Book Hangover

I'm currently experiencing a book hangover, having just torn through Jo Walton's "Small Change" series.


Highly recommended alternate history with the premise that the British signed a peace accord with the Nazis in mid-1941. The books take place in 1948-49 and 1960.

This is almost exactly the same ground covered by the more recent book Dominion, which I also happened to read recently. It was good, but Walton's books are better.

The first book, Farthing, is like a Downton Abbey police procedural (with fascists). The Scotland Yard investigator introduced in that book continues in the other two stories, alternating point-of-view chapters with a different female main character in each book.

Walton has a light touch as she explores what it is about us humans that makes us look away instead of standing up as our society is taken over by all that is wrong. Analogies to our current situation came to mind of climate denialism, as well as the more obvious ones about terrorism and civil liberties.

And finally, just a note of appreciation for the books' titles. They're integral to the stories, despite the tidiness of the progression.

No wonder Walton has become one of the biggest names in current science fiction.