Colonization: Second Contact

Harry Turtledove 

Book 1 of the Colonization Series

This is an alternate history / sci fi book. Set in the 1960's, we find an earth that followed history as we know it until the middle of World War II. This war was interrupted by the invasion of an alien species. In the current telling, the second wave of the alien invasion is beginning with the arrival of the colonization fleet which includes about 100 million settlers. The political scene includes the world powers of the U.S., USSR and Nazi Germany. Japan and England are secondary powers. China is rising and the alien race controls the entire southern hemisphere. The number of characters and concurrent storylines in this book are more than the average book, but this allows for telling a broad story and develops intrigue for how all the lines will connect. Here are the major characters:

• U.S. Rocket pilot
• German rocket pilot
• Polish Jewish resistance leader
• Russian Jewish intelligence
• Palestinian Jewish doctor
• USSR General Secretary (Stalin's successor)
• U.S. Alien liason expert
• Chinese communist leader
• U.S. Drug smuggler
• French drug smuggler
• English Jewish radar technician
• Alien Fleetlord
• Alien Shiplord (defected)
• Alien human liason expert
• Human girl raised as alien from birth

As we jump from story to story, we get a picture of a strange and complex world. The fact that the aliens are primarily different from humans in terms of the length of their civilized history (>100,000 years vs. <10,000 years) provides an opportunity to think about how decisions in human history have been made and how they often have unintended consequences. I love alternate history and this is a fascinating approach. Looking forward to Book 2 (Colonization: Down to Earth)

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