Colonization (series)

Map of the World when the Colonization series begins.

Colonization is a trilogy of alternate history books by American writer Harry Turtledove. It is a series continuation of the situation set up in the Worldwar tetralogy, projecting the situation between humanity and the Race (the bipedal lizardlike invaders and settlers from Worldwar) nearly twenty years forward into the mid-1960s.

The Race has settled and plans to colonize nearly half the surface of the Earth. This half includes Africa, Australia, China, southern Asia, Mexico, Central America, South America, Spain, Portugal, and Poland (consisting of the territory of prewar Poland and East Prussia). The United States, Canada, the Soviet Union, the Greater German Reich (Germany and the territories it occupied during World War II), the United Kingdom, and Japan are the only other powers when the Race's colonization fleet of eighty- to one hundred- million settlers arrives. Humanity and the Race still jockey for advantages over each other.

Novels

Books of the Colonization trilogy are:

• Colonization: Second Contact (1999)
• Colonization: Down to Earth (2000)
• Colonization: Aftershocks (2001)

A follow-up novel to this series, Homeward Bound, was released in 2004.

Situation

The Race has taken over half of the planet. With the exception of the Greater German Reich, the USSR, The Japanese Empire, The British Isles, the USA, and some nations allied to the major powers, mostly in the northern hemisphere, the Race rules most of the Earth. The Race spend their time trying to adapt to conditions on Earth (e.g., the aliens release species from Home on Earth, causing environmental trouble). The USSR supplies weapons to Mao Zedong's Communist Party, The Greater German Reich attacks Race-held Poland (and fails, resulting in the death of Führer Ernst Kaltenbrunner, his top officials, the nuclear destruction of much of Greater Germany, and the removal of Nazi space installations). The German capital is relocated to Flensburg and Walter Dornberger becomes the new Führer. France regains its independence under a new Fourth Republic. The United States is led by President Earl Warren. The Soviet Union is ruled by Ex-Foreign Commissar Vyacheslav Molotov.

Technology

The Race's initial invasion has benefited the technology of humanity. With the end to the second round of fighting, alien technology is being rapidly absorbed by humanity. Although the Race remains superior in technology, they are swiftly losing ground as human technology advances.

By the end of Colonization: Aftershocks, the United States and Reich already have spacecraft floating among the asteroid belt. The Americans have also launched two human starships. The Soviet Union, United States, and Germany established a moon base and the U.S. and Germany put a man on Mars, but Germany was first.

Literary criticism and reception

A writer from the Irish Independent called the Colonization series one of the best of Turtledove's works.^[1]

References