The Man with the Iron Heart is the latest book from author Harry Turtledove. Harry Turtledove is the master of “alternate history”, a rather niche genre, but one that I find fascinating. Those who are fans of Turtledove and the genre in general should be able to jump right into this book and enjoy it. Those who are new to the genre might need a bit of an introduction.

The basic premise of most alternate history novels is that somewhere, at some point in our history something changed, and like the butterfly flapping its wings the effects reverberate across history, changing its course. These changes are called “points of departure” (PODs) in alternate history terminology, and in The Man with the Iron Heart the point of departure is the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich a Nazi SS officer who in our timeline was killed by Czech assassins in 1942 but in the book survives as a result of a machine gun jam.

Shaken by his brush with death, Heydrich sees what others do not – that Hitler’s Reich is overextended and doomed. However, with knowledge of how much trouble Soviet fighters and partisans are causing the Wechtermat in the East he starts planning for a similair resistance against the soon-to-be victorious Allies. The result is Iraq in Europe – car bombs, suicide bombers, antiwar protestors, and hijackings. Turtledove works in many references to current politics and issues – one that stuck out for me was when the Secretary of State in the Truman administration makes a reference to American troops staying in Germany for 40 years, which immediately becomes a favorite soundbite of the antiwar movement.

The book deftly explores the ideas and questions that dog us every step of the way in Iraq – what does the phrase “wartime” mean? How far should we be willing to go when fighting terrorists? When is it time to cut our losses and leave? The different setting and context serves two purposes here: it allows the book to stay ideologically neutral by staying away from direct current affairs, and it allows the author to change the situation slightly from what is actually happening in Iraq, exposing new angles on contemporary issues.

The writing, as in all of Turtledove’s novels is clear, crisp, and straightforward. Don’t come to this book expecting beautifully formed sentences and artsy metaphors – the writing is clearly subordinate to the story. One thing that deserves mention is Turtledove’s signature writing style. He has multiple point of view characters, and the narration switches between them each character in third person narrative. The result is a sweeping view that includes politicans, journalists, housewives, and soldiers on the ground, each giving their insight into their world.

Overall, this is a great book, and a great story. I would recommend it both for the story and the questions it raises, and as an introduction to the author and genre as a whole. A word of warning though: this is a book that is full of profanity and obscenities, a large part of it in dialogue, but Turtledove’s characters are adults, and they do find themselves in adult situations. It didn’t bother me much, but consider yourself warned. Still, far from detracting from the book, I think that the dialogue adds to it, giving a layer of authenticity to the interactions between characters, showing us that though they may be in a world completely different from our own they are not very different from ourselves. If you are at all interested in World War 2, counterterrorism, insurgency, or just historical fiction in general pick this book up. You won’t regret it