umanity's only outpost on Venus is Venera Base, a huge sphere that
rides the planet's equatorial winds. The brainchild of Dr. Helen Failia, the
base is home to 10,000 residents. Earth does not permit the base to have full independence, because the home planet is afraid of losing its grip on the various colonies
that provide its natural resources. Venera, like Mars, the moon colony and
others, is forbidden to produce its own ships or satellites. This ensures
the Venerans' dependence on Earth for critical supplies.
Venera is especially
vulnerable because the colony has no industrial infrastructure, exporting
only its research: studies of the planet's volcanoes,
climate and atmosphere. After thriving for nearly 40 years, the station
is about to lose its funding, forcing longtime residents to consider the
prospect of evacuating to worlds that many of them have never lived on.
Despite Helen Failia's charms and political maneuverings, the Venera
project seems doomed.
Salvation comes when
surveyors make a discovery on the surface of Venus: a mysterious group of
tunnels and chambers that may have been dug by aliens. Suddenly funding
trickles back to the station, and the United Nations dispatches a team to verify the
find. But Helen and her followers must face some harsh truths before Venera
can be secure: the discovery could well be a hoax, a ploy in the struggle
for colonial independence.
Confirming that the aliens do exist only complicates matters. The People,
as they call themselves, come from a dying world and intend to colonize
Venus. As such, they have no interest in saving Failia's base or in
placating a suddenly fearful human race. What's more, their technology is
advanced, easily capable of eliminating any threat that Earth
chooses to pose.
A fantastic tour of Venus
Sarah Zettel's writing gets better with every book, and readers who
enjoyed her earlier novel Playing God will definitely want to read The Quiet
Invasion. Once again, a vivid alien culture clashes with humans and
their values. The differences between the two species could not be greater:
the alien People are capable of flourishing unprotected in the
intense pressure and heat of the Venusian atmosphere. Their belief
system has a complex moral range. Cultural practices that are wholly
admirable coexist with others, like slavery, which humans have
long found regressive and brutal.
Unlike most first-contact novels, the humans in The Quiet Invasion
fail to rise to the occasion. Everyone involved in the Venera discovery has
a hidden agenda and a political use for the aliens. Behind the scenes, the
People are suffering from factional strife of their own. Both sides withhold
facts and mislead each other, and the results are very nearly catastrophic.
This diplomatic mess is utterly realistic and delivered with devastating
authority.
The Quiet Invasion is structured with multiple viewpoints, giving
each of its major characters a chance in the limelight. The switching of
focus serves the intrigue-heavy plot, showing off different aspects of
Venera's power struggle with Earth. The downside is that characterization is
spread thin--though readers have insight into each player's surface
motivations, there is little depth. The characters' sacrifices and
betrayals have less emotional impact than they should.
Even so, The Quiet Invasion is a fantastic tour of
Venus, with plenty of fresh ideas, excitement and all-out wonder on the
itinerary.
olonization: Down to Earth is the sixth novel in Harry
Turtledove's Worldwar universe, where alternate history meets alien invasion. When reptilian aliens attempted to conquer Earth
midway through World War II, the Allied and Axis powers formed an uneasy
alliance to defend the human race. Eventually the United States, Russia and
Germany developed nuclear weapons, and the Lizards were forced to accept peace
terms. This left the few nuclear powers free of alien control, launching
an era of careful diplomacy and Cold War.
The first four installments of Worldwar took place in the middle
of the 20th century. Down to Earth is the second book in a series
that picks up 20 years later, beginning with the arrival of a Lizard
colonization fleet. This influx of Lizard civilians makes itself felt
everywhere: Australians are evicted from their homeland, a Lizard
stronghold; in the Middle East, Jews and Muslims are taxed in an effort to
make them convert to the alien religion; and alien livestock and pets
devastate the environment, threatening the survival of less competitive
Earth animals and the human farmers who depend on them.
The Lizards take the long view, still hoping to assimilate all of Earth
into their empire despite their setbacks. But although the colonists arrive in force, success is
by no means assured. The invasion fleetlord, Atvar, lost more soldiers than expected in the war and the subsequent occupations of politically sensitive regions including
China, Poland, and the Middle East. Now he is literally running out of
troops with which to maintain the balance of power. Captured
Lizard devices have also accelerated humanity's technological advancement,
vaulting them into the Space Age. Atvar is forced to consider whether the
Lizards can retain their technological edge.
A worst-case scenario emerges: if human technology poses a legitimate
danger to the Lizards' homeworld, Atvar may have to destroy the planet, his
would-be subjects, and the Lizard colonists and soldiers.
Dark and disturbing
To date, Colonization: Down to Earth is the grimmest book in this
series. Though Turtledove has been unflinching in his portrayal of war's
many evils, the Worldwar universe has nevertheless been enormous fun, giving readers
a chance to see humanity through an alien viewpoint. As always, a huge cast
of characters threads the minefield of Earth-Lizard relations, but this time
a higher proportion of these beloved characters are in serious
trouble--threatened by their own governments, subject to horrific
exploitation, and faced with the outbreak of nuclear war.
As for the Lizards, it is clear that they have lost their innocence,
having evolved the ruthlessness and cynicism necessary for dealing with
humans. Readers may long for the days when every new human tactic stymied
Atvar and his followers. The underlying humor, the sheer joy of seeing the
Lizards aghast at innovations such as guerrilla warfare and drug smuggling,
is significantly muted now that the Lizards are more used to human wiles.
This is not to say that there is anything wrong with Colonization:
Down to Earth. On the contrary, all of its story developments are
convincing. Turtledove's handling of a Greater German Reich that has
survived into the '60s continues to be sensitive and realistic, and much
of this novel is devoted to resolving the ugly questions raised by the Reich's existence. The shifts in the balance of power, the continued threat to
all of Earth, and the effects that trickle down to the characters are all
compelling.
More importantly, the author deftly resolves several important storylines
in this installment, while planting fresh seeds for later books. Suspense
junkies and devoted Worldwar readers will find that Colonization:
Down to Earth leaves their appetites--at least temporarily--satisfied.
Still, the next helping cannot come soon enough.
