In Final Impact
When this final volume opens, two years have passed since the Transition (as the Allied Forces refer to it) and the world is a very different place. While much of the advanced technology of the “uptimers” fell into the hands of the Americans and British, enough of it was acquired by the Germans, Japanese, and Russians to make it clear that the world is going to be a far more dangerous place than it was in our universe.
And that, by and large, is the story that Final Impact tells. While the focus is on the defeat of the Nazi’s and Japanese in the beginning of the novel, gradually the story shifts to what to do about the post-war World and how to deal with a Soviet Union that will end World War II in a far more advantgeous position than it did in the original time line.
In between, Birmingham continues his theme of showing the differences and similarities between the uptimers and the “temps.” We get more hints about what the pre-Transition world was like for the uptimers; hints at wars in the Middle East, Far East, and even with the Chinese that have turned Admiral Kohlhammer and those who serve under him into what they are.
This is the final volume in Birmingham’s original trilogy, but there are rumors of additional books to come.
