|
-
News
- Features
- Events
Calendar
- Editorials
- Monthly
Zine
- Offworld
Report
- Our Daily
RSS Feed
- Movie/TV
Reviews
> Recent movies
> Movies by year
> Movies by title
- Book
Reviews
> Recent books
> Books by year
> Books by title
- Home
- Worlds
- Biography
- Bibliography
- Appearances
- Reviews
- Blog
- Community
- Press
- Links
Become
an Advertiser
- Web
Site Directory
- Search
the Net
- StephenHunt.net
- WoodenRocket.com
- Check
your E-mail
- Non Sci-Fi
News
|
V: The Second Generation by Kenneth Johnson
01/05/2008 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
pub: TOR/Forge. 443 page enlarged paperback. Price: $14.95 (US), $16.95 (CAN). ISBN: 978-0-7653-1906-3. Buy V: The Second Generation in the USA - or Buy V: The Second Generation in the UK  check out website: www.tor-forge.com and www.kennethjohnson.us
This is a slightly unusual book. You need to remember or watch the original 'V' mini-series and then ignore 'The Final Battle' and certainly never even consider the twenty hour-long TV series if you want to place this book. You're also going to have problems as to what is and what isn't canon with many deaths attributed to a later purge of the Resistance when many were killed. I'd be surprised if anyone familiar with it all won't do a mental check-list of who they expect to find and who is missing. Indeed, many of the original Resistance don't appear until a long way into the book. When they do appear, its like the appearance of old friends and you want to see what they get up to next.
Now, how much to say without giving away too much about the story itself. Set twenty years after the original series, mankind is mostly dominated by their 'friends', the Visitors. Explanations for appearing as humans is given to a colossal sunblock look but they still lie about a lot of things. Like draining the Earth's oceans to cleanse them and not returning the water because of the pollutants that are still there. I'm surprised there is anything left of marine ecology as well come to think of it but presumably the deep waters away from the land is still there. People still mysteriously disappear but the Teammates, human collaborators, are whom you want to belong to if you want an in with the Visitors. The Resistance is rather low key as it slowly re-builds as they and the Visitor fifth column pick out their recruits. There are also dregs which are human/Visitor hybrids as the two species inter-mingle.
The most significant detail is that the message that Julie Parish sent out to the enemies of the Visitors has been received and three advance scouts of the Zedti are on Earth assessing the situation. The Visitors have also been working on a chemical infection to kill the Zedti as they get ready for their next battle with them.
The story essentially follows the lives of many humans, Visitors and Zedti to resolve the conflict and if I say too much then I'll have to send you up to a Visitor mothership for a little spell in stasis. A few mysteries are added to the mix but nothing that you can't figure with a little thought and there's a few nice twists when meeting the Visitor Great Leader.
There isn't much mind-blowing about this book as being Science Fiction but it carries the adventure of the original series. It also carries Kenny Johnson's desire to show how people react under occupation and fight their suppressers. You're carried along with the story most of the time to worry too much about too many of the details although I would wonder what kind of diabetes they have in LA. Nevertheless, if you enjoyed 'V' then you'll probably enjoy this book.
GF Willmetts
|
|
