The IBIC Guide to Books By Harry Turtledove

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Remarks from the IBIC Editor's Journal

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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