Tilting the Balance (Worldwar Series, Volume 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Harry Turtledove (Author) "For nostalgia's sake, Fleetlord Atvar called up the hologram of the Tosevite warrior he had often studied before the invasion fleet actually reached the world..." (more)
Key Phrases: little scaly devils, exalted fleetlord, landcruiser crew, Liu Han, Big Uglies, Bobby Fiore (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
World War II screeched to a halt as great military powers scrambled to meet an even deadlier foe, armed with formidable technology that made victory seem inevitable. The menace worsens in this, the second novel in the four-book alternate-history saga that Booklist called "possibly the most ambitious in the subgenre's history and definitely the work of one of alternate history's authentic modern masters." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
The second volume of Turtledove's Worldwar series (after Worldwar: In the Balance), an alternate-history saga in which lizard-like aliens invade Earth during WWII, quickly bogs down. As the plot moves among the huge cast of characters, including many historical figures (Ribbentrop, Roosevelt, Zhukov), and as Turtledove meticulously describes various tanks, planes and guns, readers will realize that they, too, must suffer for the author's research. And none of that homework has bred any subtlety: good people have good sex, while corrupt people suffer appropriate retribution. National and ethnic stereotypes abound, too: the British are more capable than they seem; the Germans are keen mechanics; most Americans, of course, are paragons. There are exceptions, of course-a few interesting lizards and a peace-talking Chinese woman-but it isn't hard to figure out which world leader will "tilt the balance" by using the first human-made atomic bomb. With so much attention paid to the machinery of war and the machinery of history, Turtledove rarely engages the subtleties of character, resulting in a novel that, despite offering its share of mind candy, never makes its many intrigues sufficiently gripping.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey (December 30, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345389980
• ISBN-13: 978-0345389985
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #41,727 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Addictive Alternative History Series Continues, May 12, 2005

By	Stewart Teaze (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Basically taking up where the first book of the series left off, TILTING THE BALANCE continues in the same vein of interesting characters, plus exciting war-time situations & sex/romance, aliens, and technology development.

The subplot I found most interesting in this book is the ginger drug habit developed by a significant number of the lizard-like aliens. Mr. Turtledove does an excellent job of describing the mindset of the addicts - for some reason I especially enjoy following the progress of the Veteran Alien Tank Driver Ussmak (who has to face both Nazi Panzer tactics as well as his ginger addiction), and the Alien pilot/prisoner Teerts (whom the Japanese purposefully addict).

This 2nd book from the series literally "ends with a bang", and I'm looking forward to continuing with this series - which is turning out to be almost as addicting to me as ginger is to the Lizards.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Still interesting, July 25, 2001

By	Richard R. Simpkins "Worlds Without End critic" (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I liked the first book so much that I hurried out to by the second installment in the series. Now that I am two books into the series, I am somewhat disappointed in emphasis Turtledove puts on average human characters that do not have a birds-eye view of the political situation. He attempts to show us progress by repeatedly using Atvar (the alien fleet commander) as a sounding board by which to reveal the political situation to the reader. It doesn't seem as though we get enough of this from the human point of view, however. I'd like to see what is going on in the White House and in British Parliament. I'd like to know what the great historical figures think about the situation. The closest we get to such points of view are narratives about Molotov or occasional glimpses of FDR or Hitler that are far too short.

One subplot that had me on the edge of my seat was the Jens storyline. I felt a great deal of sympathy for Jens and was earily suspicious about the fate he would receive. Without revealing the plot, I would just like to say that I wish I could have seen more reaction from Barbara, who seems rather callous in regard to Jen's situation. Why has she reacted (or rather not reacted) this way? I would like to see some more depth of character from all involved in this plotline.

All in all, this book is still worth reading, despite a few disappointments. The knowledge that Turtledove brings to his writings is certainly rare and I still like the attention he pays to various historical details, many of which were likely to be lost on me. That I recognized many such details only indicates that there must have been many more.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The story begins to even out here., February 25, 2000

By	R. L. MILLER (FT LAUDERDALE FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It wasn't until I got into this book that I began to realize that the first volume ("In The Balance") was a package of preludes rather than a story in itself. This one has some delicious concepts. Such as a woman who remarries when her husband is missing and presumed dead. Only to have her ex show up alive and well. The lizard invaders have a weakness--ginger is a drug which gets them high and is addictive ("don't bogart those ginger snaps, my friend...pass 'em over to me"). Winston Churchill makes a tour of inspection of military readiness on a bicycle. A minor-league baseball manager utilizes his civilian skills when he becomes a sergeant. One of his ballplayers, along with a Chinese woman, becomes an experimental animal so that the invaders can study human mating. The couple end up proving that not speaking each other's language and not having chosen each other in the first place are not necessarily obstacles to love. FDR has to deliver his "fireside chats" from "somewhere in America", because the country is as much a battleground as anywhere overseas. I still think "Guns Of the South" is Turtledove's masterpiece, but this 4 volume set is still worth the read.