Title: Little Green Men
Author: Christopher Buckley
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Year Released: 1999
ISBN: 9780060955571
Rating: +++
Summary (from goodreads):
Washington, D.C., is naturally enough a place of sex, lies, and videotape. Unfortunately for 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.
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. 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.
Review:
I usually love Christopher Buckley. He wrote Thank You for Smoking, which was turned into a fantastic movie. He also wrote No Way to Treat a First Lady, Boomsday, and Supreme Courtship, which were equally fantastic.
Sadly, this didn’t live up to his other books. I loved the others because they were based on situations you could actually see happening. They took a look at “what if” situations and made them into hilarious, exciting, and thought provoking reads. This was government-created aliens. Not really the same thing as a controversial Supreme Court nominee, the tobacco lobby, or taking on social security.
It was still a compelling story, but it didn’t really make me think, or laugh, very often. You should still check out Buckley if you haven’t, but I suggest reading Boomsday instead.
This counts for the following challenges:
What’s In a Name 4 (size)
The TwentyEleven Challenge (Adult)
The Original TBR Challenge
Pub Writes 