The Green and the Gray (2004)

More brain candy from Zahn; not a bad book, but there's a lot of unrealistic actions by characters: "there are aliens among us, they're fighting a hidden war, and they have Powers? Okay."

Not really recommended, but better than average scifi brain candy. ( )

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Brain Candy Alert!

First, take two alien peoples (Greens & Grays), living seriously underground in NYC for decades who are about to re-stage the Armageddon of their collective past. The only way to Stop The War? The sacrifice of a 12-year-old girl (Melantha Green)....but wait, not everyone favors this move so the girl is abdu.....spirited away at the 11th hour....leaving many unhappy folks, some bent on Revenge

Next, take one Yuppie couple with a creaky marriage, on the way home from a tense "night out"...who are handed said girl at gunpoint and told to "Take her. Protect her"...and the games begin. Because everyone and his brother is on the lookout for the non-sacrificial lamb.

With all this potential for Urban mayhem....let's not forget the NYPD....enter Detective Fierenzo.

Then add some car chases, convoluted subway rides, Hammerguns, Shrieks that can be deadly....at least two abductions..a country idyll that is anything but...allusions to Greek and Norse Mythology....A Romeo & Juliet angle that's "oh so sweet"...Evil Meanies...treachery in the ranks...and an ending that seemed a bit tame to me....Peace is Declared and God Bless Us Everyone...Like i said...Brain Candy!!

I have not read anything else by Mr Zahn, but i get the impression that this was a departure for him, from Hard Sci-Fi..I found the Hard angles herein a bit far-fetched...thought this one was more a Police Procedural with Alien overtones. Since it was published in 2004..the shadow of 9/11 was ever-present..but did not detract from a pleasantly wild ride.

Brain Candy
4 Stars ( )

Pre09:

Okay, it wasn't that bad.

Characters: Romeo and Juliet were cute. As was the wayward Mom. And the cop. Basically they were all cute. Not deep, just cute.
Plot: Best part of the book. Written basically like a detective story. Revelations as you go and comfortable twists and turns.
Style: Typical Zahn. Comfortable. No edge. Nothing tough to follow. Just enough to pull you in. Nothing to give it that spark either. ( )

(Amy) This was a remainder-pile find, and almost certainly something I wouldn't have bought if I hadn't seen it on the B&N bargain table when I was using up a gift certificate (for one thing, I almost never go to bookstores at all; for another, when I do, it's usually Borders, for the Rewards). I'd never read any non-Star-Wars Zahn, and rarely even have seen any. Well, I'll be looking for it now.

This book was fast-paced, full of "huh"? moments, and just generally captivating. I haven't been reading at my usual pace of late (I blame the 17-hour workdays, at a guess), but this weekend I tore through this one at quite a clip. I kept thinking I should put it down and do something else, but somehow it didn't happen all that often.

The story opens with a brief POV from a twelve-year-old girl who is, we quickly learn, en route to her death. This death, it is obvious, is meant to save her people, but the how of that is far from clear. At the very last of moments, however, she is snatched away from the choking hands of an incredibly sinister character and whisked away to . . . well, to the apartment of a couple of bystanding New Yorkers, who are really quite baffled by the whole thing.

As becomes apparent, there are quite a few things going on in the city of which most people are entirely unaware (which is probably true, though I doubt many of them are like these), and there are a couple of mysterious groups of people who want this girl back - and, she says, want her dead. The whys behind this and many other mysteries are really quite a joy to watch unfold, and I loved every minute of it.

I really am going to have to seek out more Zahn.
( http://weblog.siliconcerebrate.com/zenos-library/2007/11/the-green-and-the-gray-... )

(Alistair) Well, now, I haven't (yet) read much Zahn, outside his Star Wars books and - quite some time ago - Conqueror's Pride; although having said that, I think his Star Wars books are about the best written in that particular framework, and given that, I'm not sure as to why it took me quite so long to get around to reading this. As you can tell from the date on Amy's review, we've had it for quite some time.

For it is, indeed, a very good book. The Green and the Gray is the story of two alien - although remarkably humanesque - cultures hiding in New York, having fled their fairly bitter war only to end up in the same place, an arrangement (gone wrong) involving the death of the 12-year-old Melantha Green that is supposed to head off a renewal of their war that might kill thousands of New York bystanders, and the human couple who get caught up in the middle of this whole mess.

It is; or was to me, a delicious blend of good old pulpish SF with much better cultural development and character writing/character-driven elements than you generally found in good old pulpish SF; fast-paced; and gripping enough that I didn't sleep nearly as many hours as I should have while I was reading it. Several elements may be identified as formulaic, perhaps, but he does very good things with the formula.

Decidedly recommended.
( http://weblog.siliconcerebrate.com/cerebrate/2008/04/the-green-and-the-gray-timo... ) ( )

Interesting fantasy story - I especially liked the twist on the origins of the two groups. Familiar storyline (for good or bad) of two warring groups who misunderstand each other and don't even remember why. ( )