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The Green and the Gray by [Timothy Zahn]

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Timothy Zahn

The Green and the Gray Kindle Edition

by Timothy Zahn (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

28 ratings

Hitchcock meets Serling in this deadly game of cat-and-mouse between a young couple and alien races from a #1 New York Times–bestselling author.

After engaging in bloody warfare against each other, two alien races—the Greens and the Grays—take refuge on Earth, both believing their home and their enemy destroyed. For seventy-five years, they have been passing as humans, living peacefully—until each side discovers the other has survived. Now, in order to avoid another destructive conflict, these extraterrestrial rivals have united and agreed that a sacrifice must be made . . .

On a dark and cold October night in Manhattan’s Riverside Park, a strange ceremony is about to begin. The group is focused on a young girl who is ready to do what she must for peace, but the ritual comes to an abrupt halt when the child is mysteriously kidnapped.

Meanwhile, after four years of marriage, Roger and Caroline Whittier struggle to get through a day without fighting. Their bickering is interrupted when a bizarre mugger leaves them with a little girl named Melantha. While they disagree on most matters, they both know they must protect Melantha. Unfortunately, they have no idea who is looking for their foundling or the lengths they will go to get her back. Now, the chase is on . . .

“[Timothy] Zahn has lots of surprises up his sleeve, and the ability to make the strange sound real.” —Statesman Journal

“Compelling . . . One nice touch in this highly enjoyable hybrid of SF and mystery is that at no point does any one character know exactly what’s going on.” —Publishers Weekly

Print length

561 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Publication date

November 10, 2020
File size

5825 KB
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Timothy Zahn is the New York Times–bestselling science fiction author of more than forty novels, as well as many novellas and short stories. Best known for his contributions to the expanded Star Wars universe of books, including the Thrawn trilogy, Zahn also wrote the Cobra series and the young adult Dragonback series—the first novel of which, Dragon and Thief, was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Zahn currently resides in Oregon with his family.

From Publishers Weekly

Like its title, Zahn's urban drama of a New York City couple fighting to save both their beloved city and an odd child thrust into their care is understated yet compelling. What starts out for Roger and Caroline Whittier as another evening full of bickering and resentment turns into something otherworldly after they, not the criminal who tried to strangle her, take possession of mysterious 12-year-old Melantha Green. One strange event after another follows: the girl melts into the potted orange trees on the Whittiers' balcony; invisible men climb the sides of buildings; and everywhere he goes, Roger is accosted by various factions of "Greens" and "Grays." Each group claims that a civil war is brewing in the parks of Manhattan and that it will be averted only if Melantha is turned over to them. An NYPD detective—sent to investigate a double break-in at the Whittier's apartment—gets dragged into the action when he just can't let go of several inexplicable loose ends. One nice touch in this highly enjoyable hybrid of SF and mystery is that at no point does any one character know exactly what's going on. As the further mark of a mature writer, Zahn (Angelmass) portrays a realistic marriage in which it takes more than magic to resolve conflicts.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

"Mixes fantasy and contemporary adventure very well, creating something both entertaining and interesting. A very enjoyable read."
--Fantastica Daily on The Green and the Gray"Zahn keeps the story moving at a breakneck pace, maintaining excitement."
--Publishers Weekly on Dragon and Thief

"The direction Manta's Gift ultimately takes is inventive and unexpected . . . Zahn plays out his suspense as deftly as always, building a tense situation and ultimately defusing it in believable and pleasing ways."
--Locus on Manta's Gift

"YA readers looking for more than the usual SF action-adventure should be well pleased."
--Publishers Weekly on Manta's Gift:

"The author of Angelmass brings a new twist to a classic tale of human-alien encounter, combining fast-paced action and hard science with personal drama. A good choice for most sf collections."
--Library Journal on Manta's Gift:

"Another thoroughly literate sf yarn from Zahn."
--Booklist on Manta's Gift:

"Angelmass is thus a serious SF novel sneakily posing as an enormous golden-age thrill ride."
--Locus on Angelmass

"Zahn paints every futuristic detail with gleamy realism and mock scientific dialogue that streams with starship hardware and military trooper talk. Once underway, immensely appealing."
--Kirkus Reviews on Angelmass

"Through in-depth characterization, as well as toothsome scientific and political mysteries, Zahn unfold an intricate tale of adventure sure to please his many fans."
--Publishers Weekly on Angelmass

"The latest novel by the award-winning author of the first published Star Wars trilogy, this combines fast-paced action with believable characters to produce a first-rate sf space adventure that belongs in most libraries."
--Library Journal on Angelmass

"This very solid, very readable SF novel delivers the essential kick of the best work in the genre, and it would be encouraging if that larger audience picked this book up as well. It certainly delivers all the qualities of the best SF adventure writing. Recommended."
--Asimov's SF Magazine on Angelmass

"Mixes fantasy and contemporary adventure very well, creating something both entertaining and interesting. A very enjoyable read." (Fantastica Daily) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

ASIN : B08H7ZRS7H
Publisher : Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy (November 10, 2020)
Publication date : November 10, 2020
Language : English
File size : 5825 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 561 pages
Lending : Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #724,883 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #3,645 in Alien Invasion Science Fiction eBooks
- #5,688 in First Contact Science Fiction eBooks
- #6,679 in First Contact Science Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
28 ratings

Customer reviews

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4 star		4%
3 star		6%
2 star		7%
1 star		20%

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Chad Cloman

Great Story, Poor Digital Book Production

Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2020

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Story is great. Love it.

The Kindle version of the book, however, has a good number of errors. Some are typos from the scanning process, but most are omitted letters/words. There are sentences missing words, often at the end of a quoted sentence, and sometimes it's difficult to figure out what they actually said.

I'm not sure anyone actually read the Kindle version before publishing it. There's no way you could miss the omissions.

One person found this helpful

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Larry

The Green and the Gray - Fun to read urban SF novel

Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2013

Verified Purchase

I just finished re-reading "The Green and the Gray" by Timothy Zahn. At times I re-read books that I recall were really well written, typically after 5-10 years have gone by. On the second reading sometimes a novel seems to come short of what I had hoped for, perhaps because of high expectations from recalling how good it was. However, in the case of this book, I found that it was actually more enjoyable on the second read through than I recall it being on the first!

Unlike some of this author's other works, this story is set in the present day, in New York City. It features two sets of aliens, passing as humans, who have lived there for many years, unaware of each other's presence. They have recently found each other and some factions in each group are either trying to avoid a war or gearing up to win the war.

Into the midst of this volatile situation comes a young married human couple who attempt to protect a 12 year old girl who is from one of the alien factions. As they do so, they are thrust into the midst of the upcoming confrontation with each group attempting to find the girl. In the process, the couple (Roger and Caroline Whittier) learns of the true story of the aliens' origin, history and how they came to our world, including details the aliens themselves were unaware of. They, along with a NYC police detective (Thomas Fierenzo), end up playing a pivotal role in attempting to defuse the situation before it means the death of thousands of aliens and humans.

It is somewhat of a cliché to call a book a "page turner", but that really was the case for me with this one. The story is well written, with enough suspense and plot twists to keep me up late several nights reading, yet still believable enough for me to enjoy the book without undue suspension of disbelief.

There is a fairly large cast of characters, so some are developed more than others. However, the main point of view characters, Roger, Caroline, and Detective Fierenzo, are all fleshed out well and you really care what happens to them by the end of the book. In the course of the story Roger and Caroline end up needing to learn to understand and appreciate each other better to effectively work together. The changes to the Whittier's marriage are not a major part of the story, and you can largely ignore it if you want to, but I personally found it added a more believable dimension to the characters.

I must admit that I tend to like most books by Timothy Zahn, so I did not come to this novel completely unbiased. However, like any other author, some of his books are better then others. I think this is one of the best of his I have read to date.

3 people found this helpful

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Malcolm

Zahn never fails to please

Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2004

Verified Purchase

Granted, Zahn's books are a bit formulaic - the oncoming conflict that will destroy wherever the book is set or kill many innocents, the inability to stop it until the very end when a surprise twist occurs that fixes it all - but that doesn't mean it's bad. Most mystery stories follow much the same plot, but without the feeling of impending doom. The point is not that you already know how its going to end, the point is how he gets there.

And, in this case just as in all the others, it's one amazing ride. The two cultures and upwards of 30 main characters are all fascinating and vibrant, keeping the reading flowing through all 450-odd pages. The plot twists come with the usual Zahn rapidity, each being totally plausible and usually just as totally unexpected (though, in hindsight, you should have seen it coming). I buy every Zahn book as soon as I realize it's out, and I haven't once been dissappointed. It's not the deepest reading ever, but it's always fun, and it might make you think more than you expect.

Highly reccomended.

17 people found this helpful

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Gregory Engel

Far From Zahn's Best

Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2006

Verified Purchase

I consider myself a fan of Zahn's work, and this easily ranks among his worst.

The basic concept is a good one. Two alien races, living among humans in New York City, have finally discovered each other and are preparing for a war that threatens them both, and the humans in the city. An innocent human couple get thrown in the mix to try and prevent a war, all while sorting through their mid-life marriage problems.

Zahn excels at setting up convoluted political situations and resolving them through intrigue and sleuthing, and usually structures his plots around such scenarios fairly well. Unfortunately, this partiuclar plot also relies heavily on deep, believable characters, which is easily Zahn's weakest point as a fiction author. The two human protagonists are supposed to carry the story, but end up just dragging it down. Their problems and dialogue seem ripped straight from "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus," with the husband realizing "Gee, maybe my wife is more emotional and people-oriented, and I'm more bottom-line problem-solving oriented." This shallow characterization, as well as about seven-too-many references to 9/11, really drag the story down and prevent an otherwise sound concept from taking off.

Overall, despite a few memorable moments, the story as a whole falls flat. I mostly found myself wishing I was reading Icarus Hunt again.

5 people found this helpful

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Nichole

Traditional Zahn

Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2006

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I've been a fan of Timothy Zahn's work ever since I picked up Heir to the Empire so many years ago. I really love his characters and their development/progression, it's easy for me to mesh with his characters and feel for them. In what I consider the traditional Zahn style, the book throws all of these pieces of information at you but doesn't connect them until the ending twist, which is always fun. It's almost like solving a puzzle.

I couldn't put this book down until I finished it. If you've read Zahn before and liked his work, definitely read it. If this is a first Zahn for you, I highly recommend it, although if you're not opposed to Star Wars I would start with Heir to the Empire.

4 people found this helpful

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David S.

Edit or upload errors for kindle edition — don’t buy

Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2021

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The editing or uploading to kindle is a mess. There must be an error or two on every single page. I finally gave up reading it, which is shame because I’ve really enjoyed Zahn’s past works.

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