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New Review for Desperate Measures
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 Desperate Times -Pat Johnson
ISBN:0595178553 - Trade Paperback: $14.95
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What if Britain had fallen in WWII? British soldier/diplomat Harry Lloyd fights to free his homeland.
Harry Lloyd teams with characters right out of the history books to undermine the Nazis who now control his British homeland. Together with an ex-bodyguard named George, Harry goes undercover to steal the Enigma code machine for the Americans before the Germans discover it's existence. WWII was won by the allies with overwhelming industrial power, courageous soldiers and a lot of luck. This story tells us what happens if luck had differed from that which the allies enjoyed during the war years.
Excerpt
Hopkins turned to face Harry as he said: “We have very good reason to believe that you folks have improved on the Polish decoding techniques of the German Enigma ciphering machine. The intelligence derived from this is of the highest priority. It could greatly assist in countering Hitler’s moves. Unfortunately, under your current situation, you cannot take advantage of it. If Churchill is ousted, we need you to get that intelligence before the Germans realize you have it and take it from you.”
“What the hell is an Enigma machine?” a confused Harry asked.....
Read the reviews
Lynda Ochsner-: Worldhistoricalfiction.com:
Great dialogue and action adventure keeps the story moving. A simple adventure, Desperate Times features no subplots, romantic or otherwise. Women characters are few and in minor roles, and none of the characters have romantic interests. For a short novel (Desperate Times is only 160 pages) this is fine; the single-plot story would likely have been expanded to include subplots for a standard-length novel (about 300 pages or more). Historical figures enter into the action, with great dialog and involvement from many World War II names, including Mosley, Churchill, Hitler, President Roosevelt, (then-colonel) Eisenhower, Eden, and Halifax.
Why are the times so desperate, August 13, 2001
Reviewer: David N. Knudson (see more about me) from New York, NY United States
Pat Johnson's book deals with a common AH theme - a Nazi takeover of the UK in the wake of the defeat of France in 1940 - in an uncommon way - there is no SeaLion, but Britain accepts a negotiated peace. The book is told in pseudo-adventure style, with a young British civil servant embarking on a dangerous mission to soon-to-be fascist Britain to retrieve the enigma machine and the recently deposed Winston Churchill, to carry on the struggle against the Third Reich from Canada and other, still-defiant parts of the British Empire. He goes on the mission with the blessing of no less than Franklin Roosevelt, as the US gets more involved in the struggle. As a spy-adventure novel, it is an entertaining book, populated by many historical figures such as Mosley, Churchill, Hitler, Roosevelt, Eden, and Halifax. The action is concise, and well-written, and the setting in normally placid, democratic Britain being converted to fascism is eerie. My problem is with the alternate history behind the novel that led to Britain's plight. There is little indication of what changed; it is implied that Dunkirk went badly, and that the small, but modern German surface fleet controlled the Channel. This is very implausible; the German surface fleet was decimated in the Norwegian Campaign (something that still presumbably happened in this timeline); had what was left ventured out into the Channel, the Royal Navy would've blown it to the moon. All in all, however, an entertaining read.
K. dishaw, May 17, 2001,(Five Stars!)
Interesting. I am not a History or war buff, but I have enjoyed this book, held my interest and easy to read. Very good story. Can't wait for part 2
Allan David Cole, an alternate history buff., May 4, 2001, (Four Stars!)
War, speculation, action, heroes! Who needs more? For a new writer, Pat Johnson has managed to handle a tricky premise (what if WWII was different) with a straight forward approach. The tale is both believable and entertaining. His use of historical figures and facts woven into a fictional situation works. The book is easy to read (though it does have some print errors if you look hard enough). The characters beg for a sequel.
Latest Release
 Desperate
Measures -Pat Johnson
ISBN:1-59129-680-3 - Trade Paperback: $16.95
Now
available from the publisher. Walmart,
Barnes&Nobles,
Amazon,
Borders
Harry Lloyd, British diplomat and former soldier is called
upon by two of the world’s greatest leaders to penetrate German
occupied England and retrieve the greatest secret of
the war — the atomic bomb. Harry enlists the help of
his friend George Hayes to try and stop the top Nazi, SS officer
Reinhard Heydrich, from discovering the secret. Finding and
rescuing the atomic research team leads the pair into
one dangerous situation after another. Along the way
Harry is surprised to find himself falling for the sister
of the Nazi officer charged with stopping him.
Excerpt:
“Tell us, Winston, just what did happen?” Roosevelt
asked.
“We had too little left; too little aircraft, too little anti-aircraft
guns, and too little ships. We had bet it all on trying to
save France.
When they succumbed to the onslaught and fled for North Africa,
we
had little left in which to defend ourselves. They kept their
fleet in
the Mediterranean to help protect their shores and what trade
shipping they could. We lost most of our capital ships to
the aerial
bombardment during the rescue attempt at Dunkirk. I had not
taken
into account the full potential of air supremacy and the Germans
have mastered it. They used their aircraft to attack and sink
shipping
as well as to continually harass our airdromes and war factories.
“My people grew weary and hundreds of thousands were without
homes due to bombing. While your supplies were helpful, we
were
never able to get enough unloaded. Our ports lay in ruin and
transportation lines were devastated. Hungry, scared and worn,
our
people longed for any relief. Hitler’s propaganda machine
supplied
that. I did my best to rally them, but words cannot replace
food and
shelter. I failed them,” Churchill said as he shook his head
in disgust.
“We happen to know you and your colleagues did your best.
Your predecessors did not leave you with which much to fight,”
Roosevelt said with sympathy.
Churchill nodded slowly. “Have you any news as to the King
and
my colleagues?” he asked suddenly as if remembering for the
first
time that they were still trapped...
Reviews:
Desperate Measures is a fine piece of speculative
fiction/war story based on the premise of what if Hitler had
won the Battle for Britain? This book is the second of a three
part series, the first entitled Desperate Times, 0-59517-855-3
from iUniverse Publishing. We’ve used the author’s website
because of the difference in publishers. The action takes
place primarily in England, with forays into FDR’s office
in America. Churchill has had to flee England, along with
most of his ministers. The King is locked up in the Tower
of London, and the Nazis occupy the British Isles. A group
of nuclear scientists (several of them German Jews) must be
spirited out of country if The Nazis are to be overcome. All
the while, there are several major characters interacting
and with their own agendas to help and hinder that effort.
This
book is very well crafted, reading like an early W.E.B. Griffith
Brotherhood of War novel but on a smaller scale. The author’s
characters are complex in a pleasing way, showing very human
attributes and weaknesses. The setting is well done, and the
dialogue is perfect. The pace pulls the readers along, but
without jerking them. In all, this was a very pleasant read.
We rated the book five hearts.
Bob
Spear
Publisher and Chief Reviewer
Heartland Reviews
410 Delaware
Leavenworth, KS 66048
bobspear@lvnworth.com
http://www.heartlandreviews.com
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