Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't wait for it to end
Review: The idiotic plot moves at a glacial pace, and the characterizations are laughable. The book's multinational cast of characters is composed largely of ridiculous cultural stereotypes.
Rating: 
Summary: Intriguing Idea, Tepid Execution
Review: The friend who loaned me this book had this to say:
"Harry tries to stuff 55 pounds of (...) in a 5 pound bag."I'm inclined to agree with him. You'll need a scorecard just to keep track of the plethora of characters (some rather poorly-developed to the point of stereotyping). Quite a few scenes seem contrived (e.g., Mr. & Mrs. Larssen...I won't say more), and it feels like Turtledove has opted for quantity over quality, often filling scenes with comments on liquor quality, etc. Turtledove seems to fall back on constantly reiterating how slow the invaders are, philosophically, to the point where I was ready to say "enough already...can we please get on with the story?" I stand by my title. This could have been good.
Rating: 
Summary: An Uneven Book
Review: My thoughts about both this book and the whole series is of two minds. First, it's a great piece of mindless summer blockbuster type destruction, (...) this series was in desperate need of a chainsaw-swinging editor, because there's massive amounts of bloat in it. I've read the books several times, but after the first time I definitely do a 'reader edit' and skip whole sections of the books as not worth the time to read, as well as the ridiculously frequent flashbacks. There are some deficiencies, I think, in how people respond to the alien invasion - much like the Germans and the British, the US hadn't seriously pursued jets for reasons similar to the ones Turtledove ascribes to the RAF and Luftwaffe, but an alien invasion would have lit a fire under Lockheed's butt the same as it did to Turtledove's Germans and British; there are also the underfunded US and (even more so) German programs developing crude SAMs which would have also been kicked into high gear by sheer necessity. (...) But that's minor stuff... I do agree with the aliens not being able to invade their grandmother's kitchen, too; some kid plucked at random from his computer would probably do a far better job than Atvar or any of the other Lizards in strategizing.
Rating: 
Summary: A great start to a fantastic series
Review: I have to admit, I approached this series with some trepidation. However, once I started reading these excellent books, I was hooked. Harry Turtledove does a great job of taking historical based fiction (World War II) and weaving in an entertaining science fiction story. Without giving too much away, the general plot is that in the midst of WW2, an alien race determined to conquer the earth for future colonization arrives, forcing enemies to unite against a newer, far deadlier foe. This book is the first in a series that chronicles that struggle. Turtledove has a huge cast of characters from just about every corner, and army, of the world. We see the war unfold through the eyes of these characters, both human and alien. Despite the large numbers, Turtledove manages to weave subplots and characters together to create an engrossing, entertaining story. This is one of the better alternate history stories I've read. If you're a fan of sci-fi and history you'll enjoy this book.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent alternative history series about aliens & WWII.
Review: Turtledove's first Worldwar book introduces us to the Lizards, an alien race bent on conquring the planet during World War II. An interesting read in alternative history sci-fi, to say the least, one that WW II military buffs will be especially pleased with. Turtledove's narrative takes us from the US to the German front to China to Russia, and how humans attempt to resist conquest. Especially good are the "talks" amongst world figures Molotov, Ribbentrop,Hull et al, and each regime's reaction to the invasion. Ultimately, Turtledove asks us: What would happen if, during the period of tense alliances and fierce battles of WW II, an even greater enemy bent on conquering the entire planet appeared? A solid series, and an especially solid start.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling but spotty
Review: Here's a series that in many respects is terrific, but it has a few major flaws, particularly including the author becoming a bit too impressed with himself. The books are long winded and repetitive. If you've waded through Robert Jordan's long, never ending Wheel of Time series, you can appreciate an occasional recap to remind you of who the characters are and what their motivations are. But Turtledove not only does that from book to book, but does it constantly, mind numbingly, throughout each book. Wehrmacht Col. Jager for instance tells you almost every time you meet him of how he didn't realize Jews were being killed. Each character seems to redundantly trot out their pet themes every time they are introduced. Given that Turtledove uses the technique cut-aways to deal with competing subplots, that means this happens a lot--just about every time he returns to a particular character. How many times can we read about Ludmilla and her reaction to the attempted rape? Over and over again, evidently. They say and think the same things constantly. It is beyond tedious--it begins to be padding, a sign of an author who badly needed an editor. This series could've been brilliant as a trilogy. It's still fun as a four parter--but not perfect.
Rating:
Summary: Very Close to Pornography..
Review: I was never more disappointed in any book I read. The story went directly from the eve of invasion by the aliens to "Oh, my, they're here!" with no explination no how they got here. The book was also more concerned with the characters sex life. They spendt 90% of their time having sex, with the aliens forcing their captives to have sex, because they didn't reproduce sexually and were doing 'research'. Even earth people who weren't in captivity seemed to spend most of their time having sex. I will never read any by Mr. Turtledove again.
Rating:
Summary: I liked This Book
Review: The book In the Balance is a very good book about World War II, it is based on the fact that Hitler, and all the other leaders of the world at that time are uniting to conquer Aliens. The aliens are from a world called "Tosev 3" and they are very scaly and inhumanlike, which is why their nickname is "Lizards". There are some people who have spaceships and they are in space orbiting around Tosev 3 trying to destroy the planet.
Rating:
Summary: Turtledove doesn't disapoint in worldwar series opener
Review: I first heard of Harry Turtledove thanks to my brother.The first novel of his I read was Guns Of The South and I was hooked on Harry Turtledove and when I heard of the Worldwar series I decided to take a crack at it.All of my expectations were met in the first book In The Balance.It was an outstanding expirince reading of sex,death,losses,and victories.This novel scores a victory with me.
Rating:
Summary: Good 600 page start, but won't keep me going for 1800 more
Review: Turtledove writes a good page-turner. As many other reviewers have already commented, the characters are a bit flat and often stereotyped. The technology that the invaders bring is not logical nor is the way that they employ it. All that said, it is entertaining. There's not much more fun than beating superior space aliens using only our raw courage and ingenuity. If you're looking for history or hard science-fiction, this is not a good choice. If you are willing to commit to a 2,400 page series and you like this sort of thing, it is fun.
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