"A Day for Damnation (War Against the Chtorr, Book 2)" by David Gerrold
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0553277650

Book number two of a four book science fiction alien invasion series. I reread the well printed and well bound MMPB published by Bantam Spectra
Books in 1989 that I bought used on Amazon because new is not available.
I also own a trade paperback copy published by Timescape Books in 1984
that I bought new. I own copies of the following two books and plan to
reread them soon.

The book is dedicated to "for Anne McCaffrey, Gigi, Todd, an Alec, with
love". There is also a thank list for several people including Jerry
Pournelle and Richard Fontana, I suspect alpha readers and discussion
buddies.

This is very hard sci-fi. Do not pick up this book without having many
hours available to you to finish it. Once started, the book sucks you
in gradually so that you say, "just one more chapter". When you finish
the book at 5:50 am the next morning, you will be exhausted as if you
had just run a 10K. This also applies to the three follow-on books.

I have read this book at least 5 times. Maybe 8. I lost count many
years ago.

The first book starts off with a series of plagues that devastate the
human population across the Earth. Then the weird plants start growing everywhere. Then the huge one meter to five meter long alien
carnivorous worms show up and starting eating people, cows, horses, etc.
The worms are very difficult to destroy without a combat rated
flamethrower.

In the second book, Jim McCarthy is now a lieutenant in the Army Special Forces. And things are getting worse. McCarthy and Duke are drafted
into an expedition into northern California to investigate secondary and tertiary worm homes but their assault helicopter crashes when the
Chtorran airborn plants cause the jet engines to fail. Then things get interesting.

Gerrold has claimed many times over the years that there will be a fifth
book and a sixth book and a seventh book. I will believe it when I see
it. He stated once to us on his email list that book 5 is so insane
that he just could not finish several chapters in the middle of the
book. However, there is a taunting preview of book 5, "A Method for
Madness", at:

https://web.archive.org/web/20060321170726/http://www.gerrold.com/chtorr-5/page.htm

I am hoping that if Gerrold does not finish the books then his son will publish the books when he passes on. Who knows ? Gerrold is very
sensitive about people asking when he is going to publish the remaining
books in the series.

My rating: 6 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars (41 reviews)

Lynn

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