Harry Turtledove's Worldwar Series

orldwar: Striking the Balance is the fourth and final volume of Harry Turtledove's Worldwar series. Below are brief synopses of the first three volumes:

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Worldwar: In the Balance

It's 1942, and World War II is raging. But in the middle of the war, reptilian invaders who call themselves the Race appear, intent on conquering the Earth to prepare it for a colonization fleet already on its way. Based on survey probes they sent 800 years before, they expect to encounter medieval warriors who they can quickly overwhelm. But humans have advanced technologically far beyond their expectations. The warring human governments suspend World War II to unite against the Race. But the tensions between the various factions remain high, particularly between Germany and the Soviet Union, and in Poland, the Jews initially regard the Race as liberators from the Nazis.

The Race has vastly superior arms, including nuclear weapons, and seems invincible at first. But the Race comes from a hot, dry planet, and when winter comes, the invaders are ill-equipped to deal with the cold temperatures. The humans begin to find small ways they can hurt the Race. And then, the Germans and Soviets jointly steal some plutonium from the Race, raising the possibility than the humans will be able to build nuclear weapons in the near future.

Worldwar: Tilting the Balance

Spring returns to the Northern Hemisphere as Turtledove's second volume opens, and the advantage shifts back to the Race. But the unexpected resistance is draining the Race's ammunition supply, and they're starting to get concerned. They also have discovered that ginger is an addictive drug that induces overconfidence and poor judgment. But the addictive properties are so overwhelming that it has spawned a counterculture within the ranks.

Meanwhile, the Germans and the Soviets have divided the plutonium stolen in the first book. The Polish Jews have now turned against the Race, seeing they intend to enslave all of humanity. But they still do not cooperate with Germans. When one of their leaders captures the German soldier carrying the plutonium, however, he decides that for the benefit of Earth, he will let the German proceed as long as he allows half of the German share to be smuggled to the United States. None of the nations know yet how to make plutonium, and only the Soviets have enough for a bomb. But the Japanese are also trying to develop the weapons, and they learn some key details from a captured Race pilot.

At this point, the Race is becoming very concerned about the humans developing the capability to build nuclear weapons. Already, they have noticed how much faster humans innovate, and the humans have noticed how slowly the Race adapts to new situations.

And then, the Race's worst fears occur. The Soviets detonate an atomic bomb, destroying a huge force that is advancing on Moscow.

Worldwar: Upsetting the Balance

The Race isn't sure yet whether the Soviets have another atomic bomb. But one of its top leaders, after failing to depose the fleetlord, defects to the United States and offers to help humanity defeat the Race. From the U.S., he makes radio broadcasts advocating to the Race's soldiers to give up the fight.

Meanwhile, the pilot who gave the Japanese details of how to make plutonium escapes and reports what happened to his superiors. The Race uses one of its atomic bombs to wipe out the Japanese research center, ending Japan's efforts. But the U.S. and German efforts are proceeding quickly, and each is close to being able to manufacture plutonium on its own.

The Race decides to take the British out of the war, and invades England. In response, Churchill demands they leave, or he will unleash a new weapon against them. They don't take it seriously, until the British start using mustard gas -- a weapon the Race is completely unprepared to face. Once the success of the mustard gas is evident, the Germans start using the deadly nerve gas against the invaders. Until now, the Race has faced only inferior weapons of the types they themselves employ. Now the war has entered a dangerous new phase for them.

And when the Americans and Germans finally develop and start to use a few atomic weapons, the Race's response -- one-for-one retaliation against American and German cities -- doesn't deter the humans. The Race's leaders are starting to lose confidence that they can win the war, and the humans are starting to think they can win.

ack to Off the Shelf.