Colonization: Aftershocks [Hardcover]

Alternative history is Harry Turtledove's recurring SF theme, and in Colonisation: Aftershocks he continues to build on the "Worldwar" tetralogy that began with the high concept of alien invasion changing the course of World War II.

The "Colonisation" sequence takes up the story in the 1960s, with the frustrated alien Lizards' conquest forces still struggling for control of Earth as their civilian colony ships arrive. By book 3, Aftershocks, the Greater German Reich has finally been nuked to a standstill, Chinese Maoists still revolt against Lizard rule, Japan has atomic weapons, the Soviets are playing devious games under President Molotov, and the US has gained a foothold in space.

There's a soap-operatic tangle of plot strands, with established characters both human and alien meeting in ever-changing combinations, much blackmail and smuggling of ginger (to Lizards, a powerfully addictive drug), and flashes of everyday job-hunting, friendship and romance. Big questions loom: which country attacked the colony ships and must pay heavily for it? Where is the one nuclear weapon captured by Jews 20 years ago? Will the Lizards cut their losses by reducing Earth to radioactive wasteland? And just what is the US doing so secretly in the asteroid belt?

Little jokes appear amid the suspense--for example, the Warren Commission has nothing to do with Kennedy's assassination but is a Lizard team investigating the shocking actions of this world's US President Warren. The ironies grow less striking as we move further from real-world history, but it's a solidly enjoyable SF read. Further sequels are expected. --David Langford --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'With shocking vividness, Turtledove demonstrates the extreme fragility of our modern world ... This is state-of-the-art alternate history, nothing less' (Publishers Weekly (starred review for HOW FEW REMA )

'Good fun. It has an authentic speculative quality, energy and dash' (TIME OUT (about WORLD OF DIFFERENCE) )

'Engrossing ... definitely the work of one of alternate history's authentic modern masters ... totally fascinating' (BOOKLIST (about THE GREAT WAR) )

'The wizard of If.' (Chicago Sun-Times ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

'Good fun. It has an authentic speculative quality, energy and dash' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

'With shocking vividness, Turtledove demonstrates the extreme fragility of our modern world ... This is state-of-the-art alternate history, nothing less' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

'The wizard of If.' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

World War II. The great powers were at one another's throats. Armies clashed across rolling countryside. Air forces sowed death from above. Then, in 1942, everything changed. A new front opened in World War II—when an alien race attacked the Earth . . .

In his extraordinary alternate-history epic, Harry Turtledove created the acclaimed Worldwar saga. Now, in the Colonization series, what began as war has evolved into decades of epic struggles and rebellions erupting against the invaders known as the Race.

As the 1960s begins, one of the great powers explodes a nuclear strike against the Race's colonization fleet. As she did a generation before, Germany goes to war over Poland, this time against the Race. Retaliation is swift and deadly, leaving much of the Third Reich in ruins. The United States has used its fast-developing military technology to lock the invaders into a standoff. And in China, the ragtag revolutionary army of Mao Tse-tung—armed with Russian-supplied, German-made weapons—may prove the Race's most intractable enemy of all.

On Earth, the alien invaders find themselves confronting a far more complex and difficult species than any they have encountered before. From the hatred between the Jews and the Deutsche to the irrepressible inventiveness of human technology, the reptilian invaders realize they have met creatures that cannot be tamed. Ultimately, only superior firepower may keep Earth under the Empire's control—or may destroy the world.

Despite its military superiority, the Race still fears it underestimates its foes. While uprisings and aftershocks of war shake the planet, while the Race's troops are undermined by ginger addiction, one nation plots a stunning counterattack.

With its sprawling cast of characters, startling plot twists, and uncanny sense of history, Colonization: Aftershocks is another marvelous achievement from Harry Turtledove—the author USA Today calls "the leading author of alternate history."

Harry Turtledove has lived in Southern California all his life He has a Ph.D. in history from the University of California at Los Angeles and has taught at UCLA, California State Fullerton and California State University, Los Angeles. He has written many works of speculative fiction and fantasy. He is married to the novelist Laura Frankos and they have three daughters. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.