Clash of wars is right on target; THRILLER: [First Edition]

Abstract

BOOK REVIEW: DESIGNATED TARGETS: WORLD WAR 2.2, John Birmingham, Pan Macmillan, $30

BOOK REVIEW: DESIGNATED TARGETS: WORLD WAR 2.2, John Birmingham, Pan Macmillan, $30

ACCORDING to the literature on middle-child syndrome, No. 2 tends to be a loner, an underachiever, and unhappy. So for John Birmingham, as Australia's foremost comedic author (He Died With a Felafel in His Hand, The Tasmanian Babes Fiasco) making the move into blockbuster fiction, and with an incredibly dense introduction as last year's Weapons of Choice: World War 2.1 to measure up to, this follow-up must have been daunting.

Thus, it is exciting to say that he has risen to the challenge: World War 2.2 succeeds wonderfully.

The first book began in 2021 as a US-led multinational taskforce anchored off East Timor was about to launch an attack against Islamic jihadists who had overthrown the government of Indonesia. When a research vessel in the fleet sets off an experimental weapon, the fleet is accidentally transported in time to 1942. The possibilities that such a scenario trigger are seemingly boundless, and the biggest chore facing the writer would appear to be containing them. Birmingham has admitted as much: "My fear is the trilogy isn't long enough, that it'll need five or six books to work it through," he says.

Apart from the richness of the storyline itself, just some of the underlying currents sweeping it along include the cultural clashes of 2021 (ie today), militant Islam versus Western civilisation, and the values of today colliding with those of 1942. In 2021 the world has been at war for 20 years, pretty much since September 11, 2001. For the people of 1942, war has raged for three years and, apart from their technology, these people from the future bring an attitude to armed conflict that is appalling in its detachment. It is one of Birmingham's key themes: "What would happen to us - as it probably will - if we fight a war on terror and it just gets worse and worse for the next 20 years," he says.

As the story continues, Germany, Japan and the Soviet Union have obtained access to ships from 2021. Hitler, Stalin and Yamamoto have read the archival material and know how World War II is supposed to play out, and are determined to change history. Japan has invaded Australia, pushing as far as Bundaberg. MacArthur and Curtin lead the defence from Brisbane. Meanwhile, Churchill and Roosevelt are desperately trying to counter Germany's imminent invasion of England and Japan's move on Hawaii. In the US, Hoover unleashes his FBI to undermine the efforts of the 2021 people as they threaten his own power.

Some of the other key players include the courageous British commando Prince Harry Windsor and dashing US naval officer John F. Kennedy. Other lesser figures include SAS demolition specialists Piers Akerman and Andrew Bolt.

As a difficult middle child, this clearly is a place-setter for book three. There's action aplenty but for the most part the tension builds to explosive levels without much release. Nevertheless, Birmingham's status as a leading action-adventure novelist continues to grow.