Colonization: Second Contact (Colonization Series #1) » (~)

Harry Turtledove was born in Los Angeles in 1949. After flunking out of Caltech, he earned a Ph.D. in Byzantine history from UCLA. He has taught ancient and medieval history at UCLA, Cal State Fullerton, and Cal State L.A., and has published a translation of a ninth-century Byzantine chronicle, as well as several scholarly articles. He is also a Hugo Award-winning and Nebula Award-nominated full-time writer of science fiction and fantasy. His alternate history works have included several short stories and the novels A World of Difference, The Guns of the South (a speculative novel of the Civil War), and the Worldwar tetralogy that began in 1994 with Worldwar: In the Balance.

He is married to fellow novelist Laura Frankos. They have three daughters: Alison, Rachel, and Rebecca.

Over the decades, Harry Turtledove has proven to be a master of the alternate history subgenre with numerous acclaimed books to his credit. Now, continuing in the Worldwar saga, Turtledove gives us Colonization: Second Contact, the first installment in a flourishing series of alien-invasion/alternate-world adventures, and one that is bound to further his reputation for devising remarkable what-if histories.

Library Journal

YA-Turtledove, the king of the alternative-history novel, has done it again with Colonization, the first of a new series that continues his "Worldwar" saga. It is set in the turbulent 1960s, and the alien Lizards, who altered the course of World War II in the previous series, are now in a tentative peace agreement with the races of Earth. Unable to conquer humanity, the Lizards are trying to understand it to facilitate alien colonization of Earth. The humans, in turn, are also trying to get to know the aliens better, to further their own agendas. Turtledove has again woven a rich historical tapestry and peopled it with multidimensional characters. This multicultural cast includes military and government officials (domestic, foreign, and alien), terrorists, students, various groups with their own agendas, and average people/aliens caught up in events beyond their control. What distinguishes this title from the previous "Worldwar" novels is in the development of the Lizard characters. In addition to there being more of them, there is a greater depth and variety to them, allowing readers to identify and sympathize with them. This well-written, imaginative tale will appeal to the author's fans and science-fiction aficionados.-John Lawson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.