Rating: 
Summary: A good story continued but it does drag at points
Review: Turtledove is the master of alternative history. His command of the range of facets to a working culture is evident and his chacter development is solid. The problem is that there are SO many sub-plots, many of which I just can't get excited about, that the book has a real tendency to drag at points. On the positive side, the characters of interest to me and the main plot are interesting enough to make me force myself to wade through many of the dead-dull passages.
Rating:
Summary: "Very Character Driven Book"
Review: There's a lot more talking than action in the second book of the "Colonization" series. Still, Turtledove puts forth a very enjoyable story. You really get involved with many of the characters and the situations they find themselves in. Really liked the tension between the two fleetlords, Atvar (Conquest) and Reffet (Colonization). Neither one can, or is unwilling to, see where the other is coming from. But you tend to sympathize more with Atvar since he's been on Earth for so long and saw the Race through its most difficult war in history. The tension between the two filters down to the rank-and-file soldiers and colonists. Also was nice to see how the Race begins to make Earth its new home. They even start to befriend humans. Other enjoyable parts involved Straha, the exiled shiplord, and the tremendous loneliness he feels. He will never be fully accepted by humans and cannot go back to the Race. And, of course, the Race fails to fully understand the human psyche. Taxes on religion and setting up sexual renezvouses are just some of the things they try, which do not go 100% right. And when the slam-bang end comes, you can't help but wonder what major changes will come in Book 3.
Rating: 
Summary: Intense
Review: I read all the Worldwar books and really enjoyed them. Then mistakenly, I started with Down to Earth instead of 2nd Contact. I never realized until after finsihing the book though. The story is fast paced and gets very intense in the second half of the book with some surprising twists and turns.
Rating:
Summary: "Tastes lak chikkin!"
Review: Would you believe online chat rooms during the Cold War era? Of course, these are a product of The Race's technology as the planet Earth becomes their Vietnam/ Afghanistan--a decades-long war they can't seem to win decisively despite superior firepower. We Tosevites (aka "Big Uglies") have a lot more fight in us than they predicted. Anyway, as you'd expect, humans are hacking into The Race's internet posing as their own people, and their chat rooms are just as inane in message content as the ones we know and love here in the real world. An American guerilla couple exiled by The Race to South Africa are facing culture shock over there--in the real world, they'd be Randy Weaver types with racial attitudes to match. They're involved in the "ginger trade"--if you're familiar with the previous book "Second Contact", as well as the four volumes of the "Worldwar" series, you'll know that ginger is The Race's equivalent to cocaine. It's addictive, mood-altering--plus it's aphrodisiac to the point of causing gang rape among otherwise respectable Lizards ("Don't bogart that Canada Dry, mah friend. Pass it over to me"). There's a message in this series' ginger-as-dope concept, I think--at least in terms of this new fave-rave ideology going around nowadays. We've all heard it; "Goodness Gracious, it's ever so hard to fight the War On Drugs (sigh) and anyway we're losing (hand across brow to signify weariness). So why not just legalize it all?" One other thing these ginger-pushers encounter are reptiles imported from The Race's homeworld to be used as livestock. Their cabdriver/ guide comments that he hears they taste like chicken. My "mind's ear" actually played back the driver's remark in the voice of that Cajun gator hunter in the SUV commercial. Aaa-eee!
Rating:
Summary: Gimme More
Review: I've loved all the books in the series, this being no exception. Harry Turtledove manages to keep it concise. There is no spreading of the story line to unmangeable numbers of characters, no loose ends or distractions for me. There is a very uneasy truce happening between the lizards and the humans. But humans being humans are fractious and unable for the most part to work together. Notable exceptions occur and they make you want to cheer. Turtledove does an excellent job of representing human nature as it is and how it probably would still be in the face of hostile aliens. I can't wait for the next one.
Rating: 
Summary: Please Stop!
Review: I am a real fan of Turtledove's books, but this series is flawed. Whereas the Worldwar-series was interesting in mixing WW2 with an alien-invasion scenario, the extended Colonisation-series seems to be just a drawn-out afterthought. Quite silly and after some time plainly boring. I stoped reading after 200 pages and I will neither continue nor buy any other book from this series.
Rating: 
Summary: Another disappointment.
Review: I thought I wrote a review of this book...where did go?Anyway, I must join in with the people who just can't stand the constant repetition of really simple ideas. There seemed to be alittle bit less of that in this book, but there was alot of side commentary of really obvious or trival things by the characters which really didn't do anything for the book. This is called filler. There was way too much filler in this book. This book could be condensed to 1/3 of its page count and not lose anything. I did enjoy the scene between Sam Yeager, Jonathon and Kasquit on the Lizard ship. That was the only entertaining bit of writing in the whole book. At least Turtledove moved the plot forward some in the last sections of the book. I think some of the story lines could be dropped, especially Rance and Penny. I'm hoping the lizards will catch and execute them so I don't have to read any more about them. And what's with these really sleezy sex scenes? There not even sleezy in an interesting way, but more like 'a guy in a raincoat looking through your window while you're undressing' sleezy. Very disturbing. I've given up hope that Turtledove will write the 3rd book of Colonization any better and it sure looks like there will be another trilogy after this one. I don't know how or why, I am hooked on the idea of the series and I probably will get the 3rd book, but I will buy it used or borrow it.
Rating: 
Summary: Will this story ever end?
Review: I started reading with the first worldwar book and I enjoy the story, but I find that I have to grind through pages of boring crap to get to the story I am interested in. This book was the greatest example a that. It could have been done in about 30 pages (the last 30 pages). The Germans go mad and attack the Lizards and get destroyed as a consequence. Mr. Turtledove if you are listening, please, enough with the Yeagers. Sam started as a nice enough guy, but he turned in to a traitor and his wife and son were never interesting. He should have been killed in the last book, the assasins cannot be that inept. Kill him soon, he is almost as bad as Jar-jar in that dumb Star Wars movie. Another thing, please quit repeating superfluous information over and over again. If your readers didn't read the first five books, don't rewrite them in the sixth. (I know that the Lizards expected to find King Arthur instead of Adolph Hitler when they landed here.) Not enough shooting, I was rooting for the Nazis because they were the only ones itching for a fight. But, it is easy to criticize, so I must tell you that the over all story is great, when there is action, I love it. Many of the sub-plots are riveting. If anybody reads the first Worldwar book, which is great, they will probably read the rest of them because they are good enough to keep you wanting more.
Rating:
Summary: good in some parts but rubbish in others
Review: having read the 4 World War books and the colonization books i feel that the only way to end this series is either humanity is totally taken over or there's a time jump to when humanity the invaded the lizard homeworld. don't get me wrong i enjoy the series but i am not going to waste money on books that continually say the same thing over and over again.
Rating:
Summary: Still Interested....I think
Review: Down To Earth was a good read, but lacking in military action. The cover is misleading in that I don't recall John Kennedy or Nikita Kruschev (and his shoe) even appearing in the story. (I realize that is probably done by the publisher rather than Turtledove) In fact, the whole book was a good read, but not a great/exciting one like the Worldwar series. Although the loose ends at the end of DTE have me ready to read the next book, it needs a lot more military strategy and action. I'm a little afraid Mr. Turtledove is straining to meet possible contract commitments to turn out a certain number of books rather than write the really good SF he is capable of.
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