The War Against the Chtorr is a series of novels written by David Gerrold. Although critically acclaimed as a superior example of science fiction literature, the Chtorr story is currently incomplete and is intended to be continued beyond its present cliffhanger ending. A book series is a sequence of books with common characteristics, typically marketed as a group by a particular author or publisher. ... David Gerrold, born Jerrold David Friedman (January 24, 1944), is a science fiction author who started his career in 1966 as a college student by submitting an unsolicited story outline for the television series Star Trek. ... A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in which a movie, novel, or other work of fiction contains an abrupt ending, often leaving the main characters in a precarious or difficult situation. ...

Setting and story line

Set primarily in a devastated early 21st Century America with logical expected advances in current technology such as a fledgling Moonbase, this series of science-fiction novels describe the invasion of Earth by an alien species. They are unusual in that the tactics used by the aliens eschew the usual direct attack by advanced and powerful pyrotechnics in favour of a campaign of biological warfare. The 1944 Invasion of Normandy An invasion is a military action consisting of armed forces of one geo-political entity entering territory controlled by another such entity, often resulting in the invading power occupying the area, whether briefly or for a long period, and sometimes permanently. ... The existence of extraterrestrial life remains hypothetical though human beings continue to search Extraterrestrial life is life that may exist and originate outside the planet Earth. ... Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of any organism (bacteria, virus or other disease-causing organism) or toxin found in nature, as a weapon of war. ...

One of the early sections of the first book features a series of devastating plagues which sweep around the world, resulting in the death of some 80% of the Human population. As the survivors struggle to rebuild civilisation they discover that a large variety of new plant and animal lifeforms are establishing themselves on Earth — hundreds of species in all. These species are alien in origin, and are almost universally far superior to the Earth organisms which occupy the same ecological niches. As a result Earth's entire ecology is being rapidly supplanted. In biology, a species is the basic unit of biodiversity. ... In ecology, a niche is a term describing the relational position of a species or population in an ecosystem. ... The word ecology is often used in common parlance as a synonym for the natural environment or environmentalism. ...

Throughout the storyline there is no sign of any intelligent aliens at all. The only reason Humans suppose intelligence to be behind the invasion is the presumption that unseen spacecraft must have brought all the plant and animal invaders to Earth. The presumed goal of these off-stage aliens is nothing less than the complete replacement of Earth's entire ecology and the resultant extinction of all native life, at which time they will arrive and claim the planet without a single shot being fired.

The books largely follow the adventures of Jim McCarthy, a scientist and soldier in the U.S. Army who attempts to understand the Chtorran ecology even as he engages in combat to destroy it. His early efforts primarily focus on the "Worms", a particularly large and dangerous Chtorran carnivorous species whose prey includes Humans. Much of the text is akin to a detective story in which McCarthy and others investigate the rapidly expanding Chtorran ecosystem and attempt to unravel the ecological relationships between the various species. It is reported that Gerrold has created very detailed and extensive notes on how the Chtorran ecology functions as a background to the books. The lion is a well-known, truly carnivorous member of the order Carnivora. ... Detective Story is a 1951 film which tells the story of one day in the lives of the various people who populate a police detectives squad. ... In ecology, the word ecosystem is an abbreviation of the term, ecological system. ...

In addition to very imaginative descriptions of alien ecology, the Chtorr series is also noteworthy for its contrasting lengthy discussions and deep emphasis on various aspects of human psychology, particularly under wartime and survival conditions.

Chtorran Ecology

If there are two things that all Chtorran life forms have in common, it is that they are hungry, and are normally a bright shade of red. Some of the most notable plants/animals that are encountered are:

• Chtorran Gastropedes (commonly known as "Worms"): Range in size from as small as a horse, to as large as a bus. Normally bright red, but have been seen in other colors ranging from white to green. They have 2 "arms" with claws, and are very dexterous. Their body is covered with symbiotic "fur". Their intelligence is in question, and they have some form of communication that has yet to be fully understood.

• Bunnydog/Bunnymen: These creatures are bipedal, and posses roughly the same intelligence as chimps. Bunnymen resemble pink or red teddybears. Bunnydogs are a variant of bunnymen. They have a meaner disposition then bunnymen, and tend to resemble rats more then teddybears. All Bunnymen/bunnydogs are male.

• Libbits: These quadrapeds resemble pigs. Short and squat, they are covered with red fur and are very docile. All Libbits are female. It was later discovered that Libbits and Bunnydogs/Bunnymen are actually male and female of the same species.

• Gorps: These large creatures resemble sloths, but stand 10-15 feet tall. They emit a horrible smell, and are mostly carrion eaters. But they will not always wait for their dinner to die before they eat it.

• Finger Babies: These small creatures are from 1-2" in length, and closely resemble humans. Their ecologican nitch appears to be that of an insect.

• Enterprise Fish: These are the largest Chtorran creatures known. These creatures go through the oceans, eating anything in their path. The upper size is unknown, but they have been blamed in the sinking of the USS Nimitz. The largest one killed massed over 1 million tons.

• Millipeeds: These are no relation to terran millipeeds. Though similar in appearance, they tend to have hard black shells. A few have been discovered with a red belly. Their bite is very powerful, even able to chew through and digest rubber, wood, shoes, leather, movie film, and anything else even remotely organic. Their bite is also toxic, introducing various disease and introducing micro-organisms into the bloodstream.

• Shambler Trees: These resemble trees, but are actually a living colony composed of the tree host, and millions of insect like creatures living in a symbiosys. The tree is mobile, able to cover up to a half mile a day. When mature, they will group together into a herd. If motion is detected by the tree or a tennant, they swarm out. Once the tennants eat their fill, the tree will consume the remains.

• Red Kudzu: Similar to the Terran plant, but red in color. This plant ranges from jet black to pink, red, violet, and orange. It grows extreemly fast, and can cover an entire town in weeks. All attempts to destroy it have failed, and it appears to be resistant to all known poisons.

• Meeps: These are red furballs, ranging in size from tennis ball to bowling ball in diameter. They reproduce very quickly, and appear to release a pheromone which causes them to be irresistible to humans. A mother will actually abandon her young in order to take care of a Meep.

USS Nimitz (CVN-68) is a supercarrier in the United States Navy, the lead ship of its class. ...

Books in the series

The Chtorr series was originally planned as a trilogy, but as the story became more intricate, Gerrold realized that three books wouldn't be enough for him to tell the entire story. For a time, he was uncertain how many books there would be in the end, but finally settled on a septology. Currently, four books have been completed: A Matter for Men (1983), A Day for Damnation (1985), A Rage for Revenge (1989), and A Season for Slaughter (1993). As of 2006, Gerrold is nearing completion on book five, A Method For Madness. The final two books will be entitled A Time for Treason and A Case for Courage. The last few chapters of A Case for Courage have already been written. A trilogy is a set of three works of art, usually literature or film, that develop a single theme over three works. ... 2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

First and Second Editions

There are 2 distinctly different editions of the first 2 books in this series. The 1st edition was released in 1983 by Timescape Books. This edition was edited by the publisher, and removed several items which they objected to. All of the chapter introductions (the "Solomon Short" quotations), and several pages of homosexual content were removed. The same thing was done to the 1984 release of A Day For Damnation.

In 1989, David Gerrold made a new publishing contract with Bantam Books. This time, both A Matter For Men and A Day For Damnation were released with all objectional content restored.

Trivia

• When working on Season for Slaughter, Gerrold named several characters after actual people, who donated handsomely to Gerrold's favorite charities for the privilege. Gerrold had not thought to repeat the effort, but as work on Method for Madness progressed, he received so many fan inquiries about "buying a character" that he decided to do it again.
• Many characters and ideas from previous works by David Gerrold have made appearances in this series. Amont them are H.A.R.L.I.E. (from the book When H.A.R.L.I.E. Was One), Tribbles (from Star Trek, disguised as Meeps), and the Space Elevator (from the book Bouncing Off The Moon). A Covenant of Justice is an unrelated story, in which the Chtorran Gastropod makes a cameo.

External links

• Chtorr Wars homepage
• GURPS rôle playing game module War Against The Chtorr