Worldwar: In the Balance

By: Harry Turtledove

Narrated by: Todd McLaren

Length: 26 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

War seethed across the planet. Machines soared through the air, churned through the seas, crawled across the surface, pushing ever forward, carrying death. Earth was engaged in titanic struggle. Germany, Russia, France, China, Japan: the maps were changing day by day. The hostilities spread in ever-widening ripples of destruction: Britain, Italy, Africa...the fate of the world hung in the balance. Then the real enemy came. Out of the dark of night, out of the soft glow of dawn, out of the clear blue sky came an invasion force the likes of which Earth had never known---and worldwar was truly joined.

The invaders were inhuman and they were unstoppable. Their technology was far beyond our reach, and their goal was simple: Fleetlord Atvar had arrived to claim Earth for the Empire. Never before had Earth's people been more divided. Never had the need for unity been greater. And grudgingly, inexpertly, humanity took up the challenge.

In this epic novel of alternate history, Harry Turtledove takes us around the globe. We roll with German panzers, watch the coast of Britain with the RAF, and welcome alien-liberators to the Warsaw ghetto. In tiny planes we skim the vast Russian steppe, and we push the envelope of technology in secret labs at the University of Chicago. Turtledove's saga covers all the Earth, and beyond, as mankind---in all its folly and glory---faces the ultimate threat; and a turning point in history shows us a past that never was and a future that could yet come to be.

©2009 Harry Turtledove (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

“Turtledove excels in alternate history, and this panoramic exploration of a world at war...showcases his fertile imagination. A feast for history buffs as well as sf fans.” ( Library Journal)

Great story, good narration

This is a great alternative history novel, which I have read 2 times, was happy to try the audio book and was not disappointed. The narrator does a good job most of the time, only issue being the change over in scenes is a bit quick and some words seemed a bit chopped off. His voices are very good and seem to be fairly consistent throughout the book.

The story itself is fantastic.

Phenomenal

Just like every Turtledove series. This has a rich cast of characters, good twists and fun story. Well worth the credit.

Realistic Warfare

"The enemy gets their own say in combat," I found this novel to be a great read! Excellent back and forth flow to combat and the overall strategy of a global conflict. Has a good mix of action spaced out with discoveries of both the invading alien invaders as well as the humans they are trying to dominate. Cultures close and battles are waged on and off the battlefield.

Genuinely Authentic & Purely Brilliant. Wow!

The entire Worldwar series took me completely by surprise — and what a pleasant surprise it was indeed. Despite being very well-read and a big fan of sci-fi, thrillers (military in particular), and both historical fiction and non-fiction novels, I wasn't familiar with the author Harry Turtledove. But I'm a richer man for having listened to Worldwar: In the Balance (I purchased it on a whim bc the publisher's summary sounded interesting and other listeners gave it glowing reviews - thank you for the role you played in my introduction to this illustrious author!).

The publisher's summary rings true, so no need to reiterate the book itself; however, I would like to add that both the story and writing are truly exceptional.

The entire Worldwar series is a genuine timeless masterpiece.
Highly recommended, obviously!

PS. I was also new to Todd McLaren's work. His narration is superb.

Not bad, not great

I wanted to give this book a chance and I'm glad I did even though it's definitely not my cup of tea. It's not a bad book at all in my opinion and I can see how some would really like it. The writing is solid and the narration is excellent. Unfortunately, the alternate historical angle just isn't firing on all cylinders for me.

I think I'd have liked the story better if it were written from a more modern day perspective instead of from an alternate history point of view. Personally, I find the aliens somewhat unimaginative and it also doesn't make sense to me why aliens that can fly to and invade other worlds are not more advanced technologically from earth's world war 2 era technology.

More importantly, the focus is split up on so many characters that I just don't find myself caring about any of them enough after listening to an entire book to want to continue.

So, for me, that adds up to an okay story but not one I want to spend any further credits on. If you like more historical type scifi though, definitely give it a listen because it is well written and very well narrated.

For those history junkies who ask "what if?"!

What made the experience of listening to Worldwar: In the Balance the most enjoyable?

I am a software engineer. It is hard for me to read books that I am interested in because work takes up lots of my time. Listening to a book I've been craving to read while I work solves this issue. The pacing and the performance by the reader is very good and helps understand the story. If I get lost (which has happened twice) I can always follow along with some text from the book and everything makes sense after that. This audiobook is very good.

What did you like best about this story?

World War 2, Allies, Nazis, the Soviet Union, characters from history, and Aliens make this book just wonderful. As a history buff, this is so awesome.

Which scene was your favorite?

The initial scene from the point of view of the aliens is hilarious. They had sent out a probe back in the middle ages and expected the humans to fight them with medieval armor and horses. Once they scout Earth once again, they are surprised by our technological developments and try their best to adjust to it.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The attack on the Soviet Union. The Red Army gives them a fight they were not expecting!

Entertaining story

It's an entertaining story. A seemingly childish plot, but delivered nicely and various nice parallels to our own world and weird ways

Overall a good start to the series

I look forward to reading the next book, although it may be difficult for Harry Turtledove to continue with new surprises and twists

Alternate delight!

Harry Turtledove and his novel Worldwar: In the balance is a great alternate history story. Taking place during the middle of the second world war nation's are at each other's throats until a race of aliens simply known as The Race appears hell bent on the colonization of Earth. Nation's once foes now allies must work together to prevent the conquest of Earth.

Todd McLaren's voice acting is a treat to hear during his narration of the novel he embodies the numerous charaters of the book. My only gripe with the narration is that some accents sound very similar and the voice acting for the woman characters leaves much to be desired however other than that his narration of the story is easy to follow and comprehend and in my opinion those are the key pillars to a great narration.

Worth it

I read the first two books in this series when they first came out, but never finished the rest as I lost track of them as I waited for new books to be written and then published. Obviously, I was happy to 'rediscover' the complete series were available for download as audiobooks. The narration is competent, although the narrator would do better to either cut down on the his use of his weaker accents or practise more. This wasn't a deal breaker as I did grow accustomed to his reading over time. The premise is interesting and story arc is broad, so I'd recommend this one for public transport or the beach. Definitely worth a credit coming in at around 25 hours.