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The Sauron War

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Deathday by William C. Dietz
Deathday by William C. Dietz

This is a novel of near-future alien invasion definitely in the classic line of succession from War of the Worlds to Puppet Masters to Independence Day. The aliens, called Saurons, descend on Earth with all the subtlety of a high-tech Mongol horde, and soon everything that they don't need is destroyed, everybody they don't need is dead, and everybody they do need is reduced to slavery. Former military professional Jack Manning starts off as a slave in the asteroid mines and rises to be a functionary for the quisling human government. Then he has a classic moment of revelation and joins the resistance, which needs to learn a great deal more about the Saurons before it can put up effective opposition. Maybe nothing in the book hasn't been done before, but every theme and detail in it is well done. What with breakneck pacing, good action scenes, and unexpectedly strong characterization, alien-invasion buffs should enjoy, enjoy!
Earthrise by William C. Dietz
Earthrise by William C. Dietz

This concluding sequel to Dietz's Deathday contains the same wide cast of characters whose recognizability (burnt-out pro, canny vet, manipulative pol with sincere heart, etc.) is balanced by their better-than-average depth of portrayal. Yes, Alexander Franklin is a devious politician with ambitions. But he is also an African-American U.S. president who mourns his wife's death and is willing to accept a reputation as a collaborator in order to organize the resistance movement against the insectile Saurons. Yes, the more noble humans and equally enslaved Ra 'Na defeat the arrogant Saurons in the end. But not everyone is motivated by selfless ideals, and even the good guys around Franklin make a hard (and immoral) choice, using the Saurons to decimate the white supremacists who also fight to overthrow the aliens. The author includes some interesting speculation on the nature of race relations and class divisions, giving his Saurons three separate genetic castes operating in a rigid social hierarchy. The commentary on human race relations is full of satiric insight.