I admit it--I picked up this book because of the d20.

Harry Turtledove is not one of my favorite author, I find his stuff very hit-or-miss, but this book is definitely a hit.

Set in Italy in an alternate timeline where the USSR won the Cold War, the story follows Gianfranco and Annarita as their normal lives as teenagers learning to be good communists is disrupted by the intrusion of Crosstime travellers from a timeline that might be the future of our world.

One of the things I really enjoyed about this book is that it follows Gianfranco and Annarita as the main characters, letting us see their world--good and bad--through their eyes. It turns what could have been a book about a stranded capitalist looking down on the backwards communists he's come to try and rescue, into a coming of age story as A&G struggle to find their way in a world where everything they believed is being overturned, and they need to decide what is right and wrong when their world's version of the devil incarnate comes knocking on their door asking for help.

The writing and characters are well executed, the world believable and the subplots around A&G's school add a strong touch of realism.

I'd like to give it a 4.5--it's a really good book, that I highly recommend, but when I finished it didn't give me that "OMG, that was great" feeling that I expect from a 5 star book. ( )

Lightweight but enjoyable YA alternate history. There are worse ways to spend a few hours. ( )

Okay, I admit this is not a great work of literature. It also doesn't have a whole lot of other redeeming value. I immensely enjoyed it nonetheless. Gamers versus communists! As a libertarian and as a gamer, how could I not like it?

Another in Turtledove's "Crosstime Traffic" series, this time set in a world in which the Soviets won the Cold War.

Crosstime Traffic #5 ( )