Another great alternate history of WWII. This time it’s most of Western Europe (but not the USA) versus the Germans, including Russia that is at the same fighting the Japanese around Manchuria. Without giving away the “big switch,” history rapidly changes the roles of all the combatants. ( )

There were no big cliffhangers at the end, which was a little disappointing. The book just kind of ended, as though he decided that the book was long enough. Still, it was a good read, and I am looking forward to the next book. ( )

Harry Turtledove’s newest volume in his “War that Came Early” series picks up where his last book, , left off with a war grinding on in the harsh winter of 1940. Both Germany and the Soviet Union find themselves facing two-front conflicts, and with the focus increasingly on the clash with each other, their leaders are willing to let go on the other front. For the Soviets, that means allowing Japanese triumphs in Siberia. For the Germans, however, a more radical move is attempted: convincing their opponents Britain and France to change sides and join the Nazis in their war against Communism. Yet as the prospects of an alliance grow increasingly likely, the question posed by Winston Churchill seems increasingly pertinent: can the proverbial lambs lie down with the Nazi lion, or are they just setting themselves up to be consumed in turn?

Longtime fans of Turtledove’s alternate history novels will find much that is familiar within the pages of his latest book, as he describes the experiences of a cast of characters struggling to survive in a world where history takes a dramatic new turn. Yet the series does not measure up to his best efforts. The main flaw here seems to be one of characterization: unlike his Timeline-191 series, which offered a range of characters from different backgrounds and positions, nearly all of the characters in this series are enlisted men fighting in the war he described. This has the unfortunate effect of homogenizing the people and the action, as well as creating a similarity of perspective that limits his ability to offer exposition of the broader events that define alternate history. The problem is not without a solution – Turtledove has demonstrated in the past an ability to transition new characters into ongoing series – but he will need to do so soon or face squandering the effort he put into developing his latest alternate world. ( )

Read 100 pages; found it really hard to get into. Many characters, many little bits of equipment that don't have anymore explanation, and a vague impression that this may have been the second book in the series? It just made it kind of a hard slog without a lot of sympathetic characters. ( )

This review is based on the uncorrected proof copy, but I've not found any significant changes in the published version.
Turtledove is a master at alternative history, showing, without hammering you on the head with it, that historical events (and thus all events) are the result of innumerable circumstances, and changing any one of those circumstances snowballs into more and more changes in the events. While not as masterful in his storytelling as in his manipulations, he knows how to develop characters and move the story forward.
The Big Switch is the third volume in his series The War That Came Early, another in his manipulations of World War II history. As always, he has multiple characters involved in multiple story lines showing what might have happened if, in this case, Hitler had not accepted the appeasement offered in 1938. I've found this series among his best written and most entertaining.
That said, I believe that Turtledove's work is most appreciated by those who have at least some background in the history he is currently manipulating. A large part of his charm are those moments when you recognize which circumstances have changed and where his story veers from the real world history. Without that awareness, I'm not sure his general style would be able to keep one's interest through the long and multiple volumes of each series.
If, however, one has that background, his sense of the ridiculous and his imagination are more than enough to entertain and enthrall. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series with great anticipation. ( )