| No one could stop The Race, the alien invaders from a distant star who interrupted World War II. China, the Soviet Union, Japan, Nazi Germany, Britain and the United States worked together to tilt the balance in humanity's favor. Our very freedom was at stake. Finally in 1943, the Soviet Union detonated a nuclear bomb using plutonium stolen from the Race.
But these invaders are reluctant to retaliate, wanting to preserve as much of the Earth's surface as possible for the arrival of the colonization fleet 20 years after the arrival of the invasion fleet. As lack of fuel forced people back to horses and carriages, caches of chemical and biological weapons, forbidden after World War I, are unearthed in a desperate attempt to preserve humanity's freedom. Meanwhile, a power struggle erupts among the Race when one shiplord, feeling that the fleetlord mishandled the invasion, attempts to relieve him of command. When the vote fails, the renegade shiplord defects to the United States, a move nearly unprecedented in the Race's long history. Then Americans sacrifice Chicago to a nuclear bomb built partially of plutonium stolen from the Race and some of our manufacture, forcing the war into a new phase. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - alternate history If an invasion, from Earth/human POV: - fighting overt invasion (attacking aliens) War or Invasion Yes Major kinds of combat: - guns Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Descript. of chases or violence - 40 % planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20 % Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20 % Main Character Identity: - Male Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Main Adversary Identity: - an entire race Age: - long-lived adults Profession/status: How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - throughout most of the book. How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters Setting Terrain Earth setting: - 20th century Spaceship setting: - alien spaceship Takes place on Earth? Yes Takes place in spaceship? Yes Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - very explicit references to deaths and torture scientific jargon? (SF only) - a significant amount of technical jargon Sex in book? Yes How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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