Triumph

By Ben Bova

Book Overview

As 1945 grinds on and the war in Europe draws to its bloody close, the Allied forces look warily at the post-war world and at each other. Once the war is over, who will control Berlin, and the future? Ben Bova boldly revises history in this compelling novel that tells of a covert operation against Stalin.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312853599
• ISBN13: 9780312853594
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 253 Pages
• Weight: 0.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.8" x 5.7"

Customer Reviews

Good book

This is a great book about WW II. More a spi book then a soldier book. Well worth your money.

Tightly written and easy to read

A very nicely written novel. Triumph, by Ben Bova, does not attempt to paint detailed character maps or development. What the book does is take characters we are already familiar with, i.e. Stalin, Roosevelt, etc, or those that we can immediately relate to and use them to tell a tightly scripted tale.This is not a traditional fiction novel or even a traditional alternate history tale. This book covers a very few days, about one month, and explores how events in April 1945 would have changed if Franklin Roosevelt had not died in mid April but Stalin had. The book is not as concerned with story telling as plausibility.Triumph is a relatively short, tightly written book that I recommend with no reservations.

Bova's 'What If' of an Allied Victory in WWII

Ben Bova's novel, 'Triumph,' is a look at just how the closing days of World War Two could have been different if Stalin had not survived to enslave Eastern Europe. April, 1945: Winston Churchill, fearing the coming cold war with Soviet Russia, gives an order that will change history- the assassination of Josef Stalin. The events that follow from this fantastic decision alter the course of the war slightly, but very definatly. Bova's use of historical characters is first rate. From General George S. Patton seeking a way to beat the Russians to Berlin, to an insane Adolf Hitler hidden in his bunker, to Franklin Roosevelt overseeing the final victory, to a young Yuri Gagarin with dreams of traveling to the stars, this a fun and interesting look at what might have been.

Satisfying End-of-WW2 Alternate History

Cliches can't be avoided here--this is a page-turner. Bova's point of divergence is original: Instead of Roosevelt dying in April 1945, Stalin does--at the instigation of Churchill. From this premise, Bova posits (and answers) several intriguing questions: Who will succeed Stalin? Will the Soviets figure out how Stalin died, and if so, how will they react? Will the Western Allies be more receptive to a compromise peace proposed by Goering, or will they try to take Berlin instead?Bova deftly handles these scenarios and brings the (relatively) short novel to a convincing and believable conclusion. It was well worth the money in hardcover, and alternate history fans should snap it up in paperback. It is a worthy addition to any serious AH collection.