Rating: 
Summary: He's not through yet.
Review: Second Contact continues the WorldWar series into a fifth book with renewed energy. It was conincidence, but I'd just finished rteading the new WWII novel, The Triumph and the Glory, when I learned that this book was out and it was very interesting to compare the two. Actually, The Triumph and the Glory was better, but since I'm reviewing Turtledove's book I'll only add that he could improve his books by picking up the pace a little and moving things along. He draws everything out too much.
Rating:
Summary: I like it
Review: I've got to admit I've always looked a bit askance at the Worldwar books, especially compared to his "All-Human" civil War and Great war novels. But after reading this one I've really been impressed by the way in which Turtledove weaves futuristic technology (atomic rockets, fuel-cell engines) into the material of the past (Ullhass and Ristin playing Spike Jones comedy records- a highlight). While I have no strong opinion on the question of Nazi aid to Britain (after 20 years of coexistance facing a common enemy, I think they would come to some sort of modus vivendi), I think the series is at its strongest in such scenes of alternate "period detail" like the aforementioned scene with the record, and the British nostalgia for Players cigarettes. At one point in the book, Sam Yeager mentions meeting John Wayne, for instance. What sort of war movies would Wayne have appeared in in this world? Would the Beav shave his head and wear body paint?
Rating: 
Summary: Great addition to the WORLDWAR series!!!
Review: One of the best books in the series yet. Leaves you hanging in the end though. Can't wait for the next book.
Rating: 
Summary: Keep' em coming harry!
Review: Interesting 4th novel in series..I'll keep my criticisms to myself..until I write a 500 pg novel... You're doin' great, Harry! Thanks
Rating:
Summary: Good start at a new series
Review: Harry Turtledove's Colonization: Second Contact continues to play out the drama of Earth partially conqueored by a race of lizard-like aliens during World War Two.Twenty years later, Earth is engaged in a new cold war, between the Lizards, the Americans, the Germans, and the Russians. Britian, suddenly shorn of its empire, has become dependent on Nazi Germany for support, while the Japanese are being funded by the Americans. The space race continues, with regualr flights on all sides. Many of the old characters from the Worldwar series are still around, but the reader can meet the new ones, like the females of the Race, arriving on Earth. I don't want to blow too much, but I have to thrown in my biggest complainants first. I don't think Britizn would allow itself to receive aid from the Nazis, and I don't think the Nazis would give it either. Most likely support would come from America, as they share a common culture and language. All in all, a good read and a good start for the next novel in the series.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable read but many missed opportunities
Review: This second series taking place soon after Turtledove's well received "WorldWar" saga is a good read that kept me entertained. But it is also a disappointment in that it's pretty clear that the author padded the book enough so that he can make what could probably be written in 2 books into a 4 book story. What's particularly unfortunate is that Turtledove pads the book with largely irrelevant character building that makes the book feel like "Winds of War" with lizards. A book such as this has so many opportunities to go into detail on how this alternative past is different than our own. The technology changes, the general life of the average American, Japanese, Russian, German, etc could be fleshed out more. In this alternative history, the US apparently goes to Mars. This is just mentioned in passing. What other types of technology do they have? Another surprising thing is how little detail is given on human military technology. I know in our time line what 1960 era jets, tanks, and ships could do, what is different in this alternative timeline? One of the most surprising things is how little mention the United States gets in the book from a governmental point of view. The reader gets no real inkling to where the US stands when compared to Nazi Germany or Russia from an economic or military balance other than a vague understanding that the US is "on par" with Germany in military technology. Some things just don't make historical sense. In this alternative history, Great Britain slowly moves closer to Nazi Germany in behavior. I don't think many historians would agree that such a thing was even possible in a Churchill controlled Britain. Even some of the character behavior seems senseless. The Race seems too ignorant to be as advanced as they are (not knowing how to deal with Snow? Even their home world would have to have polar icecaps and you'd think they would have been briefed). But overall, my main disappointment with the book is that it's basically a 150 page book stretched into a nearly 400 page book. But I would still recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the original series. The original series suffered largely from these same things, especially the later ones). It's a good book but one that could have been so much better.
Rating:
Summary: What is he doing to us?
Review: I loved the book. It was very well written and an exciting and intriguing concept. The book leaves a lot of questions unanswered, however. This book ends with a cliffhanger-like quality. Mr. Turtledove is either a very sadistic man or has plans for yet another sequel to his "World War" series.
Rating: 
Summary: How many more times...
Review: ...can Harry Turtledove beat the idea to death about human technological evolution being so fast-paced as to catch sleep-ship colonists off guard? Well, it happens about every ten pages it seems, but the book overall is a decent pulp fiction read. Just be ready to expect frustrating repetition and seemingly irrelevant side stories from time to time.
Rating:
Summary: Great Stuff
Review: This is a book all WorldWar fans have been waiting for! Plot twists, great charactherization, and historical characthers are as real as their fictional counterparts. Highly recommended
Rating:
Summary: The War is over, the real questions get decided.
Review: I like the way this book continues the WorldWar series. The big tactical battles have now been fought to a standstill and the strategic war is well on it's way to being won by the humans. Some of the subplots really impress me. The unspoken toleration of Jewish heritage in the German military, the further explanation of the social lives of individual members of the Race, and the Intifada and Chinese Communist resistance plots add depth to the story in places it was a little scanty in the first series. The target of the mysterious nuclear attack, the Lewis & Clark expedition, and the revelation that all of the Race's military assets are now on Earth hint mightily at an eventual Human victory at the conclusion of the series. Color me a human chauvinist, but that's what I was looking for! I can't wait for the next book.
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