Upcoming Conroy novel beefs up the stupid

[B_Munro]

You really think the guy making hundreds of thousands of dollars off a long series of books really cares if you don't like it? The point I was trying to make is that somebody is obivously buying the stuff..

I don't think he cares: it's not like he's ever shown up here, and it's rather hard to care about critics you've never heard. Nor do I have any interest in making him care. And why should I care that people - a statistically insignificant portion of the population, if you consider how many people it takes to buy a few hundred thousand dollars worth of books at $14.50 a pop - buy the stuff? Why should I care about these people's opinions? Are these statistics supposed to impress me and make me think "wow, Conroy must be a nifty writer?" He's a competent writer of pot-boilers. (BTW, where do you get his sales figures?)

Besides the whole "it's stupid" critique is old, .

But some things _are_ stupid, and reflect poor research. If we care about good alternate history, such things will annoy us. We might still enjoy the story as action or adventure or something, but we're under no obligation to do so.

and I'd like to see those who make it put their money where their mouth is; by writing something better! Something like For Want of a Nail; that was a detailed piece of work..

And undoubtedly very costly in terms of time. Seriously, we have superior AH here (see Decades of Darkness), but by your terms Jared can't criticize until he sells his novel and makes a lot of money besides. Can I not criticize a house until I build one? Cannot I not criticize a meal until I become a French Chef?

Sometimes I think it would be better to just go back to 200 to 300 page novels, instead of 500 page volumes. Any idea why so many books are so long winded and full of filler? Description is great, but I don't see any reason why, say WorldWar couldn't be done in three books instead of dragging it out to four.

Something to do with the way the publishing industry works, AFAIK. I'd agree, a lot of good mystery, SF, etc. was done at relatively short lengths back when: there's a great deal of padding in much that gets written now.

Bruce

 

[Wolfpaw]

(the Kaiser did plan on sending an invasion force to New York).

May I please get a source for this?

 

[CT23]

I kind of enjoyed 1862 as a light read.

Two others of his that I liked were 1945 and 1945: Red Inferno.

 

[Origins]

I've always since Conroy as kind of a "pulpy" Alt-history writer. Sure, his ideas are less than plausible, but there's still action and excitement and all that - they're good for a quick read or long plane-ride.

 

[Campbell1004]

I've always since Conroy as kind of a "pulpy" Alt-history writer. Sure, his ideas are less than plausible, but there's still action and excitement and all that - they're good for a quick read or long plane-ride.

I was just going to say, "Don't buy this snake oil salesman's pulp!"

I liked 1901. Then again, I haven't read it in a couple of years. I liked the concept enough to go along with the characters and the story I guess.

Not going to be buying this stuff though.

 

[rudebadger]

I liked his "Castro's Bomb" novel on the Kindle. I don't know how historically accurate it was but it was a very good page-turner of a story.

 

[Life In Black]

May I please get a source for this?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operational_Plan_Three

 

[posbi]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operational_Plan_Three

Still, a plan doesn't make a war more likely. The problem with the scenario regardless is that Germany, no matter whether it's "alleged that the German General Staff was intensely jealous of the United States and its vast wealth" wouldn't start a war halfway across the globe while being faced with the very strategic deadlock it tried to break in WW1. Or, more bluntly: the Kaiser's not going to attack New York with the Russians and French breathing down his neck.

 

[Life In Black]

Still, a plan doesn't make a war more likely. The problem with the scenario regardless is that Germany, no matter whether it's "alleged that the German General Staff was intensely jealous of the United States and its vast wealth" wouldn't start a war halfway across the globe while being faced with the very strategic deadlock it tried to break in WW1. Or, more bluntly: the Kaiser's not going to attack New York with the Russians and French breathing down his neck.

No doubt, I only posted the link because somebody asked if it was a real plan, which it was. Doesn't mean it was a realistic plan by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[elkarlo]

Ok, lets say that the IJN gets lucky and womps the USN at Midway. With 2 US carriers sunk, and let's say that 2 IJN carriers are damaged enough to be out of action for 6 to 12 months. What can the IJN do? Maybe take all of New Guinea with Port Moresby siezed? After that, maybe another Indian Ocean raid? After that, any expansion will only make the situation worse for the Japanese logistics wise.

I guess the only thing would be, the Japanese get more time to fortify their gains, and perhaps they can get a merchant fleet fleet with convoys going. But other than that, the Japanese don't have much. Few capital ships under construction in 42, so they have no replacements till 44 anyways.