V: The Original Miniseries (2025)

I have to admit that I was a fan of the NBC mini-series that this book is based on, though I have no idea why it took me the better part of 20 years to finally get around to reading the novelization. Regardless, I was impressed with this book, which goes into much greater depth the effect the Visitors have on our world. The book goes into greater detail drawing connections between what happens once the Visitors have arrived to what happened to Pre-WW2 Germany, even beyond the words of one of the characters, himself a survivor of the Holocaust.

The only downside to the book is that because it was based on a television mini-series, many of the characters do not have a chance to manifest themselves in their own way, at least for me. I still kept seeing main characters Mike Donovan and Juliet Parrish as Marc Singer and Faye Grant. Even the Visitor William, who gets a bit more of a back story in this novelization, still looks like Robert Englund whenever I read his parts.

Alright I will try to be as objective as I can about this book. (Good Luck. V- The Original Miniseries is based on the miniseries that aired on NBC in 1983. I was 12 years old when it premiered, and it was one of my favorite movies of all time. Finding the novel allowed me to reconnect with a series I held near to my heart.
The book pretty much runs parallel with the film. Only a few extra things. This version of the novel omits The Final Battle, and sets up the stage for V: The Second Generation. Nothing is cut from the book, and it is a fast read. If you were a fan of the original series, you owe it too yourself to check it out!!

I loved the idea of the story and loved the actual miniseries. This novelization though, left out so many of the story's high points. I wish there was an actual novel (or series of novels) the miniseries had been based on.

Please see my review of the ORIGINAL VERSION of this novel.

I enjoyed it, and I wish I still had a copy of the original.

When I read this version, all was the same EXCEPT for a few omissions and massive additions and changes (towards the end). If you grew up with the original version, you will still be fine. I enjoyed the changes, albeit a tad in mourning for the original. But in saying this, I believe the changes are good. Because by doing so, AC Crispin and Kenneth Johnson are allowing for a better (in my opinion) sequel.

I won’t say more, for fear of spoilers, but I will say this: there is no red dust in this version (or the sequel).

This really brought back memories of being a teenager watching V with my mom. This only has 19 chapters from Book 1 of the V novel, but it has an epilogue with new content setting up The Second Generation. I will never get tired of reading about the Visitors. Diana has always been my favorite visitor. Read this book if you have the chance.

Het boek naar aanleiding van de originele miniserie. Het boek is trouw aan het verhaal zonder iets extra. Wel is er in deze editie (2008) een link gemaakt in het epiloog naar een origineel vervolg genaamd The Second Generation. Dit maakt de overgang naadlozer. Een leuk boek voor fans van de serie.

Cut to ribbons, don't bother.

The original book was excellent. I looked forward so much to this being available on Kindle only to find it's roughly half the original. Not worth it, I have no clue why this was done.

Entretenido aunque es casi una descripción de la mini serie televisiva

Actual rating: 3,5.

An amazing adventure from my childhood.

A dreadful, flat adaptation.

Having last read this book as a teenager, I am surprised by how well the novel holds up against the sometimes "cheesy" TV movies. The novel has a more sinister atmosphere and the struggle of the resistance is more palpable, possibly due to the increased detail of their plight and the insurmountable force they must defeat. Still one of my favorite guilty pleasures.

Après m'être forcé à regarder les deux saisons de l'horrible remake de la série V, ce fut un vrai plaisir de replonger dans le charme et la subtilité de la série originale grâce à cette version en roman plutôt réussie. Tout cela pour m'attaquer ensuite à la suite imaginée et écrite par le créateur de la série.

I have read this a few times already and I always enjoy it.

It's a summary of sorts of the original TV mini series (the first one) and it is why I enjoy rereading this often. I loved and was obsessed with the TV show when I was a kid , having first watched when I was 6 / 7 .

A great story and one of my go-back-to-reads because it also evokes happy memories from childhood.

It was much better than I expected, especially as I knew it would end unresolved (or the series could not continue). I hope the events in the epilogue do not introduce a "deus ex machina," as this is usually a cop out for poor writing.

So, I'm not really sure why I picked this up since I'm not a fan of the book of the movie genre. The story in this is good, but it's the story in the miniseries. The style is meh.

Read this in the 5th grade-- all in one weekend, when I was supposed to be doing a report on Helen Keller. Famous blind person vs. amphibian aliens invading Earth...well it's no contest there.

It was almost exactly like the original TV show, so it was easy to visualize everything. It was a pretty good sci-fi book.

I just had to read it since I loved the mini series.

Kinda weird, I remember reading this when I was a kid. It ends on an odd note, like a to be continued... But I never read the second book. I might do it now

Having never seen the original minideries, I borrowed this from the library to compare with the new series on tv at the moment. It's a decent read if not a little dated

Very disappointing. I much preferred the original story.

the story is good but the new ending was just too fast and "easy".

Not great literature by any means, but definitely a fun read. You don't have to be a fan of the series to enjoy this quick read.