Weapons of Choice (Axis of Time, #1) in Aussie Readers

Mar 06, 2010 Michelle O'flynn rated it it was amazing

John Birmingham has lived the kind of life shared by many drop-kicks in Australia, and I am proudly one of them, although being female, have not shared some of his bawdy sexual frolics. This author now takes us into another territory altogether, demonstrating his vast talent as a great story teller. Mixing a bit of sci-fi with a war thriller, John has created a very different outcome for WW2 in the future, great strong characters who evoke their different cultures with accuracy and at times grea John Birmingham has lived the kind of life shared by many drop-kicks in Australia, and I am proudly one of them, although being female, have not shared some of his bawdy sexual frolics. This author now takes us into another territory altogether, demonstrating his vast talent as a great story teller. Mixing a bit of sci-fi with a war thriller, John has created a very different outcome for WW2 in the future, great strong characters who evoke their different cultures with accuracy and at times great humour. Can't wait to read all the series.

If any of you are fans of John Birmingham, then this venture will surprise you. He is normally known for riotous tales of student share-house living and marijuana induced mishaps, such as “He died with a Felafel in his Hand”, and “The Tasmanian Babes Fiasco”, but this work is definitely a huge step from that. His other novel “Leviathan” shows yet another side to this multi-facetted author, who is so Australian that perhaps he should have been the one selling “shrimps on the barbie” except I suspect he just wouldn’t do it.

His former employment as a research officer with the Department of Defence Office of Special Clearances and Records has afforded Birmingham a plethora of sources for the knowledge and imagination he displays in this futuristic war epic.

It is 2021 and Australia has a contingent of vessels lying off the coast of East Timor with various allies in the vicinity. Allies such as the US, Japan, Britain, France and Indonesia. One of the vessels is a research vessel conducting secret experiments that inevitably is the cause of all things wrong. A massive explosion results in some ships being destroyed including the research vessel, and the disappearance of all the others.

As the crews recover they are stunned to realise that they are now looking at a night sky, and in the midst of World War 2, at Midway no less, and being bombarded by ‘friendly’ fire, from war veterans who have never seen ships the likes of these, or helicopters or any of the modern weaponry.

As the leaders from the allied forces both 1942 vintage and futuristic 2021 realise the implications of this major event, an agreement is made that the modern ‘warfarers’ may indeed turn the tide against the Axis command. So command and crew members from 2021 with their modern take on equality, race, gender and sexuality are forced to co-exist with people who are yet to confront these major societal changes.

Birmingham shows a keen hand in juxtaposing these values and beliefs in a very realistic context, and reveals an inkling of the depth of his skills.

This adventure is full of the testosterone that the guys will love, and while I am not normally a war aficionado, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Some of the techno-terms for the boy-toy weapons did get me a little glazed around the eyes, but not so much to faze me as my reading galloped along to the end.
...more

Like · see review