The Proteus Operation

This is an exciting time-travel story with various surprises in store as you progress through it. The plot extends across three different time periods and three different versions of history, but it's primarily concerned with the early part of the Second World War. However, the story is not about military combat, but about time travel and undercover operations. Despite the Nazi menace that hangs over it all, the book is not a depressing experience, it's on the whole upbeat, and it has a satisfying ending.

I've read only some of Hogan's books, but this is my clear favourite of the ones I've read. I think he did an impressive job on the alternative history and on the plot, and even a relatively good job on the characterization (not usually one of his strengths).

I'm tempted to give it five stars, as I've been rereading it periodically for a long time, and always enjoy it. However, the text is sometimes a bit too heavy with information dumps—about history, about nuclear physics, and about time-travel theory. You can skim over that stuff if you don't appreciate it, but you should be warned about it. Furthermore, although the characterization is varied and agreeable, it remains rather sketchy.

I'm annoyed that this book is still not available for Kindle, so I have to read it on paper in the old-fashioned way.