The author of this novel, SM Stirling, is really great at coming up with fascinating 'what if" scenarios. For example, in an earlier series, he explores what if at the end of the 20th century, there was some sort of electronic pulse (origin unknown) that caused gunpowder to burn more slowly and electric charges to be conveyed less well--thus throwing the world back into the middle ages (where members of the SCA rule because they're the only ones who know how to fight with swords and make their own candles, etc.).

In this novel, the what if scenario is this--what if a soldier returning to California after World War II accidentally opens up a "gate" to an alternate universe by playing with his hamm radio. This gate leads to another United States--one where North America was never discovered by Columbus and the industrial revolution (among other things) never happened. What if said solider contacted the men in his army regiment and shared the secret with them--thus, creating an alternate "country"--that not only is kept secret from our world (know as the Firstside) but derives enormous economic wealth and power from the land (not yet mined for all its fossil fuels and mineral resources).

The novel tells this creation story in some brief flashbacks because the main storyline takes place in the present day (or 2009 to be exact) where two members of the Fish and Wildlife service discover some strange items in a raid on a smuggling ring and a young woman, the granddaughter of the "soldier," investigates a possible "rebellion" amongst the factions living in the alternate country. As you might expect, these two storylines come together and this is where the novel seems to collapse under its own weight. Stirling writes in a style that sometime seems downright ponderous. I keep wanting him to learn a thing from Stephen King. Pick up the pace. As a result, I found myself skimming vast descriptions of this new land and society. I wanted to know how the story was going to turn out, but the journey got a bit tedious.