Freedom... just a word?

Someone said that the FRG is "the most free state ever to exist on German soil" (I would dispute that, but lets just roll with it for now), and that the West as it is happens to be the most free place on Earth. It must be a sad state of meaning of the word "freedom" then when the for the second time in a row Germany made the No. 1 spot in Google's Transparency Report. In the first half of 2011, no other country on Earth has demanded more webpages to be shut down or deleted than the Federal Republic of Germany. In 127 cases, Germany demanded a total of more than 2,400 entries to be deleted.

Just to put that into perspective: paragorns of virtue such as Communist China during the same time span asked for the same in only 3 cases and 121 entries. Both Germany and the USA outdo China in their efforts to control and shutdown content on the web they deem improper for the uncouth masses.

Yeah, freedom. Looking at it from this angle, only property rights seem to distinguish us from China now, and even there I can no longer be certain. At least I don't see the Chinese throwing out hundreds of billions of Yuan to bail out Nepal or Burma...

The Sad State of the German Ebook Market

Don't worry, this is less me moaning and more me being somewhat amused. Wolf Hunt has continually been in the Top 100 of the English-language books in the category "War" on Amazon's German portal. And while I'm happy to be there, take this as an indicator for your own prospects on the German ebook market: I sold 3 copies there in October. Three copies was enough to catapult me into the Top 100.

Amazing Amazon Review for Wolf Hunt

Fellow author William Peter Grasso graced Wolf Hunt with a wonderful review. Thank you so much, William!

I deeply regret it took me so long to complete the reading of this fine book, but life does tend to get in the way sometimes. It's a very long work--actually two novels seamlessly tied into one--and it's only the first part of a series from the very fertile mind of Mr. Breit.

Wolf Hunt covers many genres, and the genre that will predominate to you as the reader will depend on your literary preferences. It can be called science fiction, alternate historical fiction, war, adventure, political commentary--and it covers all this ground in a most intelligent fashion. To me, it was primarily a work of alternate historical fiction, as Breit foreshadows the political and military alliances of 2024, then thrusts those paradigms back to 1940--in a very science fiction way--to alter the course of world history as we currently profess to know it. He does all this very believably...and with a very human touch.

I suffered one handicap as I read: I'm not a great fan of science fiction (as Mr. Breit obviously is). Much of his writing style is greatly influenced by sci-fi. I struggled to grasp the significance of terms like "uptimer" and "downtimer" (thinking this had more to do with the productive time of systems rather than to describe time-travelers). This is my shortcoming, not the writer's.

There are two areas where I feel Breit's writing really shines: the political realm and military technology. Whether you agree with his analysis or not, his portrayal of past and future political realities shows a deep study of this arena. While the military hardware of 2024 is, for the most part, already in development, Breit's understanding of its strengths--and weaknesses, against even inferior technologies--makes the war fiction buff in me smile.

I found it amusing that some reviewers chose to criticize Mr. Breit's written English, with its occasional, unusual word choices (Breit is German). All I can say to them is I have read many indie works by native English speakers whose command of written English did not begin to approach Mr. Breit's.

I eagerly look forward to the next edition in "The Burning Ages" series.

New Interview by William Peter Grasso

The author of the excellent East Wind Returns... well, returns with an interview over at Underground Book Reviews about his past, recent and coming projects. Do yourselves a favor and check it out. William talks about the origin of East Wind Returns, about his own life, about his newest novel Unpunished (I highly suggest you get both Unpunished and East Wind Returns, each available at only .99 cents - and easily worth ten times as much), who did his cover art, and what he's got in store for us readers in the future.

Numb

Is it because in my mind I've already created the very future that Europe seems to be stumbling into that news like this do no longer surprise or shock me?

When Anders Breivik shot or blew up more than 80 people, many of them members of a socialist youth camp, was my first reaction "Oh my God, how horrible?"

No, it wasn't. The sad fact is: not only did I not really care, I thought "It was just a matter of time until someone analyzes the socio-political circumstances of our day and age and uses violence as the only option left." 

I do neither condone Breivik's path nor the means he used - but they do not surprise me the least. I have spent much of the past year trying to put myself into the heads of very complicated people. Breivik's deed, Breivik's rationale really don't surprise me. They are based on a murderously cold and -  to him - impeccable logic rooted in the analysis of the situation: if my enemy is cultural marxism and multiculturalism, what if not eliminating many of the sole offsprings of that very elite, ie. the coming future elite, is the most logical step?

Nuka Break

Maybe a little bit still in the spirit of last week - during which I spent my free hours playing Fallout: New Vegas - I'd like to draw your attention to a great webseries set in the Fallout universe: Fallout - Nuka Break.

Here's the pilot episode, a 16 minute movie with great props and love for detail.

And here's Episode 1!

Well, they seem to be looking for people doing the subtitles in other languages, so I offered my humble help for the German subtitles. Guys could at least have responded to my mail...

Talking to my Readers

Well, after a much-needed stint exploring the wastelands of New Vegas and the Mojave desert (or simply: playing Fallout: New Vegas) I've come around to react to and answer some of the comments and questions YOU sent me via the comments' form. I apologize for not doing so earlier, and I would like to give a hearty thanks primarily to Timo, Vallon and Ken (I can't really add anything to what you said: I agree, and you made your point perfectly). I appreciate your feedback!

Let's get started, shall we?

The idea of having someone go back in time isn't exactly new.

True enough. While the greatest similarities in the basic plot of Wolf Hunt can probably be found in Birmingham's Axis of Time trilogy (multinational modern ships sent back to WW2), the concept of time travel in that sense is all over the place. There's S.M. Stirling's Island in the Sea of Time, Eric Flint's 1632 series, there's the anime series Zipang, there's the movie The Final Countdown. Ironically, I did pay hommage to the one series I did not finish, and which these others all predated: Birmingham's Axis of Time (I never read past the initial battle in Weapons of Choice).

In Wolf Hunt, the American main fleet which the flotilla from Portsmouth is sent to meet with is led by an Admiral Birmingham, and later in the novel, when the interned Americans present a military simulation to the FBI and the military intelligence services holding them, one comments that the conclusion of that very simulation was very much like a 21st century fleet stomping an technologically inferior enemy.

There's that neat "1" on the cover of the paperback. I assume there will be a "2"?

Yes, there will be a two, and hopefully also a "3" and a "4" and a "5". The "2" is already in the works, labeled Clash of Eagles.

Any chance that Rommel will be in the second book? Will he be part of the Anti-Nazi faction as they take on the remnants of the party and their followers?

Rommel will be featured, but not in a leading role. I've got the feeling he's been in every WW2 alternate history novel I ever got my hands on; he has his uses, but in Clash of Eagles the Wehrmacht officer featured the most prominently will be F.E. von Manstein.

Have you ever thought of doing a graphic novel version of The Burning Ages books? 

Naturally, that is an intriguing idea, and I would love to see such a venture. However, to put it bluntly, that's something neither in my artistic nor in my financial reach.  

If there is an artist interested in drawing scenes from the book, he or she has my blessing and my support, and who knows, maybe something does evolve from such a start.

Will the New Germany join the Americans and British in the war against Japan?

No. The New Germany's relationship with regards to the Empire of Japan will be very ambiguous. Germany's relation with Nat. China had been very good throughout the 1920s and 1930s, and the Japanese are very much the Nazis of the Far East at that point. Still, it'll be one of many instances where I intend to confront the well-intentioned enthusiasm that lead to the end of the first novel with the realities of the international situation. I think the quote I have in my manuscript notes goes something like this:

"Even a mad dog can be useful when it's bound to sink its teeth in the right pound of flesh."

How will the war with the Japanese play out in this alternate world?

There will be some sweeping changes in the way history in the Pacific plays out, since basically every side will have some future knowledge at hand. Book 3, whose working title is The Dragons' Gambit, concentrates primarily on the Far East and the Americans. It takes place around the same time as Clash of Eagles (which features Europe and the Germans).

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That's that for now. Please feel free to contact me with your questions, comments and criticism. That's what the comments' form is there for. :)

Journey Quest

The great guys of Dead Gentlemen Productions and Zombie Orpheus Entertainment have become a staple of indie and geek entertainment with their The Gamers (1 & 2) feature films and the Journey Quest web series. Now, they need our help to get Season 2 of Journey Quest up and running, and since I like indie efforts and love what these guys have been doing, I'm helping to get the word out!