Write your abstract here.
Second Contact Harry Turtledove
Earth Has been invaded, but not conquered, in
this alternate history. Spaceships from a very old and stable
Empire arrived expecting to find an easy victory over an iron age
non industrial culture. Our incessant warfare has led to speedier
development than might otherwise have happened, so that
nations such as Germany, America , and to a lesser extent England ,
Japan and China are able to hold off the invaders. The premise is that
our constant bickering and strife has led to a general culture of
progress and development as an adjunct of survival. History diverges
from its actual path sometime during the course of the Second World War
with the arrival of the alien fleet, so that many prominent figures of
that era and shortly thereafter are featured in slightly different
roles. Hitler has died in Berlin , obliterated by the invaders, and
Stalin has suffered a similar fate. Their sucessors are Himmler in
Germany and France, Molotov in Russia and Earl Warren in the USA;
twenty years on the situation is still somewhat fluid, and the arrival
of a second fleet carrying colonists stirs up everything.
The first wave of invaders has become slightly changed by their
experiences and begun to adapt to local conditions., while those in the
second wave carry expectations and attitudes from Home. Some among the
Lizards have become addicted to ginger, which acts as a stimulant and
narcotic on them, something they have difficulty dealing with.
Meantime human technology is developing and
their presence in space will soon take the ongoing war up beyond the
atmosphere. Characters develop as humans and aliens interact and learn
from one another, there are signs that co-operation and mutual respect
will eventually emerge.