Tilting the Balance (Worldwar Series, Volume 2) - Hardcover

Turtledove, Harry

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0345389972 ISBN 13: 9780345389978

Publisher: Del Rey, 1995

Synopsis

NO ONE COULD STOP THEM--
NOT STALIN, NOT TOGO, NOT CHURCHILL, NOT ROOSEVELT . . .
The invaders had cut the United States virtually in half at the Mississippi, vaporized Washington, D.C., devastated much of Europe, and held large parts of the Soviet Union under their thumb.
But humanity would not give up so easily. The new world allies were ruthless at finding their foe's weaknesses and exploiting them.
Whether delivering supplies in tiny biplanes to partisans across the vast steppes of Russia, working furiously to understand the enemy's captured radar in England, or battling house to house on the streets of Chicago, humankind would never give up.
Yet no one could say when the hellish inferno of death would stop being a war of conquest and turn into a war of survival--the very survival of the planet . . .


From the Paperback edition.

About this title

About the Author

Harry Turtledove has taught at UCLA, California State Fullerton, and California State University, Los Angeles.

From the Inside Flap

STOP THEM--<br>NOT STALIN, NOT TOGO, NOT CHURCHILL, NOT ROOSEVELT . . . <br>The invaders had cut the United States virtually in half at the Mississippi, vaporized Washington, D.C., devastated much of Europe, and held large parts of the Soviet Union under their thumb.<br>But humanity would not give up so easily. The new world allies were ruthless at finding their foe's weaknesses and exploiting them.<br>Whether delivering supplies in tiny biplanes to partisans across the vast steppes of Russia, working furiously to understand the enemy's captured radar in England, or battling house to house on the streets of Chicago, humankind would never give up.<br>Yet no one could say when the hellish inferno of death would stop being a war of conquest and turn into a war of survival--the very survival of the planet . . .<br><br><br><i>From the Paperback edition.</i>

Reviews

The second volume of Turtledove's Worldwar series (after Worldwar: In the Balance), an alternate-history saga in which lizard-like aliens invade Earth during WWII, quickly bogs down. As the plot moves among the huge cast of characters, including many historical figures (Ribbentrop, Roosevelt, Zhukov), and as Turtledove meticulously describes various tanks, planes and guns, readers will realize that they, too, must suffer for the author's research. And none of that homework has bred any subtlety: good people have good sex, while corrupt people suffer appropriate retribution. National and ethnic stereotypes abound, too: the British are more capable than they seem; the Germans are keen mechanics; most Americans, of course, are paragons. There are exceptions, of course-a few interesting lizards and a peace-talking Chinese woman-but it isn't hard to figure out which world leader will "tilt the balance" by using the first human-made atomic bomb. With so much attention paid to the machinery of war and the machinery of history, Turtledove rarely engages the subtleties of character, resulting in a novel that, despite offering its share of mind candy, never makes its many intrigues sufficiently gripping.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The second volume in Turtledove's splendid alternative history saga about an alien invasion in the middle of World War II is as satisfying as World War: In the Balance (1993). The invading Lizards are making some progress but are handicapped by human tenacity, terran weather, and widespread addiction to ginger. Among the continuing characters, the German Col. Heinrich Jaeger and the Russian pilot Ludmilla Gorbunova have become lovers only just before being packed off in opposite directions to renew fighting the invaders. The American nuclear program is lurching forward, as is Sam Yeager's relationship with Barbara Larssen, whom he marries just before they discover that her husband Jens is still alive. Moishe Russie's flight from the Lizards requires the help of his British cousin, David Goldfarb; and so on through Turtledove's large cast of well-drawn figures both fictional and historical. And besides those well-realized characters, there is Turtledove's thorough command of storytelling and historiography to assure us that this is an irresistibly readable book. Roland Green

Following Earth's invasion by an extraterrestrial race of lizardlike beings, World War II veers drastically off its intended course as Axis and Allied powers relucantly engage in cooperative efforts to resist conquest by a technologically superior common enemy. Revolving around the race to achieve nuclear parity with the aliens, the second volume in Turtledove's latest alternate history series focuses on efforts in the United States, the Soviet Union, Japan, and Germany to unlock the secrets of the atom-regardless of cost or consequence. Historic and fictional characters blend seamlessly in this superbly crafted, compelling venture into speculative history. This sequel to Worldwar: In the Balance (LJ 11/15/93) belongs in most sf collections.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Del Rey
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0345389972
• ISBN 13: 9780345389978
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 478