Colonization (novel)

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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:

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 civilisation that first united a planet (50000 years ago) and then conquered two others in different systems (beginning about 16000 years ago), 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 nearly twenty years to reach Earth. Overall it is shown that while the invasion was catastrophic for humans (Little Rock ending up as the US capital, for example), 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.

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Situation

In the World, the Aliens have 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 (France later joins the independent Nations). The Aliens spend their time trying to adapt to conditions on Earth (i.e. The aliens release species from Home on Earth, causing much environmental trouble). Humanity plans for the eventual eradication of the Race. The USSR supplies weapons to a Communist led uprising in China, The Greater German Reich starts a nuclear attack on Race-Held Poland (and fails, resulting in the death of the Fuhrer, 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 Fuhrer Dornberger takes over. The United States is led by President Warren. The Soviet Union is ruled by Ex-Foreign Commisar Vyacheslav Molotov

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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're 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 already making plans for the first Human Star Ship.

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