Appearance
In the Balance (Worldwar Series, Volume 1)
The space invaders plot has been a sci fi clichesince War of the Worlds. If yer gonna do it, you bettergive us something orginal. Turtledove, billedas a master of alternative history story telling, doesn'tdo a half bad job, espcially in light of the recent spate ofspace invaders films that have hit the big screen.Mans inhumanity to man, round II, has beencut short in the early years of WWII by aninvasion of dim-witted royalist aliens withtechnology that seems just a bit more advancedthan best the US marshalled against Iraq.If you liked Niven and Pournelle's Footfall, you'llprobably like this trip around the block. No realcharacters emerge as truly interesting and the aliensseem a nudge stupider than believable, but there's amixute of humor in this one that makes the suspensionof belief not too difficult. Even enjoyable at times.There's better sci fi out there, fer sure. But there'sa lot worse. All in all, it's just good, clean sci fi fun.Let's just hope this one gets wrapped up atthe trilogy level
In the Balance (Worldwar Series, Volume 1)
An alien species that is technically far ahead of mankind decides to emark on a 1000 year journey to colonize earth. Based on their own experience, not much will change in that time. Too bad for them, when they arrive, much has changed, and human military technology has changed from the spear to the fighter plane. And the exact moment the aliens reach earth happens to be during the biggest military buildup of all time - WWII. What follows is a classic case of innovation and aggression (on the part of the humans) versus experience and material advantage (on the part of the aliens). In addition to the fascinating alternative-history/military aspect of this book, there are two other really outstanding qualities: (a) turtledove really makes the aliens seem sympathetic characters, particularly a pair of rank-and-file alien soldiers who fall into human hands and wonder what horrors these gigantic hairy barbaric aliens will inflict on THEM, and (b) the book is realy scary: while reading about the alien invasion, one is struck by the though: they might win.
In the Balance (Worldwar Series, Volume 1)
Turtledove's crowning moment comes in the paradox facing Jewish concentration camp inmates as they find themselves freed after The Race overruns their Nazi captors. The extraterrestrial liberators, thoroughly disgusted and mortified by what they discover at Auschwitz, Dachau and Bergen-Belsen, offer to arm the inmates to allow them revenge upon their aggressors in exchange for their aid in subduing the rest of mankind. An amazing turnabout; can these Jews - labeled "sub-human" by Germans formally in power - possibly resist aiding the alien race that set them free? And is there any reason they SHOULD resist, given the treatment these Jews had endured at the hands of "fellow humans"
In the Balance (Worldwar Series, Volume 1)
Harry Turtledove is without a doubt the master of alternative fiction that everyone claims him to be. His writing, in my mind, exceeds the writings of some of my other favorite authors working with similar genres, Ian Slater for example. This book was virtually impossible to put down, I would heartily recommend it to anybody who enjoys science fiction, fantasy, history, or all-around good writing. The story is, for the most part, historically accurate. Characters like Stalin, Hitler, and Churchill, whom everyone has heard of, could not have been developed better, and the conflict with the aliens brought out interesting aspects that might have been for each of those characters. Be it action, adventure, romance, drama, military strategy or a host of others, there is something here for everybody. I have no reservations or hesitations about giving this work a 10
In the Balance (Worldwar Series, Volume 1)
The worst thing that can be said about the 'Worldwar' series is the waiting time between volumes!This series is full of action and characters from all sides of the war so that the reader gets a full scenario of the events taking place. It is often hard to decide who the 'good guys' are in this war. You don't need to be a WWII historian to really enjoy this series.
In the Balance (Worldwar Series, Volume 1)
'Worldwar: In the Balance' assumes an alien invasion during the Second World War. Americans and Japanese, Jews and Nazis, and Russians and Germans must put thier differences aside to combat this new, greater foe who has come to enslave humanity. In Russia, Germans and partisans must band together to strike a blow against the alien Lizards, in the Warsaw ghetto the Jews must make a devils pact to free themselves from the death-filled policies of the Nazis, and in North America scientists scramble to create the ultimate weapon that will allow humanity to fight the Lizards on something approaching even terms. Turtledove's 'Worldwar' series, which begins here, is one of his greatest creations. Dealing with warfare on a grand scale, and the great science-fiction tradition of alien invasion, the 'Worldwar' series is a fun and entertaining marraige of thought-provoking alternate history and classic science-fiction. There are a few too many characters and the plot does tend to slow down at times but these are minor points when compared with the overall strength of the story. This book brilliantly sets the stage for the three novels that follow and the sequal series, 'Colonization.'