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Summary: BUY THIS IMMEDIATELY
Review: If you like science fiction or historical fiction or a combination of the two, this book, actually this entire series, is a must have. I picked up this book about a year ago and have read through the four books of that series and up to the latest in the continuing "Colonization" series. Turtledove is an excellent author who makes his characters come alive on the page. This book and its sequels are of the rare form in which you can find yourself immersed in the worlds the author created and you find yourself thinking of the characters as real people. Great book, and like I said at the beginning- BUY THIS IMMEDIATELY.
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Summary: Conflictus Interruptus
Review: When I read Guns of the South by Turtledove, I was disappointed that the "alteration" was caused by time travellers smuggling AK-47s to the Confederacy. I'm enjoying The Great War tetrology much more because the "alteration" is a natural re-writing of a historical event. So I didn't have high hopes when I saw WWII was to be altered by an alien invasion. BUT THIS BOOK IS GREAT! Turtledove takes the oldest cliche in pulp sf-the invading lizard race- gives it twists and turns and drops it into WWII. My sense of wonder was 1st stirred when it was revealed in the prologue that the lizards , although more highly advanced than humans, progressed at a much slower rate. The aliens , who think they are invading a nomadic bow and arrow culture, find us with radio, flight , and explosives. Now they realize they have to kick tail fast or the earth will be counterattacking their home world much sooner than they can devise appropriate defenses. There are the requisite reality figures-mostly world leaders and a slew of characters so large there is a dramatis personae given. The action hops from China to the US to Poland to space as we catch every facet of the struggle from different viewpoints. Every character has a unique insight into the War, Mr. Turtledove has provided an excellent way to escape from the real world for a day or 2. Now, excuse me, I have to sign off and begin part 2, Worldwar:Tilting the Balance.
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Summary: A great kickoff to a new series!
Review: As the opener for a new series,Worldwar:In the Balance, really reaches out and grabs you and doesn't let go! The basic concept of an alien invasion taking place during a time when all the great powers of Earth are at war with on another is really innovative. The disruption to mankind in general as humans (Big Uglies,as the invaders call us) struggle to set aside petty grievances such as Pearl Harbor and Operation Barbarosa and band together to take on The Race (as the invaders refer to themselves)is,at times humorous,very entertaining. The "Lizards" as all humans generally refer to the invaders, are not just surprised by the warm reception they are receiving, but are genuinely exasperated that the recon probe that was sent 800 years earlier and showed only savages with spears and knights on horseback was not that which awaited them. Instead humanity fought back with Panzers vs. Landcruisers, propeller driven aircraft vs. jet powered killercraft, and a ruthlessness and skill level that the race could not match through computer simulations. In this volume,the lizards are held at bay by the not-Empire of the Deutsche and the panzer forces in Russia. One of the more interesting episodes involves the use Eisenbahnkanon "Dora" to inflict grevious losses on the lizards. The book is very nicely paced considering the number of characters introduced--both human AND lizard. We are introduced to the major players in this volume of Worldwar , many of whom are still going strong (or not so strong) in the later volumes and continuing into the Colonization series. We are treated to cameo appearances by a number of world leaders of the era--Josef Stalin, Enrico Fermi, Leslie Groves,to name a few. In summary, an entertaining book. My only complaint is some of the dialogue coming out of the characters' mouths is a bit too contrived,and somewhat repetitive. A strong 4-stars ; I would really like to give it 4 1/2 stars; just not quite a "5".
Rating: 
Summary: You MUST read ONE book in this series
Review: I really enjoyed reading the first book in this series, but subsequent books were repetitive. The research that obviously went into it makes for genuine characters, and the insight into humanity as seen through the eyes of an alien species is humorous, at times. But don't bother to read the whole series. I'm starting the 4th book now, and I haven't really gotten anything new out of the 2nd or 3rd book.But don't get me wrong. I really liked the first book.
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Summary: A disappointing bloatfest
Review: ... This series, which runs well over 2000 pages, could havebeen edited into 600 pages and been an OK read. These books are among the most painfully repetitive you'll ever read - for several reasons. First you can actually start the series anywhere, at any chapter, and within two chapters have the entire backstory - he repeats what's happened so frequently. Then within one 100 page spread late in the series, I counted 12 different times characters, when having an alcoholic beverage, commented a) on its poor quality (i.e. "this is what passes for beer these days") and b) it's better to have this than nothing. ... Finally, the author has this annoying habit of unnecessarly explaining what a character really means when they've said something - and often in excrutiating detail. ... The biggest disappointment: ... The bookcovers of the series feature military and political leaders. I imagined gripping scenes at the executive leadership level - grand strategic and tactical discussions, and the fireworks between these leaders when ideologies clash as they attempt to solve the alien threat. Awesome. Alas, we are only given fleating glimpses of these figures, usually from a distance, and instead we trudge through with uninteresting sidebar characters who are remarkably alike. This was a brilliant concept. I hope someone else does it right.
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Summary: Alien Invasion Unites A Divided Planet
Review: 'Worldwar: In the Balance' assumes an alien invasion during the Second World War. Americans and Japanese, Jews and Nazis, and Russians and Germans must put thier differences aside to combat this new, greater foe who has come to enslave humanity. In Russia, Germans and partisans must band together to strike a blow against the alien Lizards, in the Warsaw ghetto the Jews must make a devils pact to free themselves from the death-filled policies of the Nazis, and in North America scientists scramble to create the ultimate weapon that will allow humanity to fight the Lizards on something approaching even terms. Turtledove's 'Worldwar' series, which begins here, is one of his greatest creations. Dealing with warfare on a grand scale, and the great science-fiction tradition of alien invasion, the 'Worldwar' series is a fun and entertaining marraige of thought-provoking alternate history and classic science-fiction. There are a few too many characters and the plot does tend to slow down at times but these are minor points when compared with the overall strength of the story. This book brilliantly sets the stage for the three novels that follow and the sequal series, 'Colonization.'
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Summary: lizards?
Review: I aggree with the Kirkus review above. "Intriguing and panoramic but circuitous and uncompelling, and lacking even a token ending.... a meandering journey of unspecified duration." UNCOMPELLING being the key word here. The aliens being Lizards just didn't do for me either. Ruined it. It was a great idea but the lizards blew it. The story: During World War II we are invaded by lizard aliens.
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Summary: Military history... Science fiction... FUN!
Review: <The following review applies to the whole WorldWar series> SF blockbuster meets alternate history! It's 1942, and WWII is going strong. Germany is fighting Russia and Britain, the USA is fighting Japan, and the action has never been faster and more furious. But it's about to be. Strange lights appear in the sky. Radars in Britain detect a mysterious new presence over Europe. Impossibly fast aircraft begin tearing the fighters and bombers of the world to shreds. THE ALIENS HAVE LANDED! Suddenly, the beleaguered nations of Earth are faced by a more powerful menace than ever before. The newcomers attack all over the world, armed with jet planes, helicopters, automatic rifles, and A-bombs. The Earthlings are taken aback, but they fight back with everything they have: Panzer tanks, railroad guns, propellor planes, and anything that might explode. They're outclassed in almost every respect by their technologically superior foes, but they soon discover one thing they have which the aliens lack: creativity. Earth's defenders employ every guerrilla tactic in the book, while scientists struggle to perfect jet engines and nuclear bombs. They may be outclassed, but they have no intention of giving up. Meanwhile, the small, reptilian "lizards" are also quite taken aback. Their space probe, which sent its report a mere eight centuries ago, led them to expect spear-wielding savages. Where did these tanks come from? Where did these "big uglies" (as the aliens call humans throughout the series) learn about powered flight? How could so much happen in 800 years? And more to the point, how did the locals learn such dirty tactics? This series succeeds brilliantly as both military adventure and science fiction. The aliens' military technology is about at the 1990s level: Abrams-like tanks, F-15-like fighters, and so on. The clash between superior lizard technology and superior big ugly tactics leads to some terrific combat action. The lizards are a strangely endearing creation, several of whom are viewpoint characters. They are the ultimate high-tech innocents. Although reactionary and expansionistic, they are not really evil; they merely see themselves as spreading the word of Civilization to less fortunate races. Their society epitomizes order, law, and staticicity. Faced by such psychotic, technologically advanced barbarians as these big uglies, their world view is shattered. How can they reconcile these high-tech barbarians with their logical, rational mindset? One of the most exciting SF epics of recent years.
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Summary: Good "what if?"
Review: Harry Turtledove trained as a historian, and 'alternate history' novels are one of his specialties. This is the first book in a series that I liked a lot, but many didn't. If you're not prepared to take this series on its own terms, don't bother. The premise is that in May, 1942, just as the human race is getting ready for some serious mutual bloodletting, invaders from another star show up. These are the Race, known to humans as 'the Lizards', a species that has developed VERY slowly and patiently, and has conquered two other inhabited worlds. Both the alien races the Lizards have previously encountered were much like them. Humans aren't. The Lizards have only sublight travel, and last surveyed Earth during the Crusades. They expect humanity to have advanced as much in 800 years as they or the other conquered races would have -- that is, barely at all. So they deploy their supersonic fighters and tanks, ready to roll over knights on horseback, and run smack into armies that are outclassed in some respects, and fully competitive in others. A big factor determining if you'll like this series is whether you're willing to buy into the premise. You could say that these books are highly artificial -- let the Race arrive in 1932 and they'd walk over humans, let them show up in 1952 and they'd be nuked before they got a foothold. Or you can say 'the Race' is carefully contructed. Turtledove obviously started with the idea of an invasion during WWII that would be neither a pushover nor doomed, and the Lizards' characteristics follow logically from that plot requirement. As it is, humanity and the Race are "In the Balance," just matched to each other. This delighted me, but it clearly annoyed some of the reviewers. The other big factor in deciding whether you'd like this series is pace and scope. The story develops a bit slowly, and not everyone will like following dozens of characters scattered over the globe as they make their separate decisions to fight or cooperate with the invaders, and try to stay alive in a world turned upside down. Also, things won't be resolved quickly, any more than the real WWII was over in a few months. Again, this annoyed some, but left me with lots to look forward to. The "World War" series develops over four books, till the humans and the Race reach temporary balance, and continues in the "Colonization" series, when the aliens main settlement fleet finally arrives. If you want everything settled in one novel, this is definitely not for you. If, like me, you enjoy following dozens of characters spread through years and continents, you'll probably like this series. Turtledove's characters are mostly well drawn, and the plotting fairly tight. His knowledge of history shows, and I mostly believed his assessments of how Hitler, Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt would have reacted to these events. There are some things I would have insisted on changing if I was his editor, but overall I liked all four of the "Worldwar" series, and eagerly await the third volume in the "Colonization" series.
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Summary: The Best Alternate History Yet!
Review: This is by far the best alternate history novel (and series) ever, surpassing even Turtledove's other work. While he seems to get caught up in his own characters and sub-plots (often extraneous) in his more recent novels, 'Worldwar: In the Balance' offers the perfect balance between plot and action, historical characters and his own characters. Read it. (NOTE: His sequel series, 'Colonization' is not nearly as good. The first of that series was pretty bad, but the second is more promissing. Hopefully he can return to 'Worldwar' quality to end the saga.)
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