Little Green Men (Paperback)

by Christopher Buckley (Author) "Ten seconds." John O. Banion stared unblinkingly into the TV camera's cyclops eye, keeping his famous cool under the baking glare of the Videssence lights..." (more)
Key Phrases: abduction hearings, ignition button, little green men, Colonel Murfletit, United States, White House (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
In Christopher Buckley's hilarious fourth novel, Washington, D.C., is naturally enough a place of sex, lies, and videotape. Unfortunately for Little Green Men's pundit protagonist, John Oliver Banion, it is also the HQ of Majestic Twelve, a very, very covert government project. Since "that golden Cold War summer of 1947," MJ-12 has had a single mission--to convince taxpayers that space invaders are constantly lurking below what's left of the ozone layer. "A country convinced that little green men were hovering over the rooftops was inclined to vote yea for big weapons and space programs," the author thoughtfully explains.

But one disgruntled operative wants out. Nathan Scrubbs is fed up to the back teeth with the art of alien abduction--not to mention his cover as a Social Security flunky--so when his request for a transfer is quashed, he drunkenly decides to take it out on ubiquitous ultra-prig Banion, who happens to be on TV at the time. The ensuing high-tech kidnap, at Maryland's Burning Bush Country Club, is only one of the thousands of convulsively funny scenes in Little Green Men. Not that the novel isn't a skewed morality play of some sort: as Banion comes to believe in Tall Nordics and Short Ugly Grays, he is quickly removed from every A-list in town. But oddly enough, social and political disaster turns out to be as liberating as the finest alien probe. Let's just say that long before Banion and Scrubbs have a close encounter at the Millennium Man March on Washington, this Beltway barrel of monkeys attains a truly extraplanetary level of amusement. --Kerry Fried --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
Celebrity trials, populist bile and The X-Files get the Buckley (God Is My Broker; Thank You for Smoking) skewer in this fast-paced satire. John O. Banion is an acerbic journalist, a talk-show host, a D.C. insider?and proud of it. MJ-12 is a secret federal program (based on a real-life program of the same name) that stages alien abductions to maintain popular support for military spending and space exploration. When he is "probed" by "aliens" at a golf course, Banion becomes a true believer in UFOs. Ostracized by the D.C. establishment, he uses his TV show to organize millions of UFO cultists (the "Millennium Men"), who gather on the Mall (the "Millennium Man March") and just may bring down the government. Consistently hilarious and painfully topical, the novel can resemble a series of stand-up comedy routines; it's dense with one-liners, inside jokes, mini-exposes and tangential riffs on peripheral characters, from FBI men to Larry King. But Buckley's plot is no drawing-room farce: he envisions national catastrophes, convergences of millions of people, the stuff of big-budget disaster movies and spy thrillers. His wit-above-all style combines with his ambitious plot to flatten his characters: the few sympathetic relationships?between a refugee secret agent and his down-home fisherman protector, or between Banion and a sexy UFO crusader?seem out of place, little lumps of feeling in an otherwise smooth, cool gelatin of extended banter. By the time the climactic courtroom scenes have tied up the subplots, the novel seems both hurried and cluttered: half monologue, half screenplay. Buckley delivers the irreverent comedy his fans are looking for, but those seeking more complexity from their political fiction, or more three-dimensional characters, may feel, well, alienated. Agent, Amanda Urban. BOMC selection; film rights sold to New Line Cinema; author tour.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 317 pages
• Publisher: Allison & Busby (June 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 074900505X
• ISBN-13: 978-0749005054
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (86 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #724,688 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hello from the world, February 15, 2001

By	Frank Marton (Budapest, Hungary) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Little Green Men: A Novel (Paperback)

Wow! I can't recall the last time I actually laughed out loud while reading a book. My contagious giggling actually caused my wife to suggest I read it only while alone and in an enclosed room.

Satire is best when nobody is safe and Buckley spares no one. Everyone from white trash, "X Files" buffs, politicians to the sexually dysfunctional are lampooned with utter hilarity. I dare you to read this without cracking a smile! I'll bet UFO conspiracy theorists are forming up as we speak to lynch Buckley. Always worth a smile or two, I'll never be able to look at one again without bursting out in laughter.

In an age where government scandals and cover-ups have been decidedly un-funny, this book is a welcome change. In this era in which people think that poking fun is offensive, I love the fact that Buckley pulls no punches and really goes out of his way to offend everybody! Forget politically correct, leave your cares at the door and lose yourself in a wild ride full of hilarious characters and dead pan humor.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hysterical romp through conspiracy theories, September 6, 2002

By	Nadyne Mielke (Mountain View, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Little Green Men (Hardcover)

The conspiracy theorists are right: the government is hiding something from us. According to Christopher Buckley, the big secret is this: the government is responsible for the reports of alien activity. The super-secret organisation known as MJ-12 flattens fields and abducts lonely housewives.

One night, Nathan gets fed up with his lack of advancement. Drunk, he decides to abduct John Oliver Banion, a successful political talk-show host. After the second abduction, Banion goes public with his experiences, resulting in the loss of his entire life. Banion is approached by other UFO abductees, all of whom he vaguely feels as if they're just lonely people who need some excitement in their lives. However, he can't deny his own experiences, and continues to attempt to force Congress into conducting hearings. Finally, he organises a march on Washington.

Watching the monster he has created, and disgraced from MJ-12, Nathan tries to fix the situation. He and Banion team up and take on the government's only secret.

In this book, Buckley skewers everyone from the government to UFO fanatics. Although his targets are relatively easy to take to task, his deft handling of the story has laugh-out-loud results. I devoured this book overnight. When I was finished, a friend immediately borrowed it after noticing how hard I was laughing. It is a great light-hearted read.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good God! Is Buckley the Greatest living writer?!, April 7, 2006

By	Turin "Turambar" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Little Green Men: A Novel (Paperback)

Reading this book is literally stunning. If there were any justice, the hacks ought to abandon their work (or at least rewrite it through a few times) before they sling it out the door- looking at James Patterson and Dan Brown.

The prose on every page is so carefully wrought it is amazing. He captures characters, organizations and Washington dynamics with such economy, with such perfect on-the-nose phrasing it, it really is amazing. Put your finger down on any page and you will find excellence. This is the league of Wodehouse and Waugh.

The book is both amusing and enteraining and worth the purchase because the reread value will be high, but I'll be damned if you dont come away with the feeling of resentment at other popular authors who's poor craftsmanship is so clearly shown up by Buckley.

"Banion took the call.

'Jack!' Bill Stimple was the Ur-corporate relations man. Each greeting began with an exclaimation mark. When the Grim Reeper came for Bill he'd probably bray, 'Death!', and ask how his golf game was coming."