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 . . .

ANNOTATION

The war between the allies and the axis powers has given way to combat against invading lizard creatures from space, in this alternate history of World War II from the bestselling author of The Guns of the South. First time in paperback.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

War seethed across the planet. Machines soared through the air, churned through the seas, crawled across the surface, pushing ever forward, carrying death. Earth was engaged in titanic struggle. Germany, Russia, France, China, Japan: the maps were changing day by day. The hostilities spread in ever-widening ripples of destruction: Britain, Italy, Africa...The fate of the world hung in the balance. Then the real enemy came. Out of the dark of night, out of the soft glow of dawn, out of the clear blue sky came an invasion force the likes of which Earth had never known - and worldwar was truly joined. The invaders were inhuman and they were unstoppable. Their technology was far beyond our reach, and their goal was simple. Fleetlord Atvar had arrived to claim Earth for the Empire. Never before had Earth's people been more divided. Never had the need for unity been greater. And grudgingly, inexpertly, humanity took up the challenge. In this epic novel of alternate history, Harry Turtledove takes us around the globe. We roll with German panzers; watch the coast of Britain with the RAF; and welcome alien-liberators to the Warsaw ghetto. In tiny planes we skim the vast Russian steppe, and we push the envelope of technology in secret labs at the University of Chicago. Turtledove's saga covers all the Earth, and beyond, as mankind - in all its folly and glory - faces the ultimate threat; and a turning point in history shows us a past that never was and a future that could yet come to be...

SYNOPSIS

War on earth erupted in every corner of the globe. Then the real enemy came. Inhuman invaders who were unstoppable, their technology far beyond our reach, their simple goal to claim Earth for the Empire.

FROM THE CRITICS

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. (Jan.)

Library Journal