The United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union had very different reasons for fighting the war and often had conflicting views of what the postwar world should look like. During World War II, there was often a great deal of friction between allies on both sides of the war.
Turtledove approaches the novels' science fiction scenario with less of a focus on the technological and fantasy elements typically associated with the genre and shows greater concern for the role of more mundane affairs such as the political repercussions of an alliance between the Allied and Axis powers, the impact the presence of alien creatures has on human society, and the ways in which warfare is paradoxically a hindrance to civilization and simultaneously a catalyst for the progress of civilization.Īs mentioned above, one of the key themes explored in the novel is the complexity of international alliances. However, Yeager also recognizes that the standard plot resolution to such stories, usually that some brilliant scientists develop a secret superweapon that drives out the aliens, is hopelessly unrealistic. At one point the character Sam Yeager, himself a fan of early 20th century pulp fiction, recognizes the similarity of the world's predicament to that of sci-fi tales out of Amazing Stories and similar magazines. The novels apply the major themes of World War II to what can be considered a typical science fiction cliché, namely an alien invasion of Earth.
Most human warring nations try to put aside their differences to combat these intruders, but former resentment runs deep. They find that they Earth was not the easy conquest they had expected. The Lizards change much slower than humans, and so when their probes sent during the European medieval period sent back their data, they expected Earth to remain at that stage for thousands of years. Instead, they find earthlings embroiled in World War II. These aliens are called The Race, and they are expecting Earth to still be in its medieval period. In Worldwar, the Point of Divergence is in 1942 when aliens attack Earth.
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.