From Harry Turtledove, the master of alternate history, comes After the Downfall, a novel of magic, epic warfare, and desperate choices. 1945: Russian troops have entered Berlin, and are engaged in a violent orgy of robbery, rape, and revenge. Wehrmacht officer Hasso Pemsel, a career soldier on the losing end of the greatest war in history, flees from a sniper's bullet, finding himself hurled into a mysterious, fantastic world of wizards, dragons, and unicorns. There he allies himself with the blond-haired, blue-eyed Lenelli, and Velona, their goddess in human form, offering them his knowledge of warfare and weaponry in their genocidal struggle against a race of diminutive, swarthy barbarians known as Grenye. But soon, the savagery of the Lenelli begins to eat at Hasso Pemsel's soul, causing him to question everything he has long believed about race and Reich, right and wrong, Ubermenschen and Untermenschen. Hasso Pemsel will learn the difference between following orders... and following his conscience.
Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a *New York Times* bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.
An ancient relic flings Germany army captain Hasso Pemsel from the ruins of doomed Berlin to a fantastic though also war-torn other world. There he falls among the tall, blond Lenelli and in love with their goddess incarnate, Velona. At first he willingly helps the Lenelli in their war against the short, dark, barbarian Grenye, but soon he sees that his friends are making the same mistakes that the Third Reich did in its death-duel with the Russians. He knows where that course leads. After the Grenye capture him, it becomes even clearer to him that any war of extermination is a bad idea, but this one is especially so because Velona uses her magic to try to terminate him for sleeping with Grenye women. When he genuinely falls for one of the latter, the die is cast. He develops gunpowder, equips the Grenye with dragon-bone amulets to resist enemy magic, and discovers wizardly powers of his own. Modest by Turtledove’s standards but intelligently carried out. --Roland Green
Description:
From Harry Turtledove, the master of alternate history, comes After the Downfall, a novel of magic, epic warfare, and desperate choices.
1945: Russian troops have entered Berlin, and are engaged in a violent orgy of robbery, rape, and revenge. Wehrmacht officer Hasso Pemsel, a career soldier on the losing end of the greatest war in history, flees from a sniper's bullet, finding himself hurled into a mysterious, fantastic world of wizards, dragons, and unicorns. There he allies himself with the blond-haired, blue-eyed Lenelli, and Velona, their goddess in human form, offering them his knowledge of warfare and weaponry in their genocidal struggle against a race of diminutive, swarthy barbarians known as Grenye. But soon, the savagery of the Lenelli begins to eat at Hasso Pemsel's soul, causing him to question everything he has long believed about race and Reich, right and wrong, Ubermenschen and Untermenschen. Hasso Pemsel will learn the difference between following orders... and following his conscience.
Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a *New York Times* bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.
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### From Publishers Weekly
Alternate historian Turtledove (*The Man with the Iron Heart*) opens this fantasy with Hasso Pemsel, a tough Wehrmacht captain, cornered in a Berlin museum as the Russians close in. Pemsel falls into another world, where he promptly rescues beautiful blonde half-goddess Velona from three swarthy men. Velona seduces him and explains that the blond Lenelli invaders rule over the dark native Grenye, keeping them subjugated with magic. Experienced from fighting on the Russian front, Hasso brings modern military ideas to the Lenelli before they invade the Grenye stronghold of Bucovin, but when the Grenye capture him, conversations with intelligent, lovely high priestess Drepteaza start to erode his assumptions about both races. Pemsel's slow enlightenment breaks no new ground, but his story will appeal to fans of Turtledove's straightforward style and military know-how. *(Dec.)*
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### From Booklist
An ancient relic flings Germany army captain Hasso Pemsel from the ruins of doomed Berlin to a fantastic though also war-torn other world. There he falls among the tall, blond Lenelli and in love with their goddess incarnate, Velona. At first he willingly helps the Lenelli in their war against the short, dark, barbarian Grenye, but soon he sees that his friends are making the same mistakes that the Third Reich did in its death-duel with the Russians. He knows where that course leads. After the Grenye capture him, it becomes even clearer to him that any war of extermination is a bad idea, but this one is especially so because Velona uses her magic to try to terminate him for sleeping with Grenye women. When he genuinely falls for one of the latter, the die is cast. He develops gunpowder, equips the Grenye with dragon-bone amulets to resist enemy magic, and discovers wizardly powers of his own. Modest by Turtledove’s standards but intelligently carried out. --Roland Green