V

V #1

by A.C. Crispin

"Kenneth Johnson's Warner Bros. television miniseries V swept the nation and drew in hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide. Now the novel V is finally back in print, with an all-new, never-before seen ending." "The alien visitors arrive without warning, their enormous spaceships hovering over fifty of the world's major cities. Their tale of an imperiled homeworld beguiles us. Their human appearance and soothing voices reassure us. Their calm promises of friendship and mutual aid lull us. The aliens fool everyone - until a suspicious journalist and a Holocaust survivor point out the chilling signs that the Visitors aren't nearly as friendly as they seem." As with so many oppressive regimes of Earth's past and present, an ill-informed, propagandized populace becomes complicit in its subjugation, turning a blind eye to atrocities committed by their tyrannical overlords. Now it is up to a small band of resistance fighters who know the aliens' true nature to stand up for all of humanity.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Horror, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Media Tie In, Mystery

402 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Ann Carol Crispin (1950-2013) was an American science fiction writer, the author of over twenty published novels. She wrote professionally since 1983. She wrote several Star Trek and Star Wars novels, and created her own original science fiction series called Starbridge.

Crispin also served as Eastern Regional Director, and then Vice President, of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. With Victoria Strauss, she founded Writer Beware, a "watchdog" group that is part of SFWA that warns aspiring writers about the dangers of scam agents, editors, and publishers. Writer Beware was founded in 1998, and has assisted law enforcement and civil authorities in tracking and shutting down writing scams.

Crispin, who also wrote a prequel providing the back story for the popular Pirates of the Caribbean movie series, died on September 6th, 2013 at the Hospice of Charles County in Waldorf, aged 63.

She was married to science fiction author Michael Capobianco.

Reviews

[Kimber · Rating 4 out of 5]

1983. The television event of the year: "V", a mini-series about an alien invasion of the earth. They came in disguise. They appeared humanoid to gain our passive trust & acceptance. They immediately took over the mainstream media by taking advantage of the humans complacency and naivete. Those who spoke out against them were silenced, cast as "conspirers" and ultimately eliminated. Propaganda would be quickly disseminated that would be a constant presence in the humans lives, preying on the need of self-preservation above all, soothing them into conformity all the while they were lining up the humans for what would become - if successful- an extinction of the species. As they steadily programmed human society against those who would rebel, they were stealing their resources and storing humans as food. (For they were not humans after all.) The populace would be trained to hate the dissenters and love and revere the Visitors. This is really the set up of a fascist regime. The Visitors who came in disguise but prey on the humans weaknesses: their desire for safety and security (provided for by the state).

Fascism always begins with control of the media, brainwashed politicians, propaganda to mind control the people, and ostracizing those who would rebel or lead others to rebel. In" V", even curfews are imposed. The humans would be controlled in any way they would accept.

The V is for Victory, the symbol of the Resistance. Resistance to all forms of oppression. "V" is the story of the resistance group of would be conspirers, who form an alliance with the help of the fifth column. The themes of "V" are standing up against oppression and this includes racism and sexism (the leader of the alliance is a strong woman) and that when good people do nothing, crimes against humanity occurs.

(But a fascist regime has no power without the willing obedience of the populace, for there are too many of them. A fascist regime does not give room for debate. Only one opinion is allowed. A fascist media has no allowance for objective journalism: they tell you what they want you to think).

[Karl]

As a daring TV journalist struggles to uncover the startling truth, a beautiful and brave young scientist fights for the survival of mankind. One of the series of novels inspired by the TV alien invasion series, this title first appeared as Pinnacle PBO.

[Sue A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

V by A.C. Crispin is a wonderful tie-in to one of my favourite television shows of all time. Like the miniseries upon which it is based, V follows the lives of several different characters, all of whom are brought together when alien ships suddenly appear in the skies overhead, hovering above major cities all around the world. As the press and governments scramble to maintain peace and order with the alien Visitors, some individuals begin to question the Visitors' real purpose and intentions for coming to Earth, and soon find that they have the need to band together and strike back against their potential invaders.

The miniseries was filled with awesome effects, wonderful characters, and gruesome storylines. The novelization takes all of those things and adds deeper dimensions and layers of understanding to the whole thing. V was never just a story about alien invasion...it was a study of the best and worst in humankind...taking cues from our very real and recent history...and casing it all in a sort of science fiction-y 'what-if" scenario.

Fans of the series - new and old - will find much to love about this adaptation, and if the reader is left with a somewhat uncomfortable and familiar all-this-has-happened-before kind of feeling, then creator Kenneth Johnson and author A.C. Crispin have done their jobs perfectly.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novelisation of the classic 80s mini-series stays fairly faithful to the show. There are some subtle changes, especially in the last chapters, but nothing that affects the story. I think these sort of books get written off the shooting script, so I can only assume the director changed some stuff during shooting.

Having read a few novelisations now, I see most of them stick very closely to the source material, but every once in awhile you get a real gem like Terry Brooks's book of The Phantom Menace, which just uses the screenplay as a starting place, adding new scenes and rewriting George's terrible dialogue. It's by far the best novelisation I've ever read.

If you'd never seen V this would be a very good substitute, but if you have seen it and remember it well, and were looking for some extra depth and content beyond what was on screen, you won't find much here.

[Maria Carmo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved to reread this epic of Humanity against a terrifying alien race that merely wants to take our water and harvest humans for food... Yet they convincingly turn most leaders into puppets, by adopting a mellifluous "narrative" (as they so often say today)! Society becomes like a gigantic fascist state and Resistance has to organize itself against all odds...
Wonderful and uplifting with solidarity also from some of the aliens...

I remembered I had a good time reading it back then...

Maria Carmo,

Lisbon, 16 April 2018.

[Chris Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewing the ORIGINAL NOVEL from 1984.

I enjoyed this and consider myself lucky to have read the original 1984 version, which tied in with the entire miniseries (up to the Visitors’ defeat before the two TV series).

Although slightly saccharine in its conclusion, it worked for the era. The parallels drawn between the Visitors and the fascist Nazis, the resistance groups, the alienation of different classes, the propaganda, the paranoia of citizens realising they could no longer trust every past friend.

Brilliant.

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written novelization of the mini series. Though the mini-series feels a bit dated, the book is well worth reading. It was an interesting concept for an alien invasion. Its references to Nazism and the power of propaganda were very strong.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

7 -- enjoyable revisit of the 1980s TV miniseries.

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better book than tv series

[MasterSal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember this book and the series. The rating is mostly based on the series but I recall enjoying this book which is an adaptation from the series.

[Raven L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book to read if you remember the original television series. Several of the scenes were recreated perfectly. With that being said, the characters are rather two dimensional and there are glaring holes in the plot....making this book exactly like the series.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the series (the old one, although I am watching the new one too) - so much, I had to have the novelization of it.

This book follows pretty much right along with the first mini-series. I read it so many times my first copy fell apart, so this copy hasn't been read quite as many times, but still more than twice.

[Gareth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb novelisation of the excellent 80s TV show. The author expands and elaborates the story some and the novel is very addictive reading. This is definitely one of the best novelisations of a TV show/movie I have ever read. Crispin as always has a good insight to the characters.

[Davis Byamugisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really interesting science fiction fantasy book

[Ty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Huge fan of the Miniseries! I enjoyed reading it in novel form but it’s not the same...

[Michelle Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the mini series.. and the book was good too..

[Adam Cleaver · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book I remember my Dad had on the bookshelf when I was a kid. Always liked the look of the cover. I knew it was a novel based on the 80's TV series of the same name. However, the TV show is one that I do not think I've ever seen in full. I've definitely seen clips of it and I know the iconic 'visitors red suits', the lizard alien faces, and the deadly Dianna leader! But not knowing the story it was much more interesting reading this book not knowing how it would all end.
The book is pretty well written and has some good plot points and ideas. It is dated in parts and sometimes a little racist in the characters views. However, it is a book of it's time.
The only downside I found in this book was the characters were not very memorable. I would find at times that I couldn't quite remember who some of the characters actually were! This is probably where seeing the show might had been a benefit before reading the book.
Found the parts where the aliens were mixing with the humans and vice-versa the most interesting parts. Where friendships were forged and even love between species!
The end was a little rushed, but could see this was a TV show ending.
I picked up this book in a bundle along with all the sequels and I'm looking forward to the next in the series to see where they take this idea.
A good read and would recommend to sci-fi fans, even if you haven't seen the show.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rarely re-read books as there are just too many new ones that I want to read. However, I'm spending 2024 embarking on a major re-read of the entire "V" series which is made up of fourteen books. I read all of these books when I was 10, 11, and 12 years old, so it's been nearly forty years since I've read them. I'm very excited for this book journey especially after finishing the book that kicked it all off.

Yes, this follows fairly closely to the two television miniseries that aired on ABC way, way, way back in 1983 and 1984. However, there are differences such as new scenes that didn't take place in the miniseries. I also appreciated that characters that vanished from "V: The Final Battle" are present here in this book such as Stanley and Lynn Bernstein and teenager Josh Brooks. All had big roles in part 1 of both this book and the original miniseries. It was never explained why their characters just vanished, so I am very happy to see them back and having their stories completed. I also liked how Arthur Dupres, Eleanor's second husband, was given a different and much more satisfying ending here. Many of the same characters in the miniseries live and die here in the book, but there are some that don't surprisingly don't make it.

This was a fast read, and so much damn fun. I loved returning to this world. I was obsessed with "V" when I was a kid, and it made a huge impression on me. I'm about to turn 50, and I am still obsessed with it!

[Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I want to change my scoring by 0.50 or more of a star. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)

I'm finally going through my physical tv, film etc. tie in library owned book list, to add more older basic reviews. If I liked a book enough to keep then they are at the least a 3 star.

I'm only adding one book per author and I'm not going to re-read every book to be more accurate, not when I have 1000s of new to me authors to try (I can't say no to free books....)


First time read the author's work?: Yes

Will you be reading more?: Yes

Would you recommend?: Yes


------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)

All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked

Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)

[Greg Kerestan · Rating 3 out of 5]

In terms of "things that made a big impact on pop culture but ultimately were replaced by the things they influenced," you can't get a better example than "V." The TV movie turned series turned eternal pop-cultural also-ran evolved from an alternate-history story about a fascist takeover into a more conventional sci-fi invasion story, but despite popping up in new forms again and again, "V" never sticks on the level of a Star Trek or Doctor Who- hell, even Battlestar Galactica outdid it in reboot form. (Does anyone even REMEMBER the "V" reboot with Alan Tudyk and Elizabeth Mitchell?)

Nonetheless, as video and streaming availability of the original "V" miniseries in its two "seasons" is fleeting, appearing and disappearing from print, this novel is probably the easiest way to take in the epic-scale storyline, which is in fact pretty good. It has the additional strength of running on your imagination, and not the sometimes-dodgy eighties TV special effects.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read this in 2022 and liked it a lot more as an adult. Focuses heavily on the first episode of V the miniseries, sort of like a retelling as you would expect, then glosses over dozens of pieces of the following episode and V: The Final Battle. It sort of fills the gaps between scenes, offers alternate conversations between characters and adds to them, and suggests further information as to some plot armor moments.

For instance, lengthier moments with Donovan and Martin, Ham Tyler and everyone else, and it improves on the complications of Robert Maxwell's life dealing with Robin, Polly, and his family. There are more salacious scenes with Daniel Bernstein, additional material with his family - keeping them in the picture, embellishments of the difficultly running the resistance group - the whole book just offers a more rounded picture of the story.

I don't know if any part was a deleted scene, per say, but for true V fans, it's a must read.

[Danny · Rating 3 out of 5]

novelizations are a tricky thing but a novelization condensing two miniseries into a 400 page volume? A lot of things got lost, while other plot points were further refined and, likely going from an earlier script, outright changed. Was reading it in conjunction with rewatching both miniseries with my partner who hadn't seen the. Also had faith in A.C. Crispin to make it at least somewhat entertaining given her cadre of Trek books (and was right).

Also dug out the more recent re-release afterwards to read the coda written by Kenneth Johnson to intro V The Second Generation (that version only has the first miniseries in it as he only ever wrote the original one).

[Jay Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book written on the screenplay from a TV miniseries. The miniseries was good for its time and was very popular. However, since TV doesn't develop characters like a book can, the characters are hollow figures trooping around an action filled environment. If you like action, without depth, this book may be for you. Aliens show up as benevolent. Scientists start disappearing. Controls are placed upon the people. A resistance develops. The story is about the resistance. This book roughly compares the Visitors with Nazi Germany

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I enjoyed the 80's cheesiness of this science fiction T.V classic, however some things should stay in the 80's. the book follows the show scene for scene, up until the middle where the show was cancelled. Now I don't know if the authors had access to the rest of the shows plot, but if they did I'm glad it never aired. Save your time and watch the show first and then if you enjoyed it give the book a read.

[Todd R · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to get through this..its one of the books I remember in my fathers book closet and I loved the mini-series when it originally aired. In fact I re-watch the original mini-series every few years...it's good.

This book however is just a scene for scene retelling of the film, nothing new is given. It's not worth the read for those wanting new insights on the original material.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual Rating - 4.5 stars

I loved this book a massive amount. It was just the right amount of cheesy scifi and characters you fall in love with.

The only thing I would say that could be improved is that the ending seemed slightly abrupt in the sense that the resolution seemed very easy after everything.

All in all a fantastic read

[Bruton Gaster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Novelizations of movies or television shows can be iffy, but but this one gets it right. It stays true to the source material while also adding more characterization and background, making it interesting to read even though you already know the story. And if you're not familiar with the source material, it stands alone as a great alien invasion sci-fi book.

[Izzy Linus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very poignant and well written! As a fan of the miniseries, I loved how they delved deeper into the characters thoughts, although they did stray from the tv show here and there! But it's still great, and a very important message of resisting fascism that we can all unfortunately relate to (especially around 2016)! Can't wait to read the other books in the series and A.C. Crispin's other work!

[E.R. Everett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished the book. As a kid I loved the series back in the ‘80s. The author does a good job of telling the story. However, the language tends on the YA sophomorish side, so I didn’t enjoy it as much as I would have had it been written by a Heinlein or an H G Wells. Not that I was expecting great literature, but still…

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and the tv mini-series. The characters were well written and the action kept you on the edge of your seat. The twists and turns kept me reading late into the night as I wanted to know what was coming next. I recommend this book to any fan of the sci-fi/horror genre.