brit came up with an innovative weapon that wasn't thought up by somebody else?!STEN guns are German, BREN guns are Czech, Vickers guns are lightened Yank Maxims, Hotchkiss guns are Austrian and Chatteraults(FM24/29s)are just BARs with top fed mags! I will need alot more details before I can visualize either the French or the Brits giving Germany or the U.S. that much trouble! But I guess Turtledove didn't care, since as in most of his series everything ends up in a big Nuke race!
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Anonymous
posts on 5/21/2009 9:34:41 PM
Don't mind me, just dropping off my Turtledove review:
youtube.com/ TheGeneralCritic
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The commentator Jerry Butkus
posts on 1/18/2009 12:40:42 PM
Just finished reading "After the Downfall", and enjoyed it very much as usual with Harry Turtledove's books. But I would like to point out one technical error concerning the weapon Pemsel had. The machine pistol he had was referred to as a Schmeisser, when it is actually an MP-40. That is a common error as Hugo Scmeisser did not develop the MP-40, but he did have a patent on the MP-40's magazine. The Schmeisser name was stamped on the magazine, so when captured by American troops they mistakenly called the MP-40 a Schmeisser.
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The commentator Jack
posts on 1/10/2009 3:36:58 PM
Sorry to miss you Mak, I would have enjoyed a get-together but I guess it's too late now. I've pretty much lost interest in our little board land but I do still work on Turtlewiki. I came in here today out of a morbid sense of curiosity but I'm the fartherst thing in the world from regular here. Turtle Reader, it sounds like you want to have a real, honest to God intelligent discussion on Turtledove's works. I'm afraid you're in the wrong place. No one's used this board for anything worthwhile in years.
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Turtle Reader
posts on 1/6/2009 3:52:29 PM
Just finished reading 'Breakthroughs' and 'Blood and Iron'. Sort of surprised. With the CSA recruting blacks and giving them voting rights I thought Turtledove would take the stance that adversity breeds a new nation, and the CS survives. Then Germany and the US, what with having so many communists and the US having problems with Mormons would be like the Nazis in real life. Then the Allies would defeat them in WWII. But I'm guessing thats not how it goes. Would be good, though.
The CSA/Nazi thing isn't as believable, since blacks are so numerous, important economically, and armed. Jews were far fewer, like Mormons, and so easier to get rid of.
Nice try on his part though.
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Anonymous
posts on 12/16/2008 6:03:28 PM
Not in the forseeable future and for the forseeable future.
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Craig the Goat Hurder
posts on 12/16/2008 4:39:20 AM
Makkabee Nutball told me about you; will their be a new TL-191 book and and will America Survive in Our Time Line??
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Makkabee
posts on 12/14/2008 1:34:37 PM
Jack, if you still check out this board, I'm gonna be in Jersey for the next couple of weeks. If you wanna get together IRL pm me on the better board or my LJ account and we'll see if we can arrange anything.
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Craig the goat herder
posts on 11/8/2008 2:35:07 AM
well I voted for McCain And I feel cheated...the only reason I voted for him is Because Of Sarah Palin and Nut Ball and after the campaign McCain ran I think He was running to Lose so Obama would win I hope Palin wasn't in on the fraud becuase if she was the only way America will survive is if a majority of Americans Form A militia....We don't need some Obama National Security Force for Us!! What was I supposed to do I live in a cave in the south Carolina up country, I sleep with a gun.listen to Gun club (Jeffery Lee Pierce) and have seventeen children. So all you guys on that website Nutball (The Prophet) told me about we Would like a comment from you soon!!
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Nutball's circus
posts on 10/21/2008 3:08:22 PM
Back! been looking for support for my world view met an African-American Muslim in Detroit who Won't vote At all because while he definatly Doesn't like McCain he thinks Barrak is like a scorpion under a rock. My answer to Joe the Plumper will be here today-His name is Craig the Goat Hurder-You'll love Him!
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Real Nutball
posts on 10/20/2008 4:04:08 AM
haven't been here in months, but soon The election coverage will start-the last post was an Imposter
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Nut-Ball
posts on 9/1/2008 10:46:33 PM
Hi guys, having a great time in Puerto Rico! I led my many friends to celebrate the long weekend here. We've been drinking some rum, listening to a Ricky Martin CD, and tomorrow morning we're all going for a sunrise horseback ride! Wish you were here!
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Chuck Berry
posts on 8/23/2008 6:15:33 PM
Nutball i'm disappointed! It was supposed to be your big break last week playing with me and you didnt even show up. Where you arrested on charges of unemployment sitting in the witness stand?
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Mrs REAL Nutball
posts on 8/22/2008 4:21:34 PM
That's nice, dear. Stop bothering the nice people, though.
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Real Nutball
posts on 8/14/2008 3:20:33 AM
damm I come back for REAL and No one responds...ok I haven't been to the norton board yet but I will within the next 24 Hrs..me and all the others in the house truck have been scouering the country for adhereants of the REVOLUTION and remember Ron Paul is a Provisional Profet, need to balance the books AMERICA!! JUST REMEMBER THIS WAR IN CAUCASANIAN GEORGIA IS JUST THE BEGINNING it is coming....the GREAT CHASTISEMENT;YOU ARE FOR WARNED!
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Real Nutball
posts on 8/11/2008 4:07:18 PM
will assemble my crew; going back to the Norton Board...so the Bush Mob got the Russians to jump into a War, I was right I knew it was going to happen..hopefully this one won't go all the way to WWIII, their WILL BE another TL-191 Novel their must be because it will be a comment on where we are going in OLT because in TL-191 Commander and Chief David Koresh is stepping down in 2008 and Kip Romney the Theo/Republican is running against Willy Gravel the Socialist and Tomas Tancraedo The National/Democrat and the United States of (North) America is on the rise and chancellor Walker in the European Comferation is now in Prison and Europe is a mess..of course fighting has just broken out in the Yucatan in TL-191 I guess it's version of the Georgia War....but I'm shure the TL-191 USA will be ok in this short war for it
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REAL nutball
posts on 8/9/2008 4:18:04 PM
No I'm not playing bass with Chuck Berry but I will bring all the kids in the house truck to see him and find out who this Imposter is!...As for TL-191 continuing the FONZ raises some good points but maybe the Feds will cut a deal with the Mormons and give them part of North Mexico/Baja for their help against Mexico...will their be large scale communist style relocations in the TL-191 1950S with Canadians sent to the ex confederacy and Confederates sent to Canada...and of course their is the Question, What of Alaska
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The commentator Jack
posts on 7/4/2008 11:40:44 PM
It's still pretty dead, though comments do seem to be cropping up a bit. The Fonz says he's heard of something, but it's not going to happen. The standalone novel Man With the Iron Heart will be thus year's summer novel. It's going to pick up on the same themes of resistance in post-WWII occupied enemy countries that IatD left off on, but since TL-191 has devolved into thinly veiled parallelism HT's not going to bother with the TL-191 characters as stand-ins for historical figures. I for one am glad. The story deserves better. And I guess that means Nut-Ball's prophecies are wrong again.
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The commentator Bignate
posts on 7/3/2008 10:38:41 AM
When did this site come back to life? I thought it died months ago! And has anyone seriously heard of a new TL-191 novel?
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The commentator Jack
posts on 7/2/2008 6:58:50 PM
Best of luck to you, you crazy crazy man (men?).
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