レビュー要約

• 戦争史の分岐をわかりやすい娯楽小説として読ませる点が支持されている。一方で人物造形や展開の直線性を物足りなく感じる読者もいる。

レビュー

• Another great "what if!'

  This is Conroy's second alternate history of the Pacific part of World War II. In a previous book, 1945, he examined what might have happened had Japan not surrendered after the second atomic bomb fell on Nagasaki and the United States was forced into an invasion of Japan itself. That was a compelling book and extremely interesting. 1942 focuses on another pivotal event of World War II - the United States entering the war. By all accounts I've read, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, despite the damage done, has to be qualified as a failure. Not only did the Japanese not get any of the American carriers, but they left the US a base that was easily and quickly up and running again. The so-called Third Wave in reality never happened for various reasons. Conroy here imagines it did and then the Japanese followed up attempting to occupy Hawaii. I won't go into details of the plot or characters but this is a very well developed book with lots of believable action, well researched activities by both sides that are definitely plausible and fit with historical facts, and very well rounded characters. This book was hard to put down and suddenly I was finished. As I've mentioned before in a review of Conroy, I'm a fan who would like to see him develop this story further as it does leave one wondering "what next?" and wanting to know what happens now. I feel the ending he leaves us with would have the Pacific war ending a lot sooner, and without a nuclear solution, than it did in reality. Please, give us a sequel.

• Great read if you're an alternative history reader

  Great read if you're an alternative history reader. Have now read ALL Robert Conroys books and gutted that he died recently.

• An Exciting "What If" Novel

  In this thrilling novel, author Robert Conroy explores the question of what would have happened if Japan had launched a successful third wave against Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. In Conroy's book, Japan succeeds in not only destroying the American Pacific fleet, but the repair shops, dry docks, and fuel storage tanks are destroyed as well. Soon, Japanese forces have occupied the islands and the remnants of the American Pacific fleet have fled to the relative safety of California. The Japanese secret police, led by Col. Omori, have begun a reign of terror against many of the civilians, especially those of white descent. Omori has chosen Alexa Sanderson, whose husband died on the USS Oklahoma, to be his mistress. Alexa sees no choice but to give in to Omori, believing that this is her only chance at survival. Jake Novacek, who has befriended Alexa after her husband's death, has been sent to the big island of Hawaii to rescue Commander Joe Rochefort, who has secret knowledge of Japanese codes. Upon Rochefort's successful rescue, Jake has remained and, along with the help of volunteers, has begun a covert war against the Japanese. However, Jake has to deal with not only the Japanese, but betrayal from some Americans who have become sympathetic to the Japanese. The Navy has also made plans to strike back at Hawaii. Col. Jimmy Doolittle has been assigned to convert several flying boats into bombers, take off from California, and attack the Japanese fleet, which has now entered Pearl Harbor. The remnants of the American fleet have assembled off the island of Samoa, and are steaming toward Pearl Harbor in hopes of attacking the Japanese ships. A small group of American fighters are also ready to attack the Japanese. An American submarine has been stationed outside the entrance to Pearl Harbor to attack Japanese shipping. If all of these elements are successful, the Japanese could be driven from Hawaii. If they fail, the Japanese will destroy the remnants of American resistance. Which will it be? I enjoyed this book very much. I thought that the story was well-conceived, and the character development is very good. The reader can truly relate to the characters in the book. I thought Conroy's portrayal of Roosevelt as a worn-out leader looking for a ray of hope was truly acurate as to the way FDR actually felt at the time. Also, I liked the way Conroy changed Admiral Spruance's personality from the passive observer to the aggressive attacker. The portrayal of the Japanese characters. especially Col. Omori, was very good, and Conroy pulled no punches with his descriptions of the Japanese atrocities committed against civilians. I give this book my highest recommendation. Fans of alternative history will definitely want to read "1942".

• Enjoyable entertaining look at what might have been

  I'm a little surprised by the inconsistency in reviews of this book. I thought the author, Robert Conroy, had a great knowledge of the history of the tragedy that was the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He also had a great vision of what might have been. Without giving away too much of the plot, the book opens just before the attack. Conroy goes to great lengths to show how the lack of cooperation between Army and Navy set up Pearl Harbor for the attack. This is all well documented history. He diverges after the attack. Rather than withdraw, allowing the US to enter the war in the Pacific, the Japanese return, taking out the fuel storage effectively cutting off any chance for the US to bring more ships in as there would be no way to refuel. What I found particularly interesting in this account was the sheer brutality of the Japanese warriers of that time. The laws of Bushido, of the Samurai, allowed for no remorse. Kill or be killed was the mantra. This caused the Japanese to look down upon others as inferior and lesser in their abilities. Although they saw the vast numbers of Americans who could certainly overwhelm the much smaller forces of the Japanese, they refused to believe they could be defeated in battle. Since so many of the inhabitants of Hawaii were either Japanese or were descended from Japanese, or were asian (the Hawaiians), they could be see the potential that these people would no longer consider themselves part of the Japanese society or culture. This miscalculation in great part along with their arrogance led to their ultimate defeat. I was very impressed with Mr. Conroy's writing style and knowledge of the subject. In fact, I've already started and almost finished another book in his series, 1945. My only suggestion for the author is this. While I am certainly not a prude by any standards, there are several scenes where main characters engage in sexual activity that seems out of place in the book. I'm not sure if these were included to interest some of his readers, or to lean to the whim of his publishers, or if he chose to do so on his own. Sex is fine in books when it makes sense. But, I saw little reason for some of these parts of the book other than for the sake of bringing sex into the book. All in all, I loved the book and will continue to enjoy more of Mr Conroy's works in coming months.

• Satisfying Alternate History.

  A good alternative history yarn well researched and written. I found the later ineptitude of the Japanese rather hard to believe after all their careful planning to achieve a successful initial attack and subsequent invasion. The derring-do of the surviving American service men and the jungle love affair read like something out of a 'Men Only' magazine, but all in all a good story and food for 'what if' thought. I will be reading more of this author's work.

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