The IBIC Guide to Books By Harry Turtledove
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April 11, 1995 I read Harry Turtledove's WORLDWAR:
TILTING THE BALANCE (DelRey) in a
single day--aided, alas, by an insomnia-inducing head cold.
That rather mixed compliment is an accurate reflection of how I
feel about this book, the second in a four-part series. On the
one hand, I love the alternate-history, homo sapiens chauvinist
premise of this series (dimbulb alien invaders get more than
they bargained for when they land on Earth in the middle of
WW2), and I found many sections of this novel fascinating. On
the other hand, I also found myself skimming through many
slow-paced or unengaging passages. The writing is competent,
but it doesn't have the charm of, say, PANDORA'S PLANET or
FOOTFALL. I would recommend this novel for those patient
readers who enjoy having alternate history served up to them in
a rather ruminative and lowkey manner.
July 2, 1994
Harry Turtledove's WORLDWAR: IN THE
BALANCE ( Del Rey
) brought back pleasant memories of Christopher Anvil's
PANDORA PLANET series that ran in Analog in the late 50's and
early 60's. The new Turtledove book, like Anvil's PANDORA
series, involves a somewhat dim-witted set of aliens who get
more than they bargained for when they invade Earth. This
scenario, which those of us who are Campbellian homo sapiens
chauvinists will find intrinsically enjoyable (and I number
myself in that category), is made even better by the fact that
in WORLDWAR
the alien invasion occurs in the midst of World War II.
Turtledove is an expert at alternate history, and his treatment
of World War II is realistic and fair (e.g., he does justice to
both Nazis and Germans). If I have a complaint about the
alternate history, it's that he gets too involved in the lives
of his characters to the detriment of specific references to
alternate historical events. This is a long, far-ranging book
with a wide cast of characters,
and the first book of this series just starts the wheels in
motion . I'm watching eagerly for the subsequent volumes.
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Editor's Recommendations, Summer 1996
In this inaugural edition of IBIC's Featured Books, I'd like to
draw your attention to several titles which have helped to shape my life
and thinking.
- When I was around fifteen, I came across Larry Niven and
Jerry Pournelle's science fiction novel, INFERNO. This '70s remake of Dante's
classic describes science fiction writer Allen Carpentier's
descent into Hell. It's still a very fresh, accessible take on
the classic. What a great movie it would make!
- The Niven/Pournelle INFERNO
immediately inspired me to read the original Divine Comedy.
I've read a number of translations over the years, but my
favorite is the one by Dorothy Sayers (INFERNO;
PURGATORY;
PARADISE). The notes
are excellent, and Sayers had such a knowledgeable and witty mind that reading
her prose is a pleasure in itself. (For those interested in a more contemporary translation, I should mention that Robert Pinsky received excellent notices for his 1995 THE
INFERNO OF DANTE : A NEW VERSE TRANSLATION; it's a very handsome book.)
- I also want to tell you about the late Henry Fairlie's THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS TODAY,
which probably did more than any other single book to galvanize me into a lifetime interest
in Christianity that led me, eventually, to faith. Ironic, because Fairlie was a self-proclaimed agnostic socialist! But
reading between the lines of this insightful and deeply feeling book, one realizes
that the love of God cannot have been far from Fairlie's heart.
- Finally, I should draw to your attention a more recent
acquisition, the very handsome NIV
STUDY BIBLE (10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION) from Zondervan, indexed and bonded in leather in
IBIC's theme color, burgundy (black
and brown
are also available). The notes to this Bible are amazing. They
appear to provide you with a very substantial portion of what you need to
know to have an intelligent layman's appreciation of the
linguistic and historical issues involved in understanding
Scripture.
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