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Colonization #3
Aftershocks
Set in the same universe as the Worldwar series, Colonization: Aftershocks brings us to Earth in the 1960s, where four superpowers rule: the United States, Russia, Nazi Germany, and the aliens of the Race.The arrival of the aliens shot Earth technology forward at a dizzying rate—the world of 1960 includes routine space shuttle traffic, computers on every desk, and other high tech advancements. Aftershocks reveals that it was the United States that launched the nuclear offensive against the aliens, and when the aliens learn the truth, Indianapolis disappears in nuclear fire. In alien-held China, a full-fledged rebellion is launched, and in Poland, a nuclear bomb goes missing—held by Jewish forces who seek to use it against the Nazis.
The nations of Earth begin to realize that their only hope in holding back the aliens will be to work together. Because separately, they may face extinction.
About the Author: Harry Turtledove is a Hugo Award-winning and critically acclaimed writer of science fiction, fantasy, and alternate history. His novels include The Guns of the South, How Few Remain—winner of the Sidewise Award for Best Novel—and the Worldwar tetralogy. The Great War: American Front was chosen by Publishers Weekly as one of the Best Books of 1998.
614 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 31, 2001
68 people are currently reading
775 people want to read
About the author
Harry Turtledove
564 books1,964 followersDr Harry Norman Turtledove is an American novelist, who has produced a sizeable number of works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.
Harry Turtledove attended UCLA, where he received a Ph.D. in Byzantine history in 1977.
Turtledove has been dubbed "The Master of Alternate History". Within this genre he is known both for creating original scenarios: such as survival of the Byzantine Empire; an alien invasion in the middle of the World War II; and for giving a fresh and original treatment to themes previously dealt with by other authors, such as the victory of the South in the American Civil War; and of Nazi Germany in the Second World War.
His novels have been credited with bringing alternate history into the mainstream. His style of alternate history has a strong military theme.
Harry Turtledove attended UCLA, where he received a Ph.D. in Byzantine history in 1977.
Turtledove has been dubbed "The Master of Alternate History". Within this genre he is known both for creating original scenarios: such as survival of the Byzantine Empire; an alien invasion in the middle of the World War II; and for giving a fresh and original treatment to themes previously dealt with by other authors, such as the victory of the South in the American Civil War; and of Nazi Germany in the Second World War.
His novels have been credited with bringing alternate history into the mainstream. His style of alternate history has a strong military theme.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
September 16, 2015
This novel is the third and final in Harry Turtledove's "Colonization" trilogy. It is set in the mid-1960's, about 20 years after an alien race interrupted World War II. The aliens came, expecting an easy conquest of Earth. Instead, they found that humans adapt more quickly, advance more rapidly in technology, and are far more duplicitous than they are, themselves.
The story continues right where the second book in the trilogy left off. There are about eight subplots in the novel. Some of the subplots revolve around the alien leaders, and leaders of the Soviet Union. Other subplots revolve around ordinary people thrown into extraordinary situations. For example, a pair of ginger smugglers run around the world, applying their illicit trade while trying to evade authorities. A woman historian tries to evade a Nazi officer who has been blackmailing her. A Jewish doctor in Palestine looks for an eligible woman to marry. A Jewish-Polish freedom fighter tries to track down a band of Jews who have an atomic bomb in their possession. A Chinese girl is raised in an alien space ship, and undergoes a time of discovery as she comes of age.
All of the subplots are fascinating, and kept my interest throughout the long book.
I did not read this book; I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Patrick Lawlor. His reading is good, but as I mentioned for the first two books, his accents are not quite right. My main complaint about the narration, however, is that the story frequently shifts abruptly from one subplot to another, and there is no break at all in the narration. A few seconds of silence would have helped immensely in keeping track of the transitions between subplots.
The story continues right where the second book in the trilogy left off. There are about eight subplots in the novel. Some of the subplots revolve around the alien leaders, and leaders of the Soviet Union. Other subplots revolve around ordinary people thrown into extraordinary situations. For example, a pair of ginger smugglers run around the world, applying their illicit trade while trying to evade authorities. A woman historian tries to evade a Nazi officer who has been blackmailing her. A Jewish doctor in Palestine looks for an eligible woman to marry. A Jewish-Polish freedom fighter tries to track down a band of Jews who have an atomic bomb in their possession. A Chinese girl is raised in an alien space ship, and undergoes a time of discovery as she comes of age.
All of the subplots are fascinating, and kept my interest throughout the long book.
I did not read this book; I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Patrick Lawlor. His reading is good, but as I mentioned for the first two books, his accents are not quite right. My main complaint about the narration, however, is that the story frequently shifts abruptly from one subplot to another, and there is no break at all in the narration. A few seconds of silence would have helped immensely in keeping track of the transitions between subplots.
August 22, 2020
I think this might be my favorite of the Colonization series. The big mysteries from the start were answered and came to a satisfactory, if catastrophic, conclusion. The myriad character threads laid out over the course of the other two novels started intertwining more which made for some fun interactions. In contrast to the previous book, everyone seemed to have a more or less happy ending, which was appreciated after all the horrible crap everyone had had to go through. I don't foresee any of these characters returning in the final book in this series of series, which makes me a bit sad as it would have been nice to see how things turned out perhaps a decade on, but I look forward to the final book nonetheless.
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November 2, 2021I am rating all four books, “Second Contact, Down to Earth, Aftershock and Homeward Bound” all at once as the whole was, to me, one single long, long, long story.
First off, there is so much wrong with this series such as writing style, perpetual useless repetition (you'd think it was written as an exercise from some sort of amnesiac therapy), deplorable stereotyping and simplistic world building (our own world in this case reduced to something I could hardly recognize.
That said, the premise is a wonderful idea. In spite of the said problems, I was completely in. I especially loved the “Race/Lizard” characters and some of the plot lines here and there. I was very happy that in the final instalment the story was located on “Home”the planet of the Race.
It was an ambitious undertaking but unfortunately, for the most part, much of the writing was needless and certain opportunities were sorely missed. This is surprising to me as Harry Turtledove, though I have not read much of his work admittedly, is a prolific writer and I had hoped more would have been done with this in quality over quantity.
First off, there is so much wrong with this series such as writing style, perpetual useless repetition (you'd think it was written as an exercise from some sort of amnesiac therapy), deplorable stereotyping and simplistic world building (our own world in this case reduced to something I could hardly recognize.
That said, the premise is a wonderful idea. In spite of the said problems, I was completely in. I especially loved the “Race/Lizard” characters and some of the plot lines here and there. I was very happy that in the final instalment the story was located on “Home”the planet of the Race.
It was an ambitious undertaking but unfortunately, for the most part, much of the writing was needless and certain opportunities were sorely missed. This is surprising to me as Harry Turtledove, though I have not read much of his work admittedly, is a prolific writer and I had hoped more would have been done with this in quality over quantity.
September 4, 2019
A premise without a payoff.
Even though there's a follow-up novel ("Homeward Bound"), this is really the final volume of the "Colonization" series. Unfortunately, it goes out with a serious whimper. While the Third Reich was largely destroyed at the end of the second novel, this volume has no real "climax" to speak of and continues to meander aimlessly until the very end (humans are now in space -- yay). The most interesting aspects is the (VERY) slow corruption of the lizard Race's ideals and social mores by their continued exposure to humans -- including the introduction of everything from drug smuggling, prostitution, and monogamy.
The analogy to invading Roman legions "going native" as they invaded the more northern parts of Europe is introduced FAR too late to be anything other than a "oh yeah, that's interesting." Had Turtledove been more explicit in utilizing this as a framework early (alongside his WWII and Cold War themes) it could have made for a more engaging novel. Instead, after 3 books, there's very little new soil to till and simply getting to the end of a climax-less story became the primary goal.
Even though there's a follow-up novel ("Homeward Bound"), this is really the final volume of the "Colonization" series. Unfortunately, it goes out with a serious whimper. While the Third Reich was largely destroyed at the end of the second novel, this volume has no real "climax" to speak of and continues to meander aimlessly until the very end (humans are now in space -- yay). The most interesting aspects is the (VERY) slow corruption of the lizard Race's ideals and social mores by their continued exposure to humans -- including the introduction of everything from drug smuggling, prostitution, and monogamy.
The analogy to invading Roman legions "going native" as they invaded the more northern parts of Europe is introduced FAR too late to be anything other than a "oh yeah, that's interesting." Had Turtledove been more explicit in utilizing this as a framework early (alongside his WWII and Cold War themes) it could have made for a more engaging novel. Instead, after 3 books, there's very little new soil to till and simply getting to the end of a climax-less story became the primary goal.
January 18, 2012
Oddly, this one just stops. Lizards and humans struggle to get on with life for a few years of time, with a couple of bits of hazard, and then the book just stops. Almost mid-sentence. No big climax, no resolution, nothing. Strange. Rated M for some violence, coarse language and sex scenes. 2.5/5
January 3, 2016
Thoughts while reading:
It is funny, but it just struck me why the whole Russian dialectic statements sound familiar to me. For instance, "Even the dialectic shows only trends, not details" (p. 118) sounded so familiar! Then it hit me! It reminds me of the obnoxious statements made throughout the Foundation series, where people would sit in front of Seldon's tomb and wait for Seldon's hologram to appear and reveal the 'next big trend' they were supposed to be processing to be able to move on as a viable colony of humanity. I had not read the Foundation trilogy until recently, but now I cannot help but wonder if Turtledove's constant remarks about the dialectic prophesying how man's future will end up [all united under Communism] was influenced by Asimov's trilogy.
I like how the smaller nations are utilizing the 'balance of power' concept to keep the Russians at bay by playing off the Race against Russian attempts at expansion. Whereas before the Germans provided a barrier against Russian efforts at expansion, now the Race is being used to hold the Russians back.
It seems like the Japanese are playing a bit more of a part in this novel so far, albeit indirectly. That is fine; I would not have minded seeing more of them in these three novels. I realize there really was nothing they could do [until they developed their own atomic bomb[s]] because they were not a 'major world power' like the US, Germans, or USSR. That meant they were obviously not players on the world scene until they were able to change their status due to the atomic bomb.
I also liked how Jonathon was having to deal with the consequences of his having to remain 'marooned' in space for several weeks due to the 'short' war between Germany and the Race. He had quite an experience in orbit, that is for sure.
--------------------------------------------------
Okay. My biggest complaint about this 'final' book in this trilogy is that NOTHING HAPPENS IN THE END!!!!!! I waded through three books, over 1200 pages, for NOTHING????!??!? Nothing? There is no way to adequately express how anticlimactic the story was, how disappointing it was.
Another complaint [probably petty] is the use of 'historical figures' on the book covers, but few of them actually show up in the books. Was the use of their images merely to convey some kind of historical relevance, some kind of justification, to the novels? I am not using the right terminology, but the covers had very little to do with what was actually in the novels.
This one moved faster for me than the second novel. Still, though, it had a lot of similar complaints from his previous books. It was hard to really care for a lot of the characters, including ones from the original tetralogy. Some of it I liked; some of it I did not like. I cannot quite say how much character growth there was from novel to novel, let alone from chapter to chapter.
The author has gone back to lousy time references. For instance, Jonathon was supposedly only in space for a few weeks, yet he lost out on two semesters worth of classes at UCLA?!? Really? So unless he [Jonathon] missed the last couple of weeks of his fall semester, the holiday break, and the first week or two of the spring semester, this would make no sense whatsoever. That still puts him at between one to two months stuck in space, not a couple of weeks.
The author does this throughout the whole book: he will suddenly insert a phrase about 'three weeks ago' or 'several weeks ago' or other phrases to indicate the passage of time. Yet each chapter comes across as being 'day to day' in the lives of the characters. Obviously, where travel is involved, some time has had to pass. I think the author's inability to create a reasonable 'time flow' makes his statements about the passage of time jarring in terms of the overall narrative.
He also goes back to endless repetition of data that does not need to be repeated every other chapter, let alone every novel. Yes, we get it, the Lizards discovered mankind to be further along than expected. Yes, it was a shock that humanity could and would fight back. Yes, we get it, that the Jews hate the Nazis as much as the Nazis hate the Jews [especially the Jews in Poland].
I found myself growing sick and tired of reading about Liu Han and her daughter, Lue Mei. I was truly wishing they would have been killed by the end of the book. Preferably in battle, but their accidental death would have been satisfactory. I think the thing that made me despise their characters the most would have to have been the 'end' of the book. So I guess the author did a better job than I realized with Liu Han and her daughter to provoke such a strong response in me toward their characters.
Another thing that I 'hated' in the book . I guess this also goes to show how well the author did in creating this character and what happens to him, based on the emotional response it generated within me.
I did like how the Race was being forced to change due to its experiences with Tosevites and the Tosevite herb, ginger. I did think that was one of the better aspects about this trilogy. The Lizards went from believing themselves to be the natural Masters of all they surveyed to being less sure of themselves by the end of this part of the series.
I just realized the author left some plot lines dangling a bit. These dangling plot lines were probably for the author to return to 'his world' and continue various stories, but they helped to reinforce the sense that 'nothing happened' at the end of this novel. Nothing truly important, anyway, except the sense of being disappointed.
What ever happened to the radioactive fallout that everybody was so worried about from the second volume in this trilogy? It went from being some potentially horrific event [even if it was a 'future event' it would still have had present-day consequences on the general population] to a 'non-event' in the story. It just boggled my brain that the author did this.
Also, despite damage continually being mentioned to have been inflicted upon the Race by the Germans in their attack in the previous novel, the reader never learns how 'extensive' this damage was or where it occurred [other than in Poland].
It was interesting, the number of conversations that occurred throughout the book implying the hypocrisy of it being okay if the Germans or the Communists got plastered by the Lizards had they attacked the Colonization Fleet whereas the US of A did not deserve to get plastered. It was also interesting [in a sickening, disgusting sort of way] how Molotov and the Communists in Russia were regularly presented as 'the voice of reason' in the novels in terms of trying to preserve the peace. Molotov's views were presented as necessary long-term goals to maintain the balance of power between the 'free' human governments/countries and those territories controlled by the Race.
The author has made Yeager out to be a 'sympathetic hero' because he acted upon his conscience upon learning it was the USA that attacked the Colonization Fleet and destroyed several starships. He worked on making Yeager a 'sympathetic hero' by continually having Yeager face down threats against not only himself but his home and has family, despite Yeager's actions making him a traitor to mankind and to the USA. I can't quite decide how I feel about it; I understand Yeager's point-of-view because his mind has been 'opened and expanded' due to the pulp sci-fi he used to read to the point of seeing the Lizards as 'people' and not 'aliens' or 'monsters' needing to be killed by an angry Earth population.
The whole deal with the renegade Jews taking that old nuke into Germany to set it off and kill a bunch of Germans was also anticlimactic. Horribly, disappointingly so. At the same time, it was kind of funny. It kind of reminded me of Crimson Tide and how that movie ended. You knew nothing 'bad' was truly going to happen, because the book was nearly over. It was not like there were another hundred or two hundred of pages to read . With so little of the story left, obviously nothing was going to happen to adversely affect the outcome of the book.
It is weird, because as much as this book disappointed me, I still enjoyed reading it [for the most part]. It might be more correct to say that there were more parts that I liked than disliked. It most assuredly had a host of problems in it that would keep me from marking it as a four-star, let alone five-star read.
It is funny, but it just struck me why the whole Russian dialectic statements sound familiar to me. For instance, "Even the dialectic shows only trends, not details" (p. 118) sounded so familiar! Then it hit me! It reminds me of the obnoxious statements made throughout the Foundation series, where people would sit in front of Seldon's tomb and wait for Seldon's hologram to appear and reveal the 'next big trend' they were supposed to be processing to be able to move on as a viable colony of humanity. I had not read the Foundation trilogy until recently, but now I cannot help but wonder if Turtledove's constant remarks about the dialectic prophesying how man's future will end up [all united under Communism] was influenced by Asimov's trilogy.
I like how the smaller nations are utilizing the 'balance of power' concept to keep the Russians at bay by playing off the Race against Russian attempts at expansion. Whereas before the Germans provided a barrier against Russian efforts at expansion, now the Race is being used to hold the Russians back.
It seems like the Japanese are playing a bit more of a part in this novel so far, albeit indirectly. That is fine; I would not have minded seeing more of them in these three novels. I realize there really was nothing they could do [until they developed their own atomic bomb[s]] because they were not a 'major world power' like the US, Germans, or USSR. That meant they were obviously not players on the world scene until they were able to change their status due to the atomic bomb.
I also liked how Jonathon was having to deal with the consequences of his having to remain 'marooned' in space for several weeks due to the 'short' war between Germany and the Race. He had quite an experience in orbit, that is for sure.
--------------------------------------------------
Okay. My biggest complaint about this 'final' book in this trilogy is that NOTHING HAPPENS IN THE END!!!!!! I waded through three books, over 1200 pages, for NOTHING????!??!? Nothing? There is no way to adequately express how anticlimactic the story was, how disappointing it was.
Another complaint [probably petty] is the use of 'historical figures' on the book covers, but few of them actually show up in the books. Was the use of their images merely to convey some kind of historical relevance, some kind of justification, to the novels? I am not using the right terminology, but the covers had very little to do with what was actually in the novels.
This one moved faster for me than the second novel. Still, though, it had a lot of similar complaints from his previous books. It was hard to really care for a lot of the characters, including ones from the original tetralogy. Some of it I liked; some of it I did not like. I cannot quite say how much character growth there was from novel to novel, let alone from chapter to chapter.
The author has gone back to lousy time references. For instance, Jonathon was supposedly only in space for a few weeks, yet he lost out on two semesters worth of classes at UCLA?!? Really? So unless he [Jonathon] missed the last couple of weeks of his fall semester, the holiday break, and the first week or two of the spring semester, this would make no sense whatsoever. That still puts him at between one to two months stuck in space, not a couple of weeks.
The author does this throughout the whole book: he will suddenly insert a phrase about 'three weeks ago' or 'several weeks ago' or other phrases to indicate the passage of time. Yet each chapter comes across as being 'day to day' in the lives of the characters. Obviously, where travel is involved, some time has had to pass. I think the author's inability to create a reasonable 'time flow' makes his statements about the passage of time jarring in terms of the overall narrative.
He also goes back to endless repetition of data that does not need to be repeated every other chapter, let alone every novel. Yes, we get it, the Lizards discovered mankind to be further along than expected. Yes, it was a shock that humanity could and would fight back. Yes, we get it, that the Jews hate the Nazis as much as the Nazis hate the Jews [especially the Jews in Poland].
I found myself growing sick and tired of reading about Liu Han and her daughter, Lue Mei. I was truly wishing they would have been killed by the end of the book. Preferably in battle, but their accidental death would have been satisfactory. I think the thing that made me despise their characters the most would have to have been the 'end' of the book. So I guess the author did a better job than I realized with Liu Han and her daughter to provoke such a strong response in me toward their characters.
Another thing that I 'hated' in the book . I guess this also goes to show how well the author did in creating this character and what happens to him, based on the emotional response it generated within me.
I did like how the Race was being forced to change due to its experiences with Tosevites and the Tosevite herb, ginger. I did think that was one of the better aspects about this trilogy. The Lizards went from believing themselves to be the natural Masters of all they surveyed to being less sure of themselves by the end of this part of the series.
I just realized the author left some plot lines dangling a bit. These dangling plot lines were probably for the author to return to 'his world' and continue various stories, but they helped to reinforce the sense that 'nothing happened' at the end of this novel. Nothing truly important, anyway, except the sense of being disappointed.
What ever happened to the radioactive fallout that everybody was so worried about from the second volume in this trilogy? It went from being some potentially horrific event [even if it was a 'future event' it would still have had present-day consequences on the general population] to a 'non-event' in the story. It just boggled my brain that the author did this.
Also, despite damage continually being mentioned to have been inflicted upon the Race by the Germans in their attack in the previous novel, the reader never learns how 'extensive' this damage was or where it occurred [other than in Poland].
It was interesting, the number of conversations that occurred throughout the book implying the hypocrisy of it being okay if the Germans or the Communists got plastered by the Lizards had they attacked the Colonization Fleet whereas the US of A did not deserve to get plastered. It was also interesting [in a sickening, disgusting sort of way] how Molotov and the Communists in Russia were regularly presented as 'the voice of reason' in the novels in terms of trying to preserve the peace. Molotov's views were presented as necessary long-term goals to maintain the balance of power between the 'free' human governments/countries and those territories controlled by the Race.
The author has made Yeager out to be a 'sympathetic hero' because he acted upon his conscience upon learning it was the USA that attacked the Colonization Fleet and destroyed several starships. He worked on making Yeager a 'sympathetic hero' by continually having Yeager face down threats against not only himself but his home and has family, despite Yeager's actions making him a traitor to mankind and to the USA. I can't quite decide how I feel about it; I understand Yeager's point-of-view because his mind has been 'opened and expanded' due to the pulp sci-fi he used to read to the point of seeing the Lizards as 'people' and not 'aliens' or 'monsters' needing to be killed by an angry Earth population.
The whole deal with the renegade Jews taking that old nuke into Germany to set it off and kill a bunch of Germans was also anticlimactic. Horribly, disappointingly so. At the same time, it was kind of funny. It kind of reminded me of Crimson Tide and how that movie ended. You knew nothing 'bad' was truly going to happen, because the book was nearly over. It was not like there were another hundred or two hundred of pages to read . With so little of the story left, obviously nothing was going to happen to adversely affect the outcome of the book.
It is weird, because as much as this book disappointed me, I still enjoyed reading it [for the most part]. It might be more correct to say that there were more parts that I liked than disliked. It most assuredly had a host of problems in it that would keep me from marking it as a four-star, let alone five-star read.
September 12, 2018
For the series as a whole. It has a good premise and the broad strokes of the story are fairly interesting, but it gets lost in the slow pacing and the mundaneness of the day to day lives of characters that often feel only vaguely connected to the plot and the excessive repetitiveness, seven books in and we're still being reminded of minor details of world building and characterization like the reader would forget it all if it's not mentioned every other chapter.
For this book in particular, it'd have been nice if more threads were wrapped up and it didn't feel like the book just stopped instead of finishing the story. Other than that it was alright. An interesting story, but I was thoroughly fed up with the author's writing style by the end of it.
For this book in particular, it'd have been nice if more threads were wrapped up and it didn't feel like the book just stopped instead of finishing the story. Other than that it was alright. An interesting story, but I was thoroughly fed up with the author's writing style by the end of it.
June 25, 2019
This is a tough one to rate. I read the whole series almost compulsively, but by this one some of that was obligation. The series just kind of runs out of steam, which is unfortunate since on the whole it's pretty engaging. I think the main problem was that Turtledove felt beholden to follow up on the main characters from the last series when oftentimes they weren't the best window into the action. I would have loved an Iranian narrator, someone in India to tell us what was happening there, a single Japanese person, a British person who could have stayed in England, and so forth and so on. Instead, you have a lot of narrators that are just kind of living lives in the admittedly detailed and interesting world Turtledove made.
January 28, 2015
Una storia bellissima, con personaggi reali e inventati uno più affascinante dell'altro.
Ma scritto male male male.
Occorre una forza di volontà enorme per non scagliare il libro dalla finestra.
Ma scritto male male male.
Occorre una forza di volontà enorme per non scagliare il libro dalla finestra.
May 24, 2022
Seven books total comprise the Harry Turtledove alternate history series in which the beginning of World War II is interrupted by the invasion of aliens known as The Race. These Lizard-like beings intend to conquer Earth with relative ease since their probes visited us 800 years ago and they expect humans to evolve and develop as slowly as they do. The fact that humans are running around with tanks and on the brink of discovering nuclear weapons when The Race first arrives is a shock, to say the least.
In Colonization: Aftershocks the setting is twenty years after humans and The Race have called a truce. The major powers of the world – the U.S., Germany, Russia, Great Britain and Japan have managed to hold onto their sovereignty while The Race occupies the remaining countries. At times, this occupation is more difficult. The leaders of The Race have to deal with radical Muslims uprising against their authority and their attempts to force humans to give reverence to the past Emperors of The Race. Though occupied by The Race, Chinese communists continue to revolt against their authority.
To read my full review, please go to: https://thoughtsfromthemountaintop.co...
In Colonization: Aftershocks the setting is twenty years after humans and The Race have called a truce. The major powers of the world – the U.S., Germany, Russia, Great Britain and Japan have managed to hold onto their sovereignty while The Race occupies the remaining countries. At times, this occupation is more difficult. The leaders of The Race have to deal with radical Muslims uprising against their authority and their attempts to force humans to give reverence to the past Emperors of The Race. Though occupied by The Race, Chinese communists continue to revolt against their authority.
To read my full review, please go to: https://thoughtsfromthemountaintop.co...
December 26, 2018
VOTO INTERO CICLO DELLA COLONIZZAZIONE: 3
Decisamente meno riuscito del ciclo precedente, del quale costituisce il naturale prosieguo, soprattutto a causa del quarto libro, che è senza dubbio un tentativo molto mal riuscito di allungare inutilmente il brodo, andando a costituire un infelice concentrato di noia mortale. Assolutamente da evitare, dunque, a differenza dei primi due, che senza dubbio meriterebbero un voto migliore, se non fosse che la media generale viene abbassata drasticamente da una valutazione assolutamente negativa che attribuisco al capitolo conclusivo.
Interessanti alcune scelte narrative e la descrizione dello sviluppo sociologico degli alieni invasori, i quali vengono inevitabilmente influenzati dalla mentalità terreste,soprattutto di quei paesi indipendenti che sono riusciti a resistere all'invasione e a mantenere inviolati i propri confini.
Peccato per l'ultimo libro, conclusione maldestra e infelice di un ciclo senza il quale meriterebbe almeno di essere equiparato al precedente.
Decisamente meno riuscito del ciclo precedente, del quale costituisce il naturale prosieguo, soprattutto a causa del quarto libro, che è senza dubbio un tentativo molto mal riuscito di allungare inutilmente il brodo, andando a costituire un infelice concentrato di noia mortale. Assolutamente da evitare, dunque, a differenza dei primi due, che senza dubbio meriterebbero un voto migliore, se non fosse che la media generale viene abbassata drasticamente da una valutazione assolutamente negativa che attribuisco al capitolo conclusivo.
Interessanti alcune scelte narrative e la descrizione dello sviluppo sociologico degli alieni invasori, i quali vengono inevitabilmente influenzati dalla mentalità terreste,soprattutto di quei paesi indipendenti che sono riusciti a resistere all'invasione e a mantenere inviolati i propri confini.
Peccato per l'ultimo libro, conclusione maldestra e infelice di un ciclo senza il quale meriterebbe almeno di essere equiparato al precedente.
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October 23, 2025“ONE OF THE MOST MEMORABLE SERIES OF ALTERNATIVE HISTORY NOVELS EVER WRITTEN.”–Science Fiction Age World War II has evolved into decades of epic struggles and rebellions targeting the aliens known as the Race. As the 1960s begin, one of Earth’s great powers launches a nuclear strike against the Race’s colonization fleet–and the merciless invaders find themselves confronting a far more complex and challenging species than any they have encountered before. Ultimately, only superior firepower may keep Earth under the Empire’s control–or it may destroy the world. While uprisings and aftershocks of war shake the planet, one nation plots a stunning counterattack . . .“Hugo winner Turtledove lives up to his billing as the grand master of alternative history. . . . This novel is altogether excellent.”–Publishers Weekly (starred review)
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August 8, 2020This is the penultimate book in a very long series. Each book is about 700 pages long and there are 7 of them!
The series is part of the Alternate History concept.
In this case, WWII was interrupted in 1942 by an extraterrestrial invasion by a lizard-like race.
The first four books detail mankind's struggle against the Conquest Feet, composed entirely of male lizards, which we fight to a standstill, helped by the Lizards' addiction to ginger, which is a Class A drug for them.
The second part of the saga is when the colonisation fleet arrives, which is 50:50 male: female lizard.
The alternate history idea is very intriguing but the problem is because of the vast amount of words it comprises, the action is very slow and there are innumerable subplots, involving a largenumber of human characters.
The series is part of the Alternate History concept.
In this case, WWII was interrupted in 1942 by an extraterrestrial invasion by a lizard-like race.
The first four books detail mankind's struggle against the Conquest Feet, composed entirely of male lizards, which we fight to a standstill, helped by the Lizards' addiction to ginger, which is a Class A drug for them.
The second part of the saga is when the colonisation fleet arrives, which is 50:50 male: female lizard.
The alternate history idea is very intriguing but the problem is because of the vast amount of words it comprises, the action is very slow and there are innumerable subplots, involving a largenumber of human characters.
October 21, 2017
This is the seventh of the Lizard stories and reaches a point where the factions that have been involved in and fought out the wars with the Lizards come to an impasse, leaving an uncertainty for the final book Homeward Bound. Nuclear bombs have been launched against the USA and German but the Lizards have also suffered serious losses all the while the Colonisation fleet attempts to establish the Race on Tosev 3 (Earth).
Unfortunately this is quite a large book and at places is tedious by nature, well almost boring. I had actually left the series all for several years until recently and somehow had to find out how Sam Yeager fares or if Straha remains in America.
For aficionados only.
Unfortunately this is quite a large book and at places is tedious by nature, well almost boring. I had actually left the series all for several years until recently and somehow had to find out how Sam Yeager fares or if Straha remains in America.
For aficionados only.
September 28, 2019
Turtledove, Harry. Aftershocks. Colonization No. 3. Del Rey, 2001.
I am going to say something I almost never say about the third volume of a 1800-page trilogy: I wish it were longer. Once again nuclear war threatens, the alien invaders are having a hard time holding on to their territory and the independent human nations are advancing uncomfortably fast. Worse, from the alien point of view, their own culture is becoming more like the human cultures. And unknow to them, the Americans are researching star travel in the asteroid belt. So, there is an obvious fourth volume to be written here. Maybe one of these days Turtledove will pick it up again.
I am going to say something I almost never say about the third volume of a 1800-page trilogy: I wish it were longer. Once again nuclear war threatens, the alien invaders are having a hard time holding on to their territory and the independent human nations are advancing uncomfortably fast. Worse, from the alien point of view, their own culture is becoming more like the human cultures. And unknow to them, the Americans are researching star travel in the asteroid belt. So, there is an obvious fourth volume to be written here. Maybe one of these days Turtledove will pick it up again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 6, 2025
I only gave this book three stars and despite multiple readings I have no inclination to raise that score. There are many problems with this book, starting with a lack of understanding about how nuclear weapons are actually used against cities. Nuremberg becoming a bog glassy crater is just one example, for area targets the Race would use an air burst weapon to maximize damage while minimizing the fallout that would cross into their territory.
Other than the weapon and fallout effects, the idea that the Race would 'free' France instead of occupying it the same way they occupy Poland makes no sense at all. They already hold Italy and Spain, adding France would be no difficulty and would let them border the shrunken German Reich on both east and west. There was also no mention, or else I missed it, of the Balkan region Germany held at the start of the 1965 war, without an actual map showing what exactly the New German Reich actually holds we are left to guess where the borders are located. However the Race has expanded everywhere they can up until 1965, why would they have such a policy shift with France compared to say Italy or eastern Mexico where the muggy summer weather is uncomfortable to them.
The third issue I have is the lack of integrated Tossivite members of the Race colonies. Sure the people they conquered in South Africa, Australia and Brazil in 1942 might still hate them, but the children of those people like the medical student from Australia should be much more like Jonathan Yeager, except integrated into the Race imperial culture. They would be taught the body paint patterns from early childhood and at many or most of them would be workers for the Race as laborers, technicians, farmers and so on and so forth. In China the Race started introducing the worship of Spirits of the Emperors Past and it was readily accepted. I believe the same thing would happen in all the polytheistic cultures in Africa and Asia in general because like the ancient Romans they want to integrate their religion into the local population. The fact that the conquered population is required to learn the Race language and culture would most influence the younger generations. for the Empire.
With the arrival of females and the birth of Race young they should be actively spreading their own people out into every place they claim or can take without consequences like the vast number of islands in Oceania. While not comfortable fr them New Zealand, the Solomon and other major island groups should have attracted settlers as soon as possible to make sure they too get integrated into the Empire as quickly as possible.
We also see that the Race is quite happy with the idea of breeding conquered species to make them more acceptable to the Race population. This should have led to for example, encouraging pygmy peoples of Southeast Asia and Central Africa to produce as large of families as possible because while still taller than the Race these people are much closer to their size than average humans because they have a genetic tendency for short stature. The Race thinks in terms of millennia, so encouraging their conquered female Tosevite population to bare children with the shortest available human male would seem perfectly reasonable to them and with their medical skill they could easily use artificial insemination to spread pygmy genetic traits broadly through the conquered humans in their territory. By the time of this novel that trend should already have a sample population where the idea was tested to see if it was possible. They did not hesitate way back in book one In The Balance, to force captured women to mate with captured males. Having a number of captured men and women to experiment on selecting the shortest males and 'encouraging' reproduction with a broad range of females to test if the stature breeds true over generations would seem an obvious experiment to carry out. One pygmy man and a population of females closely tracked would let them draw the obvious conclusions within 18 years aka around 1960. With proof that pygmy fathered children are shorter expanding the program into a deliberate policy using incentives for females to accept artificial insemination for children they would bare and raise in the conquered territories would over time reduce the average stature of conquered humans. In a few hundred years everyone born in Race territory would be of pygmy stature, and by continuing to encourage the shortest fathers as the best choice culturally humanity would become more acceptable to the Race over a score of generational increments. Clearly they know how to do DNA testing, they ensure the future Emperor is a direct descendant of the current Emperor and have done so for thousands of years. With all the captured humans in the conquered territories in 1942 they would have access to thousands of veterinarians who routinely help farmers and ranchers selectively breed poultry and livestock for desired traits. Doing the same with Humans, whom they see as little better than useful animals, would be an automatic step for them.
Other than the weapon and fallout effects, the idea that the Race would 'free' France instead of occupying it the same way they occupy Poland makes no sense at all. They already hold Italy and Spain, adding France would be no difficulty and would let them border the shrunken German Reich on both east and west. There was also no mention, or else I missed it, of the Balkan region Germany held at the start of the 1965 war, without an actual map showing what exactly the New German Reich actually holds we are left to guess where the borders are located. However the Race has expanded everywhere they can up until 1965, why would they have such a policy shift with France compared to say Italy or eastern Mexico where the muggy summer weather is uncomfortable to them.
The third issue I have is the lack of integrated Tossivite members of the Race colonies. Sure the people they conquered in South Africa, Australia and Brazil in 1942 might still hate them, but the children of those people like the medical student from Australia should be much more like Jonathan Yeager, except integrated into the Race imperial culture. They would be taught the body paint patterns from early childhood and at many or most of them would be workers for the Race as laborers, technicians, farmers and so on and so forth. In China the Race started introducing the worship of Spirits of the Emperors Past and it was readily accepted. I believe the same thing would happen in all the polytheistic cultures in Africa and Asia in general because like the ancient Romans they want to integrate their religion into the local population. The fact that the conquered population is required to learn the Race language and culture would most influence the younger generations. for the Empire.
With the arrival of females and the birth of Race young they should be actively spreading their own people out into every place they claim or can take without consequences like the vast number of islands in Oceania. While not comfortable fr them New Zealand, the Solomon and other major island groups should have attracted settlers as soon as possible to make sure they too get integrated into the Empire as quickly as possible.
We also see that the Race is quite happy with the idea of breeding conquered species to make them more acceptable to the Race population. This should have led to for example, encouraging pygmy peoples of Southeast Asia and Central Africa to produce as large of families as possible because while still taller than the Race these people are much closer to their size than average humans because they have a genetic tendency for short stature. The Race thinks in terms of millennia, so encouraging their conquered female Tosevite population to bare children with the shortest available human male would seem perfectly reasonable to them and with their medical skill they could easily use artificial insemination to spread pygmy genetic traits broadly through the conquered humans in their territory. By the time of this novel that trend should already have a sample population where the idea was tested to see if it was possible. They did not hesitate way back in book one In The Balance, to force captured women to mate with captured males. Having a number of captured men and women to experiment on selecting the shortest males and 'encouraging' reproduction with a broad range of females to test if the stature breeds true over generations would seem an obvious experiment to carry out. One pygmy man and a population of females closely tracked would let them draw the obvious conclusions within 18 years aka around 1960. With proof that pygmy fathered children are shorter expanding the program into a deliberate policy using incentives for females to accept artificial insemination for children they would bare and raise in the conquered territories would over time reduce the average stature of conquered humans. In a few hundred years everyone born in Race territory would be of pygmy stature, and by continuing to encourage the shortest fathers as the best choice culturally humanity would become more acceptable to the Race over a score of generational increments. Clearly they know how to do DNA testing, they ensure the future Emperor is a direct descendant of the current Emperor and have done so for thousands of years. With all the captured humans in the conquered territories in 1942 they would have access to thousands of veterinarians who routinely help farmers and ranchers selectively breed poultry and livestock for desired traits. Doing the same with Humans, whom they see as little better than useful animals, would be an automatic step for them.
February 7, 2023
The German Reich has been devastated after attacking the Race. France has been liberated. The United States continues its activities in asteroid belt. The Soviet Union continues to aid the Chinese rebels. The Race faces more surprises living on Earth. The story is heading somewhere. The Humans and the aliens will reach some type of agreement to share the planet. It will not be a simple answer. Look forward to the conclusion.
June 19, 2017
I read this book thinking there was another book left in the series, and when I went to go reserve the next title, I found out there are no more books left. I'm very sad. These books were often repetitive but they had endless fascinating insights into what contact with an alien race could conceivably be like. I hope the author comes back and finishes a fourth novel in the series.
August 24, 2020
I love this series and this book concludes the colonization portion of the series. Turtledove does a great job of smoothly telling a historical story that didn’t actually happen. It’s nice to see where the characters have gone fir the past 25 years or so. I recommend reading or listening to this whole series. One more book to go!!
July 11, 2023
Wraps up the series (actually 2 series, and there is a follow-up) pretty well. Ties up most loose ends. Fleshes out the characters a bit more. Points toward possible futures. The print book is hefty. The ebook has some typos from transcription. Leaves me eager for more, though after "Homeward Bound" this universe is done and I'll need to wait for his next book.
February 10, 2018
This does not have a good ending.
I'm reading Homebound next and it better tie up some of these loose ends.
The continuing story of the alien invasion of Earth during WWII, now in the mid sixties, is still a compelling read.
I'm reading Homebound next and it better tie up some of these loose ends.
The continuing story of the alien invasion of Earth during WWII, now in the mid sixties, is still a compelling read.
August 5, 2018
Turtledove remains the king of alternative history, this time about what would happen if aliens invaded during WWII. As usual, a strong mix of the full range of humanity, from the most humble to the most power. An incredibly long read, but still leaves you wanting more.
August 15, 2018
Turtledove remains the king of alternative history, this time about what would happen if aliens invaded during WWII. As usual, a strong mix of the full range of humanity, from the most humble to the most power. An incredibly long read, but still leaves you wanting more.
August 24, 2020
A somewhat disappointing conclusion. The main plot threads are resolved, but many are hastily wrapped up or abandoned. The ending just sort of fizzles out, almost as if the author lost interest in the whole thing.
February 25, 2022
4.0 Quite a step up from the last volume with lots of interesting stuff, but also a fair few repetitions. One of the big let-downs is the resolution of the last novel's big secret. I had hoped for more there, but the everyday life depictions are great.
December 13, 2022
I found this book a slog again as not much happens, in fact even less than in the previous book. Germany's been decimated, China is uprising against the Aliens, apart from the everything is bumbling along very slowly.
February 24, 2023
Really 3.75. Nobody does alternate history like Harry Turtledove. He’s is the best there is. Good characters but the aliens kind of throw the story off. Definitely read the first 2 books in this series first.
September 15, 2025
My favorite part of how Turtledove ended this is that it nothing happened that shook the world. It was bigger what didn't happen and he's left it (for now I realize there's another book) with a stalemate between the Not Empires (love that term) and the Lizards.
August 14, 2018
Good series and story, but long winded and does repeat unnecessarily
January 28, 2019
7/10
611 pages
611 pages
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