Homeward Bound by Harry Turtledove
01/03/2005 . Source: Paul Hanley 

pub: Del Rey/Ballantine. 597 page hardback. Price: $26.95 (US), $37.95 (CAN). ISBN: 0-345-45846-X.

Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK.

check out websites: www.delreydigital.com

This is the latest book by the very prolific Harry Turtledove in his series 'World War And Colonisation' and is claimed to be the concluding part.

I have read the earlier volumes (I think this is the fourth) and whilst the author does fill in 'gaps' by referring to events in the preceding volumes, I think these are only really useful as aide memoire for those who have read the earlier books. I do not feel this volume would really be a satisfactory read on its own.



Those who have read Harry Turtledove's books, whether in this series or others, will recognise his style in dealing with a vast sweep of historic change by having his reader view it from numerous viewpoints. In this instance, these are human and alien, male and female, military and civilian, important and not so important individuals.

To set the scene, the first book began with an alien invasion fleet attacking Earth during World War II. They had expected, from probes sent much earlier over a very leisurely planned conquest, to encounter knights in armour as their opponents. Instead, there were tanks, aircraft and a world already geared up for war. Whilst the aliens, lizard-like creatures, deployed a military technology which broadly equated to current 21st century weaponry, the more numerous humans fought them to a standstill. The humans, still in their various national states, also quickly began to copy lizard weaponry and other gadgets.

By book two, there is stalemate. The old British Empire has lost out as the lizards, who favouring hot climates, have occupied Australia and India. They also have human collaborators for various reasons. Nevertheless, they are held to various areas and an armed peace breaks out.

When, 20 years later, the colonisation fleet arrives, a missile launch from a human submarine destroys several newly arrived starships in orbit. When one of the protagonists of 'Homeward Bound' (who also appears in the earlier books), Sam Yeager discovers this was done by a US warship, he passes this information on to the lizards who retaliate by incinerating a US city with a nuclear bomb.
Thereafter, the various factions do rub along. Humans are now in space and rapidly developing or stealing technology to rival the lizards.

'Homeward Bound' begins with the Americans sending an interstellar starship off to the lizards' homeworld. This is not nearly as efficient as the lizards' starships, as it takes some 40 years to arrive during which the crew are in cold sleep. Turtledove cleverly uses this device, because various individuals went into cold sleep at differing times, to be able to include in the crew many of the American characters met in the earlier books in the series.

The lizards are aware of the development and alarmed by it, even though the human starship is travelling at half the speed of their own. The humans have nuclear weapons and also have discovered that a simple herb-like ginger has a devastating effect on lizards who find it the most addictive of drugs.

Due to deaths amongst the crew, including the intended ambassador, Sam Yeager becomes the new American Ambassador to 'the Race' as the aliens are known. The book thereafter is the story of the various parties trying to avoid an interstellar war or considering whether a pre-emptive strike would be the best option. Finally, another American starship arrives. One which has accomplished the journey from Earth in a few weeks completely outclassing the lizards spacecraft technology. This is a completely new development which shifts the balance of power. I will leave you to read in detail how all this ends up rather than take the story right through to the end.

This book however concentrates on the Americans. Perhaps this is not unnatural given the author's nationality but it is rather at odds with his earlier books which not only had viewpoints amongst the other major powers, such as Foreign Minister Molotov of the Soviet Union, but also many individual character from soldiers, sailors and airmen to refugees from the Holocaust drawn from the nations of the world.

In the last book, a Nazi regime still holds sway in Germany and the military in Imperial Japan both implacably opposed to the lizards. Whilst this is billed as the last book, I do not know why as there is still the potential conflict on Earth to resolve both between humans and lizards and amongst the mutually hostile human regimes. Also, having now developed extraordinary fast starships the Americans, if not all humans, can presumably establish their own colonies across the galaxy as well as bombarding the lizard-occupied planets into ruins.

If you have read the other volumes then read this to finish off the story. However, the more I think about it the less satisfactory I feel the ending is. I therefore do not think this is one of Harry Turtledove's better efforts.

Paul Hanley