Copyright 1983.
It starts out as a typical day on planet Earth. Suddenly from out of nowhere fifty giant saucers five miles long position themselves over fifty major cities around the globe. Is this an alien invasion? Soon after contact is made and the aliens are discovered to be human like in every way except a strange resonance in their voice. The Visitors as are they later come to be called have come in peace. They need chemicals that our planet can provide to save their civilization. In exchange they promise to share their knowledge to help Earth with its own problems.
Soon the Visitors start to insinuate themselves in human society. People become complacent to their presence although some have their suspicions. Scientists are mysteriously disappearing. Soon a conspiracy of scientist is revealed targeting the Visitors. Suspicion against scientists rises and repressive measures are enacted by overeager governments around the world.
Mike Donovan a cameraman and reporter sneaks aboard the Los Angeles mothership. He finds out the truth that the Visitors are actually reptilian in disguise and their sinister objective to steal all the Earth’s water. They also have plans for turning humans into food.
Before he can expose them the Visitors make their move. They have been converting government officials and effectively take over society and declare martial law. Overnight all the countries of Earth are under the control of the Visitors. The story follows a group of ordinary citizens as they form a resistance to the alien invaders.
This is an adaptation of the mini-series V and its sequel V:The Final Battle. I don’t usually get adaptations of shows that were broadcast preferring original stories. But I wanted to have a complete collection of the series. I am glad I got it because this was a fun read. Crispin did an excellent job of adapting the story. The second mini-series did not come out yet when she was writing this and used the original script. It was interesting to see the changes that were made. Some scenes were awkward and you can see why they were rewritten. Others were probably changed due to budget restraints or timing.
I actually reread this on a flight back from Los Angeles were I spent my vacation. I recognize some of the places in Griffith park that they used. I also toured Warner Studios and was in the studio that the TV show used. They have plaques that list were all the TV shows and Movies that the studio used. An interesting trivia note is that the The Bang Theory now uses the studio.
A final note is that Ann Crispin died about a year ago. When I read it her work on the V series came to mind. She would co-write two more books and all three are some of the best in the series. She wrote many other books including some notable Star Trek novels. I hope to someday read more of this talented authors work.
Here is the scene where Donovan finds out the true nature of the Visitors. It freaked me out when I first saw it all those years ago.
THE BOOKS THAT TIME FORGOT. 