I've been going through a Harry Turtledove phase, and one of my favorite stories at the moment is Turtledove's Worldwar series. There are a lot of similarities between Footfall and Turtledove's Worldwar, particularly that the alien invaders in both novels are not quite as skilled at improvisation and deceit as us wiley humans. In the Worldwar series, the invaders are a race of reptilians, with fifty thousand of years of history, most of it under an dynastic imperial system. They are a methodical species, drilled from hatchlinghood to obedience. The Race, as they call themselves, have conquered two other life bearing worlds, both populated by pseudo-reptilian life forms like themselves. The story begins when they send a probe to the earth during the middle ages, where they record pictures of knights on horseback. Easy pickings for soldiers wielding automatic weapons, armored fighting vehicles and fighter aircraft. They'll get around to our world soon enough, after all, how much can a world change in only a thousand years? When they arrive, they are suprised to find us engaged in world war 2. That's the setting: The Nazis have been pushed back from Moscow, the Nipponese are advancing, the Americans have begun the island hopping campaign, when all of a sudden the aliens land and start kicking everybody's butts.
It is somewhat dated by the astronomy and satellite technology in the lead up to the comet. Given that we now have confident claims that it is "impossible" for an asteroid or comet to hit the Earth 30, 50 or 100 years out from only a few days observations it is hard to accept that, right up to THE DAY in the book there is still uncertainty.
Once you get past that it really can't be beat.
I particularly love the description the scientists give to the TV crew of the comet as a hot fudge sundae so that people can get an idea of the masses and scale (I'll post it, if you'd like, it's about 5 paragraphs and a hoot).
I read the first 3 of the Worldwar series and just couldn't bring myself to pick up the fourth. They were just unremittingly depressing! Have you read Guns Of The South? I got introduced to that book, and Turtledove, while listening to the NPR program "Radio Reader." I came in during the middle, not knowing anything about the story. I actually recognized the battle being described as a famous battle in the Civil War and was fascinated... right up until they started talking about the banana clips for their AK-47s!!!!! I yelled at the radio "What the hell!!" and was hoooked. Shelby Foote, one of the recognized experts on the Civil War, was so impressed with the research Turtledove had done that the wrote he forward for the book.
Check out my other post just now about the free ebooks on the Baen Free library. If you can stand reading a book as an ebook then you can't beat free!
I've been going through a Harry Turtledove phase, and one of my favorite stories at the moment is Turtledove's Worldwar series. There are a lot of similarities between Footfall and Turtledove's Worldwar, particularly that the alien invaders in both novels are not quite as skilled at improvisation and deceit as us wiley humans. In the Worldwar series, the invaders are a race of reptilians, with fifty thousand of years of history, most of it under an dynastic imperial system. They are a methodical species, drilled from hatchlinghood to obedience. The Race, as they call themselves, have conquered two other life bearing worlds, both populated by pseudo-reptilian life forms like themselves. The story begins when they send a probe to the earth during the middle ages, where they record pictures of knights on horseback. Easy pickings for soldiers wielding automatic weapons, armored fighting vehicles and fighter aircraft. They'll get around to our world soon enough, after all, how much can a world change in only a thousand years? When they arrive, they are suprised to find us engaged in world war 2. That's the setting: The Nazis have been pushed back from Moscow, the Nipponese are advancing, the Americans have begun the island hopping campaign, when all of a sudden the aliens land and start kicking everybody's buttsThe Worldwar series is excellent, though I am now convinced that Turtledove, a notorious punster, wrote it solely so he could call the last book "Homeward Bound". >:)
His alternate history series with the US and Confederacy at constant war is tremendous as well.
-Eric