Days of Infamy was an easy read for me. I finished it in two sittings, which isn’t bad for a tome that runs 440 pages in hardcover. The premise – Japan following up the air attack on Hawaii with a land invasion, is a fascinating one. Turtledove develops a palatable chain of events the could and probably would have happened had such an attack occurred. His characters are compelling, and he tells the story from the viewpoint of both Japanese and American characters, as well as throwing in some others for a nice potpourri. Imagine Hawaii with a king – I won’t say anymore to keep from spoiling the tale.
I think that Mr. Turtledove probably understated the brutality of the Japanese a little bit. If you read this book and don’t already have a firm understanding of what did happen in World War II, then read about the Rape of Nanking. Days of Infamy does address the sheer brutality of Japanese troops during World War II, but barely begins to touch on the scale of the brutality. The main characters in the book are spared watching their wives and children raped and murdered in orgies of what I would call unrestrained evil. Massacres with knives, swords and bayonets are absent in this imagined invasion of Hawaii, although the Japanese are cruel and harsh as conquerers.
Perhaps the lack of massacres is a realistic one. The Japanese left foreigners in China mostly unmolested as they pillaged the land they conquered. Centuries of animosity between Japan and China might have been one of the reasons for the wholescale slaughters of Chinese. Having read other Harry Turtledove alternate history novels, I know that he does meticulous research and believe he has written a fairly realistic what-if book in this case as well.
What’s great about this "novel" is that it kept me spellbound throughout the invasion and up until the climactic naval air battle in the last chapter. What’s not great about this tome is that nowhere on the jacket are readers told that that book is the first in a series. It sucked me in without being honest and that irritates me. The book ends without wrapping up the surviving characters stories.
Two of the main characters, artillery officer Fletcher Armitage and his ex-wife Jane are in limbo as the book ends. Fletcher is slowly dying of starvation in a POW camp as Jane grows her own vegetables and worries about being raped by occupying Japanese troops. And another character, introduced halfway through the book, Joe Crosetti, is still flying trainer planes stateside on his journey to become a naval aviator. There are plenty of other characters whose stories are left unfinished as the book ends.
Clearly, the book is part of a series. I liked the first installment enough to buy the second to find out what happens to the remaining characters. I don’t appreciate not being told I’d have to invest another $50 to do so. If a book is part of a series, then the cover should tell you so.
Days of Infamy is an excellent read. It’s well researched and the descriptions of men and machines are detailed and highly interesting. The characters feel real to me, and I wrote a four year weekly column about World War II while on active duty in the Marine Corps, so I probably have a better education about World War II than most who might be interested in this book and the ones that follow. Highly recommended for those who enjoy reading for the pure pleasure of reading, and for those who don’t mind getting a little history lesson out of their novels.