meredithjohnson's review against another edition
3.0
This book would be SO MUCH better without the constant interjection of unnecessary references to sex, that are almost always tinged with misogyny. Usually they add nothing to the story, and often they take the reader out of the moment. Reading from the perspective of Sam Yeager, in his 50’s, we almost always get a reference to how attractive his sons teenage girlfriend is. Any time we read from Kassquit’s POV, we have to hear about her masturbation habits. Old what’s his name on the Lewis and Clark has many laments about how women are allowed to decide who to have sex with. And dear lord the sex scene with Kassquit and Jonathan ... it is the most poorly written, awkward, uncomfortable couple of pages I have come across in a long time. Has Turtledove ever talked to a woman about sex, or how our bodies work? Because he needs to, badly.
tome15's review against another edition
4.0
Turrtledove, Harry. Down to Earth. Colonization No. 2. Del Rey, 2001.
The colonization effort by the alien “little scaly devils” has begun, but things are not going well for them. Their colonists expected to move into a completely pacified world, but instead, they encounter a world that is anything but pacified. Worse, the planet has a very addictive drug (ginger!) that threatens to disrupt their entire culture. Worse yet, the humans (a.k.a. big uglies) are threatening to start a nuclear war among themselves with a rapidly developing technology that the would-be conquerors have never experienced. You almost have to feel sorry for the poor aliens. Almost.
The colonization effort by the alien “little scaly devils” has begun, but things are not going well for them. Their colonists expected to move into a completely pacified world, but instead, they encounter a world that is anything but pacified. Worse, the planet has a very addictive drug (ginger!) that threatens to disrupt their entire culture. Worse yet, the humans (a.k.a. big uglies) are threatening to start a nuclear war among themselves with a rapidly developing technology that the would-be conquerors have never experienced. You almost have to feel sorry for the poor aliens. Almost.
davidr's review against another edition
4.0
This novel is the second in Harry Turtledove's "Colonization" series. While the series is called a "tetralogy", I can only find three books--it really is a trilogy. This novel picks up where the first one ([b:Second Contact|101533|Second Contact (Colonization, #1)|Harry Turtledove|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403168518s/101533.jpg|1345805] left off. The humans on Earth have stagnated in three major civilizations; United States, The Third Reich, and the Soviet Union. The alien "race" has conquered the Southern Hemisphere, and some scattered footholds in the Northern Hemisphere.
Like the first book in the series, Turtledove follows events through the lives of a set of a dozen or so characters. Some of the characters are humans, some are aliens, and a couple are members of one race or the other that have been brought up in the culture of the other race. This is perhaps the most interesting; a Chinese baby was "kidnapped" and raised on board one of the alien space ships. Her biology is human, but her culture is entirely alien. The purpose is to better understand humans, and also to use her as a bridge between the races.
The aliens have come in two separate fleets. The conquest fleet arrived during the early 1940's, right in the midst of World War II. They expected to find primitive humans, but instead found a technically adept race that learned and adapted technologies rapidly. The colonization fleet arrive during the 1960's, expecting to find a world totally subdued by the earlier conquest fleet. They are very upset that only parts of the world are subdued, and the remaining parts are still very feisty. They try to understand human psychology, but often cannot fathom the reasons why humans behave as they do. Just an example, the aliens cannot understand why their tax on human religions (superstitions), designed as a motivation to convert to the alien religion, seems to backfire, sometimes violently.
Some reviewers think that too much attention is paid to the problems of Jews in Europe, in the aftermath of World War II. The German Reich remains a world power, and its influence is advancing into Great Britain as the two countries gradually become allies. However, I think that this aspect of the book is very insightful. Virulent anti-Semitism is being propagated throughout Europe, seemingly to appease the the growing strength of the German Nazi party.
I did not read this book--I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Patrick Lawlor. He does a creditable job, but does not simulate German or French accents very well. Nevertheless, the audiobook version is enjoyable.
I recommend this book to readers who enjoy a good yarn, especially an alternative history.
Like the first book in the series, Turtledove follows events through the lives of a set of a dozen or so characters. Some of the characters are humans, some are aliens, and a couple are members of one race or the other that have been brought up in the culture of the other race. This is perhaps the most interesting; a Chinese baby was "kidnapped" and raised on board one of the alien space ships. Her biology is human, but her culture is entirely alien. The purpose is to better understand humans, and also to use her as a bridge between the races.
The aliens have come in two separate fleets. The conquest fleet arrived during the early 1940's, right in the midst of World War II. They expected to find primitive humans, but instead found a technically adept race that learned and adapted technologies rapidly. The colonization fleet arrive during the 1960's, expecting to find a world totally subdued by the earlier conquest fleet. They are very upset that only parts of the world are subdued, and the remaining parts are still very feisty. They try to understand human psychology, but often cannot fathom the reasons why humans behave as they do. Just an example, the aliens cannot understand why their tax on human religions (superstitions), designed as a motivation to convert to the alien religion, seems to backfire, sometimes violently.
Some reviewers think that too much attention is paid to the problems of Jews in Europe, in the aftermath of World War II. The German Reich remains a world power, and its influence is advancing into Great Britain as the two countries gradually become allies. However, I think that this aspect of the book is very insightful. Virulent anti-Semitism is being propagated throughout Europe, seemingly to appease the the growing strength of the German Nazi party.
I did not read this book--I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Patrick Lawlor. He does a creditable job, but does not simulate German or French accents very well. Nevertheless, the audiobook version is enjoyable.
I recommend this book to readers who enjoy a good yarn, especially an alternative history.
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