Publishing Information
Author:  Joyce Tannehill
Publisher:  Tom Doherty Associates, Inc., 49 West 24th St., New York, NY, 10010
ISBN:  0-812-55729-8
Canadian ISBN:  0-812-55730-1
Copyright:  1987, Joyce Tannehill
 

Comments
Long on characterization and short on plot.  Tannehill has attempted to create two unique original characters
in Ruth and Hadad, and succeeds to an extent.   However, the book suffers because of a lack of continuity and
cohesiveness in the characters' development:  for example, Ruth is described as having a reverence for all
life, yet she makes leather clothing!  The 'mystical' Zon ending seemed to be a last minute attempt to tie up
all the loose ends in a couple of pages.
 

Major Plot Points

• Visitor technician Hadad escapes the effects of the red-dust toxin by fleeing to the Oregon desert.  There he hides his identity and eventually becomes accepted as a member of the small community of Prineville.
• Hadad and Ruth struggle to deal with all of the implications of their relationship when they fall in love.
• The Visitors attempt to develop an anti-toxin, while the Fifth Column aboard the Mothership deals with treachery within their ranks.

Memorable Moments
p. 92  Ruth tries to convince Hadad to accept the possibility of their relationship
"Ruth, we are different."
"Hadad, I don't know anything about the ways of your people, and the ways of my people don't apply right now.  I don't know how to say what I'm saying.  I don't know how to let you know what I know.  But my heart says that I'm not wrong to be here.  I look in your eyes and know that you feel what I feel.  I won't accept your words that say we can't be together, because there isn't any logic in them.  We can be together, and my truth inside says you want that as much as I do.  I don't know why you hold back.  I don't know why you force the distance between us.  But I do know the distance is a lie.  And I haven't got time for lies.  My world is collapsing around me.  I haven't got time for you to come to the truth in your own way.  I love you.  And I want to spend whatever time we have left on this planet with you.  And nothing else matters very much."
 

The Back of the Book ...

The Visitor juggernaught has been slowed by a toxin that is fatal to the reptilian invaders while not harming
Earth-born life, but the Visitors will allow nothing to stand between them and the defeat of humanity.  And their
strike into the Pacific Northwest seems to have a way to counteract the toxin.  As city after city falls and the
human death-toll mounts, Ruth Hogan, a free-spirited artist, and Hadad, a Visitor opposed to the invasion,
desperately try to organize resistance - while keeping one step ahead of hunters sent by a Visitor High Command
that knows they are the only ones who can stop the final Visitor victory.
 

Ordering Information
All of the "V" novels are currently out of print.  However, you can often find used copies at reasonable prices
at the Advanced Book Exchange.

 
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