cover image V: The Second Generation

V: The Second Generation

Kenneth Johnson. Tor Books, $24.95 (443pp) ISBN 978-0-7653-1907-4

Johnson has been writing television science fiction (The Six Million Dollar Man; Alien Nation) for over three decades. Anticipating the 2008 television spin-off from the cult classic miniseries V, Johnson has created this insubstantial tie-in novel. Twenty years after invading, the Visitors now have a solid chokehold on Earth's scientists, intellectuals, celebrities and natural resources. While there remains an active resistance movement, they cannot stop the domination of Earth on their own. Enter the alien Zedti. Enemies of the Visitors (though sharing their general lack of concern for individual human lives), the Zedti come to the aid of the resistance efforts. Throughout, it remains ambiguous whether the Zedti are truly friends of humanity. The plethora of whiz-bang action scenes and huge cast of underdeveloped characters make this more of a primer for the new miniseries than a novel worth reading in its own right.