We Heathens believe The Green Millennium, beneath its pulp propulsion and satirical sheen, offers a parable of misplaced longing — of that which is missing. The green cat, Lucky, is no savior, but a catalyst. He does not speak, does not act, does not explain. He simply is. And in his being, he stirs yearning.

Phil Gish’s journey is not heroic, nor is it tragic — it is spiritual in the way that all absurd quests are: stumbling toward meaning in a world that has forgotten how to want anything true. Leiber’s genius lies in making that yearning legible without actually naming it. For all the gizmos and gangsters and bureaucrats and witches, the real drama is interior. Lucky is a still point in a turning world, and everyone is drawn to him like moths to a flame. He reveals the shape of that which is missing — and in a society engineered to extinguish it, the revelation ignites rebellion.

Now, as for the text: given how modern the text already reads, there wasn’t much of the usual editing Heathening required on our part, so the majority of our work has been focused on the 120+ footnotes that we’ve appended to enhance your reading, as well as to provide clarity, context, and commentary where necessary, especially since Leiber seamlessly blends much science, mythology, Egyptology, and invented spec-fiction lingo.

“Green cats with psychic powers, cloven-hooved women, and pseudo witchcraft are jumbled together in The Green Millennium to create a fantastically impossible world.” —The Pittsburgh Press

“A fantastic story, incredible but humorous.” —The Houston Chronicle

“Teenage gangsters, female wrestlers, racketeers, and cultists are still doing their stuff in this earth of the far distant future.” —The Boston Globe

“The Green Millennium brings a sense of humor . . . I laughed and became thoughtful. You will, too.” —Fred S. Holley, Norfolk Virginian-Pilot

“Blends the fields of fantasy and science-fiction into a whacky, fast-moving, ironic and altogether delightful story.” —The New York Times

“Here is a future thriller to rival the best present day mystery novels. Combining super-science with the exotic, it has all the action, intrigue, danger, and suspense one can ask of a book, plus marvelous bits of parody and social satire.” —Mark Reinsberg, Chicago Daily Tribune

“The Green Millennium reflects a little of Poe, Machen, Freud, and Ibsen in its imaginative author . . . Sort of screwy, you know . . . It might be called the first cousin to science fiction, but pleasing in its conclusion.” —The Atlanta Journal

“A fast-moving fantastic novel by one of the most imaginative writers in the field today.” —The Capital Times

“Male-and-female wrestlers, psychiatrists, gangsters, cultists, a witch, thoroughly vicious juvenile delinquents, robots, and assorted Federal bureaus: The chase rattles back and forth with bewildering speed and increasing confusion until all the opposing forces mingle in one last free-for-all.” —P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding Science Fiction

The Green Millennium