Weapons of Choice by John Birmingham

Alternate History


I purchased Weapons of Choice at a used book sale and it has been in my TBR pile for quite a while. While I like Alternate History I do not always like military novels so I was not sure I would like the book. However, once I started reading I was hooked. It is amazing to me the amount of research an author has to do to write a book like this. In Weapons of Choice a 21st Century multinational fleet is pulled through a time warp and end up in 1942. They land right in the middle of the American force headed for the Battle of Midway. The historical detail in the first part of the book is impressive and lends to the believably of the story. The arrival of the 21st Century fleet does change history. For me part of the fascination of the book was detailing the difference 80+ years make in the social structure of the world. The war in 1942 was very different from the war in the 21st Century. Society had also changed in that time. The Navy of 1942 was all white male and the Navy of the 21st Century had women and men of all colors. These changes added an additional conflict to the story.

If you like Alternate History give this series a try.

Weapons of Choice is the first book in The Axis of Time Trilogy. Ballantine Books published Weapons of Choice by John Birmingham in 2005.

The books in the Axis of Time Trilogy are:

Weapons of Choice
Designated Targets
Final Impact