by Robert G. Pielke
published by Whiskey Creek
2012
ISBN 978-1-61160-361-3
Why Read?: Review
Challenges: eBook, Historical Fiction, 100 Books in a
Year
The second installment of Robert G.
Pielke’s A New Birth of Freedom, The Translator, starts exactly where the
first part, The Visitor, left
off. In fact, Pielke picks up so
seamlessly and with very little exposition that it feels like one must read the
two back to back.
Having captured a number of the
Pests, and with the rest of them dead or holed up in their alien crafts, Edwin
Blair, President Lincoln, and the Union army continue to try to communicate
with the Pests and find out the reason for their attack. Unfortunately, Blair altered history enough
by sending the Pests to Gettysburg that he is starting to lose his memory. Will they find out what the Pests want before
history is changed beyond recognition?
Blair can only hope so or the future he came from may no longer be
there.
Pielke still has an interesting concept,
especially when he introduces how the Pests “learn”, but The Translator drags a little more than The Visitor. Being a longer
novel, it is lacking some of the fast-paced suspense from the first. Also, the wonderful illustrations from The Visitor are missed. However, Pielke still shows great breadth of
imagination with an alternate history that is fully researched and very
believable…providing giant insect-like aliens could invade Earth in the future.
The
Translator must be read in conjunction with The Visitor to be understood, but together (and with the
anticipated third novel), The New Birth
of Freedom trilogy makes for a great historical sci-fi. I cannot wait to see how Robert G. Pielke
ends this adventure.
Rating: 3/5
Ricki, glad you appreciated the amount of research that went into Bob's alternate history. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteThanks from me too....I hope the third one will satisfy even more! :-)
ReplyDeleteBob Pielke