What if – you went to sleep as usual in 2004 – and woke up in 1934?
What if – you had vital knowledge about the forthcoming Second World War, and could prove that you came from the future?
What could you do to affect British policy, strategy, tactics and equipment?
How might the course of the conflict be changed?
And what if there was another throwback from the future – and he was working for the enemy?
The novel follows the story of these two 'throwbacks' as they pit their wits against each other. A very different Second World War rages across Europe, the Mediterranean, Russia, the North Atlantic and the Pacific, until its shocking conclusion.
This book may be purchased online, or in paperback from the publisher, amazon.co.uk or amazon.com
Details and purchasing arrangements are available on the publishers' website HERE
Read the first chapter HERE
*********************************
Read Paul Adkins' spinoff story - Foresight America - HERE
*********************************
Reviews
Amended 22 March 2008
General comment
It's fascinating (and also somewhat nerve-wracking) for an author to read what reviewers have to say about a novel. What is most marked in the reviews below is the huge diversity of opinion about The Foresight War, with ratings on the amazon.co.uk website ranging from one to five stars. On the good side, at least the book is provoking a lot of debate, and the average score is quite high. The most substantial criticism is the lack of characterisation. This is fair comment, and results from the fact that the book was written to explore ideas about WW2 which I put in the form of a novel as an appropriate way of presenting them. I also take refuge in the observation by popular British SF writer Bob Shaw, who defended the relative lack of characterisation in most science fiction as being appropriate for the genre, that "The idea can assume the role of a character". The Foresight War is intensely plot-driven with the principal role of the characters being to carry the plot forward, rather than the plot being the framework for exploring the characters, as is the case with more conventional literature. In my opinion, too much characterisation could have distracted from the plot and slowed down the action. However, readers can judge that for themselves, and I take comfort from the fact that most reviewers clearly enjoyed The Foresight War - and that's primarily what I published it to achieve.
Only brief extracts from the reviews are included here, due to copyright concerns. Follow the links to read the complete reviews.
WARNING: some of the content of the following reviews includes 'spoilers' which reveal plot detail – these sections are shown in red!
*******************************************
From William Garthright of the 'Classic Science Fiction' site HERE
I just this
minute finished "The Foresight War" (2004) by Tony Williams, and I must say that
I loved it. I had a hard time putting it down....
This is plot-driven science fiction, and my
usual preference is for character-driven SF. But I'm not a fanatic about it, and
I must admit that this sort of alternate history is right up my alley. I'm
fascinated by the whole idea. And although characterization is not the focus of
this book, what characterization there is here is spot on. I've read other
plot-driven alternate history, such as "1901" by Robert Conroy or "A Damned Fine
War" by Bill Yenne, in which the characterization is so poor that it detracts
from the story. That's not the case here. The characterization is excellent,
it's just not the main focus of the book. As you can probably tell, I was very
impressed....
I highly recommend "The Foresight
War," at least if you're interested in World War II and/or alternate history.
********************************
From Christopher Nuttall of the 'Changing the Times' alternate history website HERE
This book is well written and an easy read. The combat scenes are good and the effects well described. The ending is shocking and realistic under the circumstances.
Right, that’s the basics. Everything under this is discussion of the plot and includes spoilers. If you don’t want it spoilt, go away.
The book has a wealth of technical and strategic detail. The author clearly knows his field and it shows, from small personnel weapons to radar. Just a few hints would have helped the defenders of Britain enormously, while the laptop must have seemed like a gift from God. Williams avoids the utterly impossible clinch of the British duplicating the laptop.....
The greatest problem with the book is that the British have very limited resources at that point in time.....
The other slight problem is a throwaway line in which the Japanese navy is effectively destroyed by the Americans. That is somewhat unrealistic.....
On the whole, this is a very good book and deserves to be far wider known.
[Author's comment: some fair points here, with only a couple of counterpoints:
1. The British rearmament plans are based on remaining approximately within the historical financial constraints; it's a question of spending the money on better equipment rather than more of it.
2. The Japanese fleet which ran into the US fleet had already been involved in a long, hard engagement, had suffered considerable damage (especially to carriers) and would have been low on ammo. It is not unreasonable to expect that a fresh US fleet would have won such an encounter.]
*******************************
From Nathan Brazil at The SF Site HERE
A piece of advice often given to first time authors is, write what you know. Anthony G. Williams has followed this to the letter. The Foresight War is his first novel, although he has previously published several factual works as a military technology historian. Using his vast knowledge of the events and weaponry used during WWII, he projects an alternate stream of events, where the flow of history is changed by two men. They are Don Erlang and Professor Konrad Herrman, who are both accidental time travellers from 2004, that wake up one morning to find themselves in 1934. Herrman in Germany and Erlang in England. Both men are military historians, who adapt quickly to their new circumstances, and independently set out to change history as they knew it.....
Famous names from WWII crop up as regular characters, including main players Churchill, Hitler, and Rommel. Others, such as Roosevelt and Stalin, are spoken about but not seen in person. The historical cast stay true to character, just as history has portrayed them....What follows is a fast paced, easy to read story, heavy with technical detail and light on dialogue. Event after event shows the result of the time travellers' influence on their leaders. The author has a precise, factually biased style of writing that explains what's necessary, but rarely goes more than a few steps beyond. The impression given, perhaps intentionally, is of a series of snapshots scattered between the larger, set piece encounters with alternate history....
The one serious flaw is a lack of characterisation, in particular with Erlang and Herrman, the time travellers. Neither of them ever question how they came to slip through time, if there might be a way back, or what has become of the future without them....
In summary, The Foresight War is a highly plausible alternate take on history, which reads more like an alternate historical record, than a story set in another timeline.
[Author's comment: fair enough – see my General comment at the start about the characterisation issue.]
**********************************
From Oyaguy in LiVEJOURNAL Topfive reviews HERE
In total, a rather realistic, aside from the obvious,
"what if" scenario of WWII, that clearly shows the author's bias towards the
technical and political aspects of his story, as opposed to character. Probably
an interesting read for the initiated but will definitely be a snore for the
average history layman. Which equates to most of the population of the world.
7/10.
**********************************
Customer Reviews from Amazon.co.uk:
Average Customer Review (17 reviews):
------------------------
A Great Idea - that
deserves more respect.,
Mr. Richard I. Carling (Cambridge, UK)
All writing should be applauded for the effort, but with even more effort this idea could have been a great work of fiction.
------------------------
A rather poor
"alternative history" novel, 27 Jul 2007
Reviewer: George (Thessaloniki, - Greece)
[Author's comment: Oh well, you
can't please everybody...]
-----------------------------
Such
a Brilliance for a first Book, 6 Jul 2007
Reviewer: P Walker "Caveboy 101" (South Cave ,England)
BUY THIS BOOK. Its worth it cause I've read it once and am starting again and this will not be the last time, it is simply that good.
-----------------------------
Started
rereading immediately!, 26 Jun 2007
Reviewer: Richard D. Coates (UK)
As a wargamer and a fan of alternative history fiction I loved this book....In my opinion, this story cries out for a film - or a TV series
-------------------------
Fantastic
rollercoaster of a British victory, 2 April 2007
Reviewer: Mrs. C. N. Morton "Claire Morton" (Northumberland, England)
Wonderful, savage imagery with which, I presume, the author meant to draw
direct parallels with our time.
------------------------------
What a
great story!!!!!! , 31 Jan 2007
Reviewer: SJ SMART "Smartie" (York, England)
If you have ever asked yourself what would World War two had been like if
Britain was better prepared and had listen to various pre war experts. If it had
concentrated on building a good tank, aircraft carriers to escort convoys and
project power and fighters before the war, and then be able to face Hitler's
blitzkreig on equal terms, then this is the book for you!
Buy this book, tell your friends, its great!!
--------------------------------------
unputdownable,
5 Jan 2007
Reviewer: Kentishman (Kent, UK)
I'm a fan of alternate history books and with the exception of a couple of flaws
at the beginning and end, this was a very good read.
----------------------------------
A
jolly romp through WWII, 2 Nov 2006
Reviewer: Mr. C. Bennett
I liked this book, it was very readable and the action starts early on. It contains lots of interesting ideas about how things could have turned out differently....
---------------------------------
Literally
could not put this book down..., 4 Aug 2006
Reviewer:
Geoff Bennett (Nottingham, England)
I know it's a cliche, but it's true. I have missed two
deadlines for a work project because of this book!
Absolutely fascinating. Well researched and fairly well written....
If you read and loved Tom Clancy's "Red Storm Rising", then you absolutely must
read this book.
-----------------------------------------------------
A Very British War..., 12 Jun 2006
Reviewer: D.P.Evans (London)
...and no bad thing! I enjoyed this, its a
densely-packed fast-paced novel that charts on the progress of an alternate WWII
where both Britain and Germany get the chance to correct some of their
'mistakes' in advance.....
------------------------------------
Believable
and engaging! 13 May 2006
Reviewer: Oleg Volk (Nashville, TN USA)
Anthony Williams writes an excellent what-if....
---------------------------
A good idea, poorly executed. 18 April 2006
Reviewer: A. Bailey (London UK)
The premise is excellent....
However there are major problems with the story.
1. The German side is handicapped by their advisor's moral scruples...
2. Many alternative scenarios are explored only as far as they get rejected by
the governments in question...
[Author's comment: I was concerned that the German 'throwback' should be perceived as a reasonably sympathetic character, whose dilemma modern readers could at least understand. Had I made him a hard-line Nazi the novel would, in my opinion, have suffered. As far as the alternative plots are concerned, of course there is a huge range of possible scenarios which could have been devised from the novel's starting point, but I followed what seemed to me the most feasible outcome, given the importance for obvious plot reasons of sticking close to historical events for as long as possible.]
-------------------------
Well-written,
clever and compelling, 11 April 2006
Reviewer: steven (Twickenham, Middlesex UK)
It's not over-dramatic but it has a great deal of action and suspense. The battle scenes are very well written - not at a detailed blood-and-guts level - but as military historical narrative....
Highly recommended.
--------------------------
Disappointingly contrived, 18
March 2006
Reviewer: Mark Klobas (Tempe, AZ)
The book itself is constructed on a series of contrivances. The first and most central one is the transportation of two historians living in the year 2004 back seventy years into the past – an event that serves as little more than a device for achieving Williams's main goal, which is to re-fight the Second World War using updated weapons and tactics. This is where Williams shines, using his knowledge as a military historian to envision a war re-waged based on the lessons it provided. His ideas in this respect are both intriguing and plausible, posing some interesting answers and setting the stage for some exciting clashes.
The other elements of the novel, however, are sadly lacking. Williams's characters are as contrived as the premise, lacking any real depth or distinct personalities.....
[Author's comment: see my introductory General comment on the characterisation issue.]
------------------------------------
Very
well written, 17 Mar 2006
Reviewer: "cohagan10"
I loved this book...
----------------------------------
Buy
this book, January 16, 2006
Reviewer: Barry Curran from Edinburgh
This book is a real page turner....
The great thing about this book is that is one which places Britain at the centre of events and, therefore, is must read for British readers who enjoy reading alternative histories....
--------------------------