Colonization (series)
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Colonization is a trilogy of books written by Harry Turtledove. It is a continuation of the situation set up in the Worldwar four-book series, 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, Central America, and South America. The United States, Canada, the Soviet Union, the Greater German Reich (Germany and the territories it occupied during World War II), Britain, 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.
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.
In analysis, this trilogy develops the setting in several ways. It becomes somewhat more apparent just how different the Race is from humans. With a civilization that first united a planet, Home (Tau Ceti 2) 50,000 years ago, they then conquered planets in two other star systems: Rabotev 2 (Epsilon Eridani 2) about 14,000 years ago, and Halless 1 (Epsilon Indi 1) about 9,000 years ago. Despite this vast time period, their technology is shown to be little better than what actually existed when Turtledove was writing, due to their extreme conservatism regarding innovation. They use laser discs, an internet, and hydrogen-burning cars. They travel between the stars in 'cold sleep' because it takes more than twenty years to reach Earth, even with their relativistic spacecraft. Overall it is shown that while the invasion was catastrophic for humans, the experience was the Race's version of the Vietnam War. This is borne out in the relations between the males of the Conquest Fleet, and the Colonization Fleet arriving twenty years later expecting a pacified planet.
[edit] 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 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'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. The United States is led by President Earl Warren. The Soviet Union is ruled by Ex-Foreign Commissar Vyacheslav Molotov.
[edit] Technology
The Race's initial invasion has benefited the technology of mankind. 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 already has spacecraft floating among the asteroid belt. The Americans are also making plans for the first human starship.
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| Videssos books | Videssos Cycle | The Misplaced Legion | An Emperor for the Legion | The Legion of Videssos | The Swords of the Legion |
| The Tale of Krispos | Krispos Rising | Krispos of Videssos | Krispos the Emperor | |
| Time of Troubles | The Stolen Throne | Hammer and Anvil | The Thousand Cities | Videssos Besieged | |
| The Bridge of the Separator | ||
| The Race or Tosev timeline series |
Worldwar Tetralogy | In the Balance | Tilting the Balance | Upsetting the Balance | Striking the Balance |
| Colonization | Second Contact | Down to Earth | Aftershocks | |
| Homeward Bound | ||
| Southern Victory or Timeline-191 |
How Few Remain | |
| Great War Trilogy | American Front | Walk in Hell | Breakthroughs | |
| American Empire Trilogy | Blood and Iron | The Center Cannot Hold | The Victorious Opposition | |
| Settling Accounts Tetralogy | Return Engagement | Drive to the East | The Grapple | In at the Death | |
| Darkness | Into the Darkness | Darkness Descending | Through the Darkness | Rulers of the Darkness | Jaws of the Darkness | Out of the Darkness | |
| War Between the Provinces | Sentry Peak | Marching Through Peachtree | Advance and Retreat | |
| Hellenic Traders | Over the Wine Dark Sea | The Gryphon's Skull | The Sacred Land | Owls to Athens | |
| Crosstime Traffic | Gunpowder Empire | Curious Notions | In High Places | The Disunited States of America | The Gladiator | The Valley-Westside War | |
| Pacific War Series | Days of Infamy | End of the Beginning | |
| Scepter of Mercy | The Chernagor Pirates | The Bastard King | The Scepter's Return | |
| Other, non-series books | ||
| Agent of Byzantium | A Different Flesh | Noninterference | Kaleidoscope | A World Of Difference | Earthgrip | The Guns of the South | The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump | Departures | Down in the Bottomlands | The Two Georges | Thessalonica | Between the Rivers | Justinian | Household Gods | Counting Up, Counting Down | Ruled Britannia | In the Presence of Mine Enemies | Conan of Venarium | Every Inch a King | Fort Pillow | Beyond the Gap | Opening Atlantis | The Battle of Teutoberg Forest | ||
