Homeward Bound

by Harry Turtledove

Book Overview

The twentieth century was awash in war. World powers were pouring men and machines onto the killing fields of Europe. Then, in one dramatic stroke, a divided planet was changed forever. An alien race... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 034545846X
• ISBN13: 9780345458469
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Del Rey Books
• Length: 597 Pages
• Weight: 2.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.5" x 9.7"

Customer Reviews

The Race grows up and so does turtledove

I bought all the 3 worldwar novels, and then the Second Contact novels. Never in my 35 years of existence have i ever read such a long series of books forgetting sleep, work and sometimes even food! Turtledove is a master at work and you really feel him grow up the characters slowly. Ttomalss feels the pains of a teacher being infatuated with a student AND a parent's feeling towards his ward. After all he struggled with kassquit from her infancy. Atvar's pains to accomodate the Tosevites, and his understanding of their quick progress makes more interesting reading. Turtledove does make some small mistakes known only to deep readers. For instance the comments that Sam yeager makes. (Am not going to reveal it). As expected, turtledove does not bring it to a clear conclusion. But it is still more enjoyable. I have atleast started using the tags addled, hatchling, and the emphatic cough in my real life without knowing it.

Magnificent

Having now read all 8 books in the World War / Colonization saga - I am left wanting more. What a fantastic little (hardly) bit of fiction, the characters are well rounded and likable, the sort of people you can be friends with and never be ashamed to know them. I, in my most humble opinion, would suggest that if you did not thoroughly enjoy these books that you check your pulse. Well done Mr Turtledove, please continue with this series of characters and this fascinating saga.

Highly enjoyable!

I was so glad to find out how the lizards are doing in the present day and enjoy the same characters. HT always makes me chuckle with his descriptions of how the lizards and the humans interact and react to each other. I hope there will be more of this series.

After WORLDWAR and COLONISATION, humans pay a return visit

This is one of those books which some people love and others absolutely hate. For me it deserved five stars but there will be other readers, some of whom enjoyed the first few books in the series, for whom even one star would be too many. "Homeward Bound" is the eighth and probably final book in the series which begins with an alien invasion of earth in the middle of World War II. The full sequence is WORLDWAR Quartet, starting in 1942: warring human nations forced to unite against lizardlike Aliens from Tau Ceti 2. Worldwar: In the Balance Worldwar: Tilting the Balance Worldwar: Upsetting the Balance Worldwar: Striking the Balance COLONISATION Trilogy, starting about 1962: twenty years after the initial alien attack a second fleet full of colonists arrives, touching off a further round of intrigue and war Colonisation: Second contact Colonisation: Down to earth Colonisation: aftershocks HOMEWARD BOUND: in 2031 an American spaceship arrives at Tau Ceti to pay the aliens a return visit ... The first thing to understand about this book to decide whether you would be one of those who love it or one of those who hate it, is that the "Alternative History" element is very small indeed. Most of the action happens in 2031, seventy years after the alien invasion, and very few historical figures are recognisable. There are a few little touches relating to real people - I caught references to Henry Kissenger ("The Doctor"), James Dean (no car crash, he lived to old age) and Matt Damon. And one of the comic touches in the book is a "lizard" (e.g. Tau Cetan) policeman who is clearly a parody of Lieutenant Columbo. But essentially this is a novel of alien contact, not alternative history. The biggest difference between this book and the WorldWar quartet is that the book is about diplomacy and is not a war story. Turtledove often writes books which contain a lot of fighting, but not all his books are war stories and this one isn't. If you are one of the readers who liked his "Great War" series but didn't like the "American Empire" followup, or if you liked most of David Weber's Honor Harrington books but didn't like "War of Honor" then do not even think of buying "Homeward Bound". One other characteristic of Harry Turtledove which doesn't bother everyone but which really annoys some people is that he repeats things. A lot. In fact, a very great deal. This is one of those books which has a lot of repetition, so if you are the sort of reader who feels patronised or annoyed when a writer repeats things, you may want to leave this one alone. Good things about the book: I thought the characters, both human and alien, were well drawn, interesting and believeable. There was some interesting speculation about the likely human cost of early interstellar travel. The sources of tension between humans and aliens - ecological impacts, cultural differences, rivalry for territory, drug trading, and fear of attack, were well explored. Some editions of t

Tired, uninspired, repetitive? Not this book! Wonderful end to a wonderful series

My favorite fictional series, even more than Piers Anthony's _Xanth_ novels, is Harry Turtledove's Worldwar series. Alternate-history World War II isn't yet a tired story concept, but aliens-invade-Earth certainly is -- but Turtledove combined the two and came up with a unique and imaginative new concept. From the first book in the series (_In the Balance_), every page has been a delight. When I read reviews of books (in various series) that Turtledove has written after 2000, I see a common complaint: plots and battles are recycled from his earlier works, and his books are now _dull_. Indeed, some reviewers of _Homeward Bound_ have said the same thing. I'm not one of the naysayers. About every other page in this book, I would smile at some cleverness of Turtledove's: "I didn't see that coming," I'd say, "but it's perfect for the story." If I had to describe the writing for this book in one word, that word would be _inspired_. For example, the plot of the story involves the Lizards on Home trying to solve a mystery, without Sam Yeager or the other Americans on Home finding anything out. What the mystery is revealed to be, and _how_ that mystery gets revealed, delighted me. Did it amaze me too? I make the affirmative gesture.