Book Review - V: The Second Generation

V: The Second Generation by Kenneth Johnson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is an interesting read. A direct sequel to V: the Mini-Series, this story picks up 20 years after the events of the first book. A lot has changed on Earth under the Visitors control, and the planet’s only hope is an alien race that is the enemy of the Visitors.

The book itself is a bit tough to get into at first, especially if all you know is the two NBC mini-series and subsequent TV show. But, once some of the original faces start to show up, you start to get your grounding. It is interesting to see how Johnson builds his world under Visitor control, from persecuted classes (scientists, half-breeds), forced cooperation, and people living in fear of being accused of working for the resistance and “disappearing.”

The thing I had the biggest problem with was the ending. While engaging, it felt like Johnson wrote himself into a corner and contrived an ending that would not result in the total destruction of the Earth. Furthermore, it seems he wraps up just enough loose ends to conclude the book, while leaving a number of really big ones open for future tales. It did not feel like a real conclusion, but a season finale for a series that is most likely not going to return in the fall.

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