The Weser River is a popular climax point in World War III fiction. The reason for this was the importance of the river to NATO’s defensive plans and the Warsaw Pact’s offensive designs. Major rivers serve as valuable stop points for defenders and critical avenues of advance for heavy maneuver forces. The current war in Ukraine has demonstrated this over and over.
In World War 1990: The Weser, NATO forces face a crucial moment at the Weser River. A massive Soviet attack is coming soon. If the enemy manages to rupture NATO lines and conduct a breakthrough the war will be essentially over. There will be nothing between 3rd Shock Army, other Soviet army groups and the Rhine River. So, in this critical hour NATO decides to attack instead of defend and hopefully turn the tide of the war in its favor. Gutsy call by SACEUR (who was our old friend General Galvin 😊).
Also, a very gutsy move by Stroock to make the NATO counteroffensive the centerpiece of this entire book. It’s natural for authors to bite off more than they can chew. I’ve been there often enough. In the case of Stroock and this book, if he had not been able to stretch out the counteroffensive narrative far enough the result might’ve been a writer’s nightmare; 100+ empty pages and nothing of substance to fill them with. Fortunately, the author managed to avoid this. The counteroffensive covered the majority of pages with no trouble, leaving just enough space to tie up loose ends with a few subplots that Stroock threw in for good measure.
It’s no secret I’m not a fan of the style used by the author in the World War 1990 series. However, I will admit he did a few things right with The Weser. Most significant is the storytelling element. Whether you’re a fan or not, it is clear The Weser is built around a strong story and Stroock develops the plot well. The development to presentation phase might’ve left some room for improvement, but the improvement from earlier books in the series is obvious. So, in that regard, Stroock is moving in the right direction.
Overall, The Weser is not a book I would pay full retail for. But since it is available on Kindle Unlimited, I had no qualms with downloading this book and reading it from cover to cover. I am interested to see where the series goes from here and how long it will be until the next World War 1990 book is released. I’m aware the author has a number of projects on the front burner right now, so I am willing to wait a bit. I’m thrilled to see that he’s moving in the right direction and I’m eager to see where the series, and Strook’s overall writing will take us next.
Author’s Note: We’ll wrap up the Backfires on Monday and then take a look at some Third World War losses at sea before taking a deeper look at another aspect of D+24. – Mike, AKA Amish-6 😊
Third World War 1987 