Ask the Author: Chris James
Answered Questions (3)
Chris James
Hi Stuart,
Thanks for asking. Start at Book One, Onslaught and go from there. The original "Repulse Europe at War" is not strictly part of the Repulse Chronicles series, it is a history of this war written about 30 years after the war ended. The Repulse Chronicles series tells the story of the 2062-2064 war as it actually happened.
Hope this helps and many thanks for reading!
Best regards,
Chris
Thanks for asking. Start at Book One, Onslaught and go from there. The original "Repulse Europe at War" is not strictly part of the Repulse Chronicles series, it is a history of this war written about 30 years after the war ended. The Repulse Chronicles series tells the story of the 2062-2064 war as it actually happened.
Hope this helps and many thanks for reading!
Best regards,
Chris
Chris James
Al,
I greatly appreciate your review and you taking the time to point out some minor issues. I must admit, I do fall back on the “It’s set 45 years in the future” excuse, but you make fair comments nevertheless, and I’ll be looking out for them in future instalments. Funnily enough, in 1984 only a broken leg in a motorbike accident stopped me going to Sutton Coalfield to begin my basic training before joining the Engineers. A couple of my mates when on to join the Coldstream Guards, but that injury put paid to any future in the British Army for me.
I greatly appreciate your review and you taking the time to point out some minor issues. I must admit, I do fall back on the “It’s set 45 years in the future” excuse, but you make fair comments nevertheless, and I’ll be looking out for them in future instalments. Funnily enough, in 1984 only a broken leg in a motorbike accident stopped me going to Sutton Coalfield to begin my basic training before joining the Engineers. A couple of my mates when on to join the Coldstream Guards, but that injury put paid to any future in the British Army for me.
Chris James
Hi Al,
Firstly, many thanks for your kind words. It always makes my day when a reader says they enjoyed one of my books. Plus, it's always nice to meet a fellow Hastings fan. In fact, I've got Sir Max alone to thank for Repulse. Way back in 2001, I first read Overlord, and when I finished it I thought: "Wouldn't be great if there were a book like this but about a battle in the future that hasn't happened yet?" I loved not only his style of writing, but also the detail: the appendixes at the back giving the types and volumes of ammunition used, etc.
I never thought I'd ever actually write such a book and forgot about the idea, until a few years ago when Sir Max published All Hell Let Loose. I knew he's the best military historian alive, but how on earth could even he do a single-volume history of WWII, especially after Armageddon and Nemesis? But he did, and I was stunned at the result. And that's when, after I'd written a few science fiction novels in the intervening years, the idea I'd first got reading Overlord came back to me. You can see the similarities: the strong single-word title (Overlord/Repulse), then the intriguing sub-title (The World at War 1939-1945/Europe at War 2062-2064). I had planned just to write my imaginary Operation Repulse but quickly realised it wouldn't work, and so covered the whole war. The other problem I had was making up all of the appendixes as in Overlord. I knew if I tried that, it would take far too long to finish Repulse, so I settled on that bibliography which hopefully adds a bit of realism. So, yes, calling the eccentric General Hastings was absolutely a hat-tip the great man himself!
Firstly, many thanks for your kind words. It always makes my day when a reader says they enjoyed one of my books. Plus, it's always nice to meet a fellow Hastings fan. In fact, I've got Sir Max alone to thank for Repulse. Way back in 2001, I first read Overlord, and when I finished it I thought: "Wouldn't be great if there were a book like this but about a battle in the future that hasn't happened yet?" I loved not only his style of writing, but also the detail: the appendixes at the back giving the types and volumes of ammunition used, etc.
I never thought I'd ever actually write such a book and forgot about the idea, until a few years ago when Sir Max published All Hell Let Loose. I knew he's the best military historian alive, but how on earth could even he do a single-volume history of WWII, especially after Armageddon and Nemesis? But he did, and I was stunned at the result. And that's when, after I'd written a few science fiction novels in the intervening years, the idea I'd first got reading Overlord came back to me. You can see the similarities: the strong single-word title (Overlord/Repulse), then the intriguing sub-title (The World at War 1939-1945/Europe at War 2062-2064). I had planned just to write my imaginary Operation Repulse but quickly realised it wouldn't work, and so covered the whole war. The other problem I had was making up all of the appendixes as in Overlord. I knew if I tried that, it would take far too long to finish Repulse, so I settled on that bibliography which hopefully adds a bit of realism. So, yes, calling the eccentric General Hastings was absolutely a hat-tip the great man himself!
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