Worldwar: Upsetting the Balance
£3.99
Another great novel and realistic depiction of aliens - Another splendid novel from this author, the third I have read in less than two months. Aside from the intrinsic fascination of the alternate timeline, one of the author s great strengths is the conviction and thoroughness with which he depicts alien patterns of thinking and attitude - they are not just humans who happen to look like lizards.
A very original book, especially recommended to WWII passionates - The beginning is a very important thing... let it be known then that this is year 1942 and the known world is in the middle of a terrible war. German tanks are rolling towards Stalingrad and Alexandria, Japanese carriers are just preparing to meet their fate at Midway... and suddenly, from the outer space arrives a mighty space fleet, carrying the invading forces of the Race, a reptilian civilisation willing to include Earth (or Tossev 3, as they call it) in their empire. A War of Worlds will then start, with the Earthlings building the most unlikely Great Coalition, including USA, USSR, United Kingdom, Third Reich and Japan, to face the invaders. Some nations join however the invaders (who want to dominate, not exterminate) - the main of them being the Chinese and the French (the author being American, some French-bashing is a natural thing for him). Although the writing of Harry Turtledove is not exactly the best thing on the market, the story itself is so original and perversely twisted, that I found this book irresistible. I do not want to reveal too much, but from the beginning the invaders run into some trouble and find themselves behind schedule - and the description of fights between Soviet T-34s and alien tanks (landcruisers) or the duel between the giant GUSTAV rail gun and one of the landing spaceships are really great moments of SF. You will certainly appreciate this book the most, if you know a little WWII history - some of the twists of the history made me laugh out loud (especially including the top German commando leader, Otto Skorzenny). I recommend this book with whole my heart. It is a very original and smart thing.
More fantasy than alternate history... - Speaking in terms of classification, I would rather place Turtledoves entire World War series in the fantasy department than in the alternate history genre, yes, the frame is historical (WW2) but the alien invasion just blows it out of...well, history. Apart from that, I loved this first volume: It keeps up the pace throughout and reminded me of a football match with a constantly shifting score. I mean, the whole setup is so ludicrous you would have to be a bit boring yourself not to be entertained.Yes, perhaps the characters aren t that exciting and the alien technology reveals the authors lack of imagination (it s all very familiar to modern readers, but still - the aliens mustn t be too superior if the humans are to have a chance of actually beating them). Nevertheless, the book is highly entertaining reading. I ve now read the first three volumes and I am certainly going to read the fourth volume too!
I LL BUY THE NEXT ONE - Harry Turtledove has an interesting website. He looks just as you think he might as you read this book. It s a ridiculous but enjoyable invasion story set at the time of WW2. Plenty of storylines, some good characters, interesting twists and not without a sense of humour throughout. If yoiu want entertainment this book is just the thing, I read it in a couple of days on the beach in Malta and of course I want to see how it all ends up so I ll buy the next one. Don t expect ceribal stimulation with this book just expect to keep turning the pages.
This book rocks - This is the first volume in an amazing, gritty, well researched, and sweeping tale. It s worth reading just to see what happens when the aliens arrive expecting to find 11th-century technology and instead encounter Tiger tanks.