Ok, so having read Agent Lavender, I figured I'd give a review of it. Now, normally I'd put it in my review thread, but since it's an SLP book, I decided to make a new one here (I may make later SLP reviews in this thread too). It's a very good book, even for a filthy ignorant Yankee with little knowledge of 1970s British politics like me.
However, I'm very critical even of stuff I like, so I might as well state my criticisms first. One isn't really the book's fault-at times it gets a little too "inside baseball for 1970s British political enthusiasts" and detailed of political stuff I wouldn't get. But this is to be expected, just as how romance would be expected in a romance novel. The bigger fault involves the main character. While normally good with keeping a sardonically humorous tone but not going too far, I found a lot of scenes with Wilson himself crossed the line into outright goofiness. I think the fight with Lionel Crabb kind of took my suspension of disbelief too far.
That being said, the good far outweighs the bad. The story moves well and manages to take an out-there premise while staying (mostly) grounded. But I think the best strength of it is not just that the research was done but how it was applied. A lot of alternate history uses the story as a vehicle to show off the research. This used the research as a way to bolster the story, and it is much, much better off for it. It's an example of taking the best of both story-first and divergence-first alternate history, and I think the "implausible" divergence actually helps it in that sense.
So, I say well done. This might have been what launched SLP in the first place (I don't know the press' history that much), and if so, it's a very good starting title.
However, I'm very critical even of stuff I like, so I might as well state my criticisms first. One isn't really the book's fault-at times it gets a little too "inside baseball for 1970s British political enthusiasts" and detailed of political stuff I wouldn't get. But this is to be expected, just as how romance would be expected in a romance novel. The bigger fault involves the main character. While normally good with keeping a sardonically humorous tone but not going too far, I found a lot of scenes with Wilson himself crossed the line into outright goofiness. I think the fight with Lionel Crabb kind of took my suspension of disbelief too far.
That being said, the good far outweighs the bad. The story moves well and manages to take an out-there premise while staying (mostly) grounded. But I think the best strength of it is not just that the research was done but how it was applied. A lot of alternate history uses the story as a vehicle to show off the research. This used the research as a way to bolster the story, and it is much, much better off for it. It's an example of taking the best of both story-first and divergence-first alternate history, and I think the "implausible" divergence actually helps it in that sense.
So, I say well done. This might have been what launched SLP in the first place (I don't know the press' history that much), and if so, it's a very good starting title.