Al
asked
Chris James:
Chris, Firstly, I loved Repulse. It was a very unique idea to frame the book as a history text. As a massive fan of Max Hastings I felt it was a great way to 'take a break' from non-fiction and enjoy some good sci-fi whilst retaining a sense of education (even if it isn't real!). By the way, was General Hastings a nod to Max? I will detail my actual question in another box, as I have run out of space!
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!
More Answered Questions
Stuart Dangerfield
asked
Chris James:
Chris are we meant too start with "Repulse Europe at War" and then the 4 soon to be 5 volumes of the "Repulse Chronicles?" I am coming in cold but the subject matter interests me and as a great fan of WWIII fiction anyway I decided that my next foray would involve the obvious enemy. I began this genre as I expect many of us did with Red Storm Rising" when there was only one enemy. So what is the best order Chris?
Al
asked
Chris James:
So, I am a serving member of the British Army (infantry officer) and felt that since you did such an amazing job clearly researching the military, you may appreciate to know a few slight errors that would go a way towards adding greater realism to any further endeavours? (which I hope there are many!) There were a few words, terms, labels etc that you used I thought you might like to know? Thank you!
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