The Second Generation

February 4, 2008
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.

October 1, 2007
Johnson was the creative mastermind behind the popular 1980s miniseries V, dramatizing the invasion of Earth by duplicitous, reptilian aliens wearing benevolent human disguises. As a teaser for a planned sequel series, this novel resumes the conflict via an irresistible plot twist. Twenty years after the alien Visitors began siphoning off Earths water while posing as humanitys saviors, representatives of a different extraterrestrial species arrive undercover, apparently answering a distress call from the surviving human Resistance. Insectile creatures, the Zedti provide a timely boost to the Resistance cause just as the Visitors are plotting a new offensive to ramp up the water harvest and exterminate the human race for good. Johnson interweaves multiple narrative threads involving the current Visitor commanders struggle against being replaced, a human celebritys conversion from Visitor supporter to Resistance ally, and the Zedtis ploy to use Earth as a staging ground to attack the Visitors. Johnsons energetic, though merely workmanlike, prose should give long-suffering V fans some new thrills, even if the projected new series never pans out.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)