Sskiss wrote:I've often found such scenerios very unrealistic. Any people that have achieved a high level of mastery over certain natural phenomena (physics etc...) would view WWII technology like we now view swords and spears. A hypothetical invasion by such a power would encounter no serious problems or obstacles in the conquest of Earth and its inhabitants.
The reptilian alien portrayed on the cover does not look much like the Sskiss - too humanoid looking.
The "Race" from the Worldwar novels are basically stuck at a STL 1960s level of technology, barring cryogenics and perfected nuclear pulse (orion-style) stardrives, AFAIK. Modern Earth would wipe the floor with them.
(Though they had decent hydrogen engines for vehicles, and their stuff was incredibly reliable because it's been perfected over thousands of years. Rather than improve stuff by making new stuff, they focused on making the stuff they have as good as they can make it.)
They are also fantastically, freakishly slow to advance. Their empire has been much the same as it was for the past few thousand years.
The premise of the novels is that they sent a probe, which sent images of knights battling on European battlefields. They then assumed that humanity was like them, and would still be using similar weapons by the time the conquest fleet arrives some five or six centuries later.
Of course, humans being bastards, we advance faster than the poor Sskiss-alikes can possibly comprehend. They arrive during World War II, and it's only through their use of nuclear weapons that they're able to stalemate the numerically and tactically superior human forces.
The Race is freakishly arrogant, but they aren't really 'bad' guys - they were genuinely disgusted at the concentration camps, and stuff like that.
Supposedly the first book was pretty good, but they've been on a steady downhill curve since then, with various illogical politics and random sex scenes that don't add to the story.
It's much better than that filth
Freehold, but if you're looking for a good alien invasion novel, you want Niven and Pournelle's
Footfall, which is awesome in a can. It features genuinely alien aliens who aren't braindead by writer fiat. They actually use orbital bombardment effectively, but it isn't just a walkover.
"Please tell me that you haven't heard military gossip about a fleet of invisible battleplates."
