Finished WINTER OF THE WORLD

As I loved Fall of Giants, I also loved seeing WWII through the eyes of the children of the main characters of that first book.  It allowed us to see the war through the eyes of people involved in most countries in the European theatre and Americans involved in the Pacific, but no Japanese.  What I found especially poignant was the order things happened in Nazi Germany in light of what is going on in the world today.  The first people attacked were reporters (other dissenters were also attacked, but publications were attacked and shut down in a much more universal way.)  Second, we see it okay to kill and legislate against homosexuals.  Third, "burdens to the people"-- the mentally and physically handicapped as well as the elderly were put to death--first those who were Jewish, then everyone.  Next Jews were universally attacked.  Although the Nazis were originally brought to power by an agreement of freedom of religion and non-intervention with the Catholics, they were also attacked.  Of course prisoners of war, especially Russians, were brutalized as well.  Most average Germans never knew of the mass killings until the end of the war because the only news there were getting was what the Nazis wanted them to hear.



The trilogy will continue in Edge of Eternity which will, I am sure, chronicle the continuing lives of the families in the first two books as they cope with the Cold War.  I was surprised--though I know much more about the second world war than I had about the first, I still found the book very informative and "edge of my seat" reading.

I have now started Cerulean Sins by Laurell K. Hamilton, another Anita Blake book.  Jean Claude has a very scary visitor and Anita is up to her elbows in work, it being Hallowe'en.  And, of course, her relationships remain complicated.  These books are very quick to get into....