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The Burning Mountain: A Novel of the Invasion of Japan
This compelling novel stands firmly as a projection of historical possibility--and just as firmly as a riveting adventure told in moving human terms. It is the tale of an awesome clash of arms and and of cultures.After the Nazi collapse and surrender in April of 1945, Japan stood as the last enemy--the final, formidable foe. In July, on the desert beyond Los Alamos, New Mexico, the test of an untried, secret weapon, an atomic device, failed. A sudden electrical storm struck and impaired the bomb, postponing for months any future test--which might even prove this theoretical weapon useless.Forced to the final campaign of World War II, the U.S. mounted Operations Olympic and Coronet--the invasion of the Japanese homeland, Resistance by the defenders was expected to be fierce, even suicidal. Estimates of casualties ran conservatively into the millions. The Japanese had drawn up detailed defense plans. They had been astutely analytical, visualizing the American intention as if they had the strategy of Olympic and Coronet before them. The world was poised for the bloodiest confrontation in all history.The Burning Mountain is the spectacular portrayal of this momentous assault, blending sweeping detail of the most massive naval and military forces ever assembled with the poignant experiences of the individuals on both sides caught up in the ultimate struggle. Based on actual war plans of both nations, this stunning novel is a brilliant feat in concept, narrative drive, prodigious research, character creation, dramatic interplay, and thematic clarity. It is a work of vast significance and haunting power.
448 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1983
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
May 3, 2018
One of the ways that alternate history novels can be classified is by dividing them into two categories. The first consists of alternate history novels that are descriptions of major events told through the actions of the characters, historical or fictional. Most works of alternate history (such as those by Robert Conroy, Peter Tsouras, and the increasing majority of Harry Turtledove's novels) fit into this first category, in which the events are the focus and the characters themselves are primarily used to tell the story. The other, far less common group of alternate history novels are those in which the focus is on the characters rather than the events, with the authors of those works using the altered setting primarily as a different stage in which their characters develop in response to circumstances other than those dictated by history.
Alfred Coppel's novel is one of that minority of alternate history novels in the second category. In it, he uses the disruption of the Trinity test by a storm as a premise for the launching of the Allied invasion of Japan that was in real life rendered unnecessary by the Japanese surrender that the atomic bombs provoked. Coppel skips over Operation Olympic — the invasion of the island of Kyushu in November 1945 — to start with the much larger Operation Coronet, the invasion of the main Japanese island of Honshu, in March 1946. It is within this dramatic backdrop that his narrative unfolds, with American and Japanese characters facing the prospect of death in a titanic final clash between the two sides.
As both a longtime author and a fighter pilot during World War II, Coppel captures effectively the elements of combat within his narrative. But it is with his character development that his novel truly shines. He focuses on about a dozen main characters, using their particular experiences over a series of chapters to describe what the horrors of such an invasion may have been like. Even with his secondary characters, the space he takes to explain their background (an effort that never feels awkwardly shoehorned into the novel) pays off by imparting a real importance and poignancy to even their most mundane activities. All of them share in the stress of battle, and though his three main characters (an American Ranger who grew up in Japan, his Nisei subordinate, and their Japanese opponent who happens to be the childhood friend of the first character) seem a little too conveniently situated, overall they help convey the tragedy and insanity of the war they experience. It all makes for an alternate history novel that is far superior to most of the alternate history works turned out today, the overwhelming majority of which would be much better if they followed Coppel's example and concentrated on the people rather than the events, no matter how exciting those events may be.
Alfred Coppel's novel is one of that minority of alternate history novels in the second category. In it, he uses the disruption of the Trinity test by a storm as a premise for the launching of the Allied invasion of Japan that was in real life rendered unnecessary by the Japanese surrender that the atomic bombs provoked. Coppel skips over Operation Olympic — the invasion of the island of Kyushu in November 1945 — to start with the much larger Operation Coronet, the invasion of the main Japanese island of Honshu, in March 1946. It is within this dramatic backdrop that his narrative unfolds, with American and Japanese characters facing the prospect of death in a titanic final clash between the two sides.
As both a longtime author and a fighter pilot during World War II, Coppel captures effectively the elements of combat within his narrative. But it is with his character development that his novel truly shines. He focuses on about a dozen main characters, using their particular experiences over a series of chapters to describe what the horrors of such an invasion may have been like. Even with his secondary characters, the space he takes to explain their background (an effort that never feels awkwardly shoehorned into the novel) pays off by imparting a real importance and poignancy to even their most mundane activities. All of them share in the stress of battle, and though his three main characters (an American Ranger who grew up in Japan, his Nisei subordinate, and their Japanese opponent who happens to be the childhood friend of the first character) seem a little too conveniently situated, overall they help convey the tragedy and insanity of the war they experience. It all makes for an alternate history novel that is far superior to most of the alternate history works turned out today, the overwhelming majority of which would be much better if they followed Coppel's example and concentrated on the people rather than the events, no matter how exciting those events may be.
August 12, 2010
"Burning Mountain" should always be paired with David Westheimer's "Death is Lighter Than a Feather"--- this is the other alternate-1945 end of the Pacific War, the other invasion of Japan novel. Not so much about the invasion itself as about the people--- soldiers, victims, ordinary farmers, bureaucrats ---caught up in Operation Coronet, the final invasion of Honshu.
February 14, 2016
Fiction.
Most Americans are familiar with the end of World War II, that the war ended after the dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan. What many, if not most, Americans do not know is that a detailed plan for the invasion of Japan had been mapped out and would have been put into place if the atomic bombs did not work or were not ready.
The plan consisted of two parts. Operation Olympic would have been the invasion of Kyushu, the southernmost major island in Japan. American forces, with minimal involvement of other allied nations, would have invaded the island and taken over enough of the island to build numerous air bases. The second part of the plan was Operation Coronet, which was to be the invasion of the Tokyo basin area. It would have been an effort that would have dwarfed the operations in Normandy.
There was also a sort of sub-plan, based on use of the atomic bombs. Nine would have been scheduled for use, three of them to bomb the beaches that the American troops would land on, and three more behind the beach area. This was supposed to have reduced enemy resistance and allowed a relatively easy foothold to have been obtained. Three other bombs were to be held in reserve, to be used if the Japanese tried to move reinforcements in.
This fiction book is based on the premise that the initial testing of the atomic bomb did not occur as planned. There was going to be a delay, and so Operation Coronet was put into effect. (In the book Operation Olympic has already happened, and the Americans control around half the island.)
The book features a variety of characters, quite well done, and a very realistic, and very brutal, description of the war conditions and what happens to soldiers when they are killed. It's very graphic and could upset some readers.
The description of the attack itself is very well done (and is based on the actual plans for the invasion), and the description of the Japanese resistance is also well done. The book goes along with the idea that the Japanese civilians would have willingly participated in resisting the Americans, and would have used bamboo poles and anything else they could have to kill Americans. The civilian casualty rate, under such conditions, would have been tremendous (and the political pressure back in the states from the newspapers carrying articles about the “massacres” would also have been tremendous.)
The book also does a good job showing what can go right in such an invasion, and what can go wrong, and what the cost in when things go wrong.
The book deals a lot with the Japanese suicide efforts, including the kamikaze planes, but also including small boats, men underwater with bombs attached to them, and even civilians carrying explosives that they would detonate when Americans came near. There's a lot of what we would call treachery on the part of the Japanese in this novel, although from their viewpoint it was just them defending their homeland.
This is a really, really good book covering what very probably would have happened during any such Operation Coronet.
Most Americans are familiar with the end of World War II, that the war ended after the dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan. What many, if not most, Americans do not know is that a detailed plan for the invasion of Japan had been mapped out and would have been put into place if the atomic bombs did not work or were not ready.
The plan consisted of two parts. Operation Olympic would have been the invasion of Kyushu, the southernmost major island in Japan. American forces, with minimal involvement of other allied nations, would have invaded the island and taken over enough of the island to build numerous air bases. The second part of the plan was Operation Coronet, which was to be the invasion of the Tokyo basin area. It would have been an effort that would have dwarfed the operations in Normandy.
There was also a sort of sub-plan, based on use of the atomic bombs. Nine would have been scheduled for use, three of them to bomb the beaches that the American troops would land on, and three more behind the beach area. This was supposed to have reduced enemy resistance and allowed a relatively easy foothold to have been obtained. Three other bombs were to be held in reserve, to be used if the Japanese tried to move reinforcements in.
This fiction book is based on the premise that the initial testing of the atomic bomb did not occur as planned. There was going to be a delay, and so Operation Coronet was put into effect. (In the book Operation Olympic has already happened, and the Americans control around half the island.)
The book features a variety of characters, quite well done, and a very realistic, and very brutal, description of the war conditions and what happens to soldiers when they are killed. It's very graphic and could upset some readers.
The description of the attack itself is very well done (and is based on the actual plans for the invasion), and the description of the Japanese resistance is also well done. The book goes along with the idea that the Japanese civilians would have willingly participated in resisting the Americans, and would have used bamboo poles and anything else they could have to kill Americans. The civilian casualty rate, under such conditions, would have been tremendous (and the political pressure back in the states from the newspapers carrying articles about the “massacres” would also have been tremendous.)
The book also does a good job showing what can go right in such an invasion, and what can go wrong, and what the cost in when things go wrong.
The book deals a lot with the Japanese suicide efforts, including the kamikaze planes, but also including small boats, men underwater with bombs attached to them, and even civilians carrying explosives that they would detonate when Americans came near. There's a lot of what we would call treachery on the part of the Japanese in this novel, although from their viewpoint it was just them defending their homeland.
This is a really, really good book covering what very probably would have happened during any such Operation Coronet.
February 28, 2020
A good alternate history of Operation Coronet, the second planned invasion of Japan at the end of World War Two. I find myself comparing it to the other book to address the same subject, though it ends with Operation Olympic, "Death is Lighter than a Feather". I enjoyed the structure of "Death" better, with each chapter beginning with an overall discussion of how the battle advanced before dropping the reader into the fray with the point of view characters. In "Burning Mountain" the character actions are intersperced with the narration. To me it felt like often the characters were the focus of certain attacks, specifically so we could be at the event.
One group I really liked was the white US Ranger officer who had grown up in Japan, the Nesei sergeant who worked with him, and the officer's boyhood Japanese friends who were on the opposite side. Those four characters were really the core of the story.
One group I really liked was the white US Ranger officer who had grown up in Japan, the Nesei sergeant who worked with him, and the officer's boyhood Japanese friends who were on the opposite side. Those four characters were really the core of the story.
March 7, 2023
This was a good and emotional read. Ever since I learned about Operation Downfall, I have always wanted to read a book about what it would look like if an invasion of Japan happened in WWII. But whenever I do search for alternate history books about it, all I ever get are books about the opposite of what I'm looking for; alternate history books about what would happen if the Axis won WWII. Maybe I just haven't searched hard enough, so when I discovered The Burning Mountain and Death is Lighter than a Feather after trying again using different keywords, I was excited. And The Burning Mountain was just the kind of book I was searching for. The book isn't perfect, but what book ever is. Despite some minor issues I had with the book, like the underwhelming ending, I would say that The Burning Mountain is a solid and emotional book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading.
February 14, 2025
Alternative history is not easy to write, so kudos to any author that seriously attempts it, and especially on a subject as brutal and difficult as Operation Coronet. I will say some of the history is dated, and I felt a bit underwhelmed about the author's telling of the Kyushu invasion for Operation Olympic, but it was a good try.
There was a lot left to be desired, a very unnecessary scene towards the end, and I didn't find any of the characters to be particularly intriguing. The scale of the fighting, I think, was done pretty well, and the savagery of the fighting was appropriate.
There was a lot left to be desired, a very unnecessary scene towards the end, and I didn't find any of the characters to be particularly intriguing. The scale of the fighting, I think, was done pretty well, and the savagery of the fighting was appropriate.
January 4, 2026
Read this many years ago and this time around it was just as good. Based on actual plans of the Japanese and allies, Coppel explores the grim what if story where the allies invade Japan. Very well written and the story never flags. One of Coppel's themes is about war's terrible ironies.
December 30, 2019
I found the story ugly and hard to believe.
July 29, 2021
Just OK. A fun "what if" alternative history of WWII in the Pacific theater.
June 2, 2022
Yazar yazmış yazmış güzel detaylandırmış ama karakterlerin bazı noktaları boşta kalmış sanki kitap giderken bir noktada sıkılıp sonlandırmış.
October 31, 2022
Fun read on an alternate history theme. OK, character development.
April 13, 2018
An alt-history novel of Operation Coronet, the Allied invasion of Japan set for March 1, 1946, cancelled after Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In this fictional account, the bombs didn't drop and first Operation Olympic, Nov. 1, 1945, had established American forces and air bases on Kyushu, Japan's southern island. This novel covers the invasion of the Japanese homeland itself, with Coronet landing U.S. soldiers and Marines, hundreds of thousands of them, near Tokyo, and the Japanese gathering up thousands of suicide aircraft, mostly obsolete trainers, and millions of soldiers -- and civilians with bamboo spears -- to send into hopeless battle.
Historically, it follows what both sides had planned. Most of the characters are individuals who appear in vignettes, land, sea and air, on both sides, most of them dying in the carnage. Coppel does give the sense of a vast slaughter, and the personalities of the leaders, MacArthur, Nimitz, Truman, Tojo, the Emperor, trying to guide events. Mostly it's a formulaic mix of strategy and people caught up in the spectacle, mostly sketchy characters. There's a romantic love story between an American Army translator and a Japanese woman he had known before the war, but it stretches belief. It's a massive, vivid, but by-the-numbers meatgrinder, an early alt-history (publ. 1983) genre that has had much newer, and better work since.
Historically, it follows what both sides had planned. Most of the characters are individuals who appear in vignettes, land, sea and air, on both sides, most of them dying in the carnage. Coppel does give the sense of a vast slaughter, and the personalities of the leaders, MacArthur, Nimitz, Truman, Tojo, the Emperor, trying to guide events. Mostly it's a formulaic mix of strategy and people caught up in the spectacle, mostly sketchy characters. There's a romantic love story between an American Army translator and a Japanese woman he had known before the war, but it stretches belief. It's a massive, vivid, but by-the-numbers meatgrinder, an early alt-history (publ. 1983) genre that has had much newer, and better work since.
August 16, 2014
Very good alternate history book about Operation Coronet and the invasion of Japan without the use of nuclear weapons. The action is well paced and interesting and the author clearly did some research into the plans drawn up by both the American and Japanese militaries. Most of the characters are quit good, however the story arc centered around the Japanese-educated American Ranger Lieutenant is frankly 1) poorly handled 2) poorly developed 3) abruptly concluded and 4) completely illogical. Certainly all characters develop and change but this particularly is fairly normal until halfway through when he basically drops off an emotional cliff and completely changes. Other than that, great book.
February 4, 2017
An excellent alternate history on when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Japan... or should I say did not drop it. A thunderstorm damages one of only two atomic weapons in the American arsenal. It will take time to rebuild it and there are those who are second guessing whether it would be good for humanity to unleash such a violent weapon. Instead, Truman decided to launch an invasion of Japan instead.
Using actual historical documents, Alfred Coppel pieces together the American offensive as well as how Japan would have defended itself if this had been the actual history of the end of the second World War.
Using actual historical documents, Alfred Coppel pieces together the American offensive as well as how Japan would have defended itself if this had been the actual history of the end of the second World War.
May 12, 2011
This is a fascinating novel, based on actual war plans, for what would have happened had the Atomic Bomb not been ready and the US would have invaded Japan. For those who'd like to argue that dropping the bomb was unnecessary, this is a well-written answer.
November 22, 2014
The historical part is well-researched and exciting. The "romantic", personal aspects are stilted and not very believable. I wish the author had avoided the sappy love story aspect and just concentrated on the more non-fictional issues dealing with the invasion of Japan.
September 5, 2011
Well enough written, just to sad to reread
August 28, 2016
Alternative fiction account of the 1946 invasion of Japan. Fascinating. At times I had to remind myself this was fiction.
April 19, 2017
I picked up this book from a bargain bin at a book exchange and it was my first encounter with Alfred Coppel's work. What and eye opener! It's absolutely brilliant in it's portrayal of alternate history. It draws you in and you actually have to keep reminding yourself that it's fiction. It's one book I wish I hadn't loaned to a friend as it never came back. It caused me to seek out anything else I could find by this author and I'm still looking.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews