In the Balance: An Alternate History of the Second World War (Worldwar, Volume 1)
- Book Review,
by HARRY TURTLEDOVE
From Publishers Weekly
This intelligent speculative novel depicts an alternate history in which, at the height of World War II, Earth is attacked by alien beings with weapons far more destructive than any possessed by the Allied or Axis forces. Turtledove ( The Guns of the South ) gives a surprisingly convincing flavor to the time-worn story of warring nations uniting to repel extraterrestrials; his human characters, both actual and invented, ring true as they struggle to trust each other after years of enmity, and although the alien threat has a B-movie feel, he makes an effort to portray the invaders sympathetically as well. The first in a projected series, the book ends where it began: in and around a battle. The smooth writing is marred only by slightly overdone dialogue for real-life figures like General Patton. The historical details, especially those concerning the weapons and methods available in the 1940s to defend Earth, are accurate and well rendered. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
The year is 1942. In Russia, Hitler's panzers are fighting a losing battle; in China, Japanese invaders ravage the countryside; in England, the RAF watches the skies for enemy bombers; in Chicago, scientists frantically try to unlock the secrets of the atom--and in the skies overhead, an alien army launches its forces to conquer the Earth. Turtledove ( The Guns of the South , LJ 9/1/92) excels in alternate history, and this panoramic exploration of a world at war with itself and with invaders from beyond the galaxy showcases his fertile imagination. A feast for history buffs as well as sf fans, this title belongs in most libraries.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
With this engrossing volume, Turtledove launches a four-book
From Kirkus Reviews
Vast, churning alternate-world/alien-invasion saga. In 1942, as WW II engulfs the Earth, down from space come the reptilian-alien ``Race,'' whose fleetlord, Atvar, has orders to conquer the planet and add it to the Empire. The Race, known to the humans as ``Lizards,'' are an old species, with evenly developed but not particularly advanced technology; their hereditary Emperors have ruled for thousands of generations. Expecting an easy victory over sword-wielding primitives, the Lizards are appalled at how rapidly human technology has advanced. Though their tactics are inflexible, and they learn slowly, the Lizards have nuclear weapons and are prepared to use then (on Berlin, on Washington). Turtledove (A Different Flesh, Agent of Byzantium, etc.) takes a global approach, mingling real and fictional characters, developing a dozen or more occasionally connecting plotlines. A sampling: Major Heinrich Jaeger, sent to invade Russia, instead turns his panzers against the new invaders from space; pilot Ken Embrey of RAF Bomber Command contends with Lizard jets and guided missiles; in the Warsaw ghetto, Moishe Russie first welcomes the Lizards as deliverers, only to discover their real intentions; Red Air Force pilot Ludmila Gorbunova flies across half of Europe, with foreign minister Molotov as her passenger; physicist Jens Larssen struggles to unlock the secrets of nuclear fission in the University of Chicago labs; aboard an orbiting spaceship, Chinese peasant woman Liu Han finds herself the subject of strange sexual experiments. Intriguing and panoramic but circuitous and uncompelling, and lacking even a token ending: will best suit alien-invasion/WW II buffs happy to settle in for a meandering journey of unspecified duration. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Book Description
From Pearl Harbor to panzers rolling through Paris to the Siege of Leningrad and the Battle of Midway, war seethed across the planet as the flames of destruction rose higher and hotter.
And then, suddenly, the real enemy came.
The invaders seemed unstoppable, their technology far beyond human reach. And never before had men been more divided. For Jew to unite with Nazi, American with Japanese, and Russian with German was unthinkable.
But the alternative was even worse.
As the fate of the world hung in the balance, slowly, painfully, humankind took up the shocking challenge . . .
From the Publisher
What got me about the Worldwar series wasn't the aliens. It wasn't the warfare (though Harry's really good at it--I especially love the tanks). It wasn't even the fact that he'd turned history on its ear in a big way. No, it was the people.
If they were historical figures, like Josef Stalin, or Adolf Hitler, or Omar Bradley, he really brought them back to life. But even they took a back seat to Harry's original characters--the soldiers, the civilians, the resistance members, the spies. Whether they were American or Russian or British or Chinese, he made me care about them, about their lives and their loves. And he made me care a lot about their deaths--the kind of deaths that happen in war.
He made the most out of cultural juxtaposition, when a Polish Jew had to fight alongside a Nazi, or a British officer found himself in a tumultuous affair with a female Russian pilot (and sharpshooter--whoosh). These were the real people, They took a science fiction alternate history and elevated it to a new level. The result is a terrific adventure.
--Steve Saffel, Senior Editor
From the Inside Flap
From Pearl Harbor to panzers rolling through Paris to the Siege of Leningrad and the Battle of Midway, war seethed across the planet as the flames of destruction rose higher and hotter.
And then, suddenly, the real enemy came.
The invaders seemed unstoppable, their technology far beyond human reach. And never before had men been more divided. For Jew to unite with Nazi, American with Japanese, and Russian with German was unthinkable.
But the alternative was even worse.
As the fate of the world hung in the balance, slowly, painfully, humankind took up the shocking challenge . . .
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