A Couple of Additional Books
Here are a couple more books from the past month: one I just finished yesterday, and one I forgot to include in yesterday’s post. I think this catches me up; the library says a book is on its way, but I’ve read everything on hand. I’ve also just discovered that our library lends e-books, although the DRM on the books (issued from Overdrive) means I can’t read them on my phone, nor can Scott read them on his iDoodad. I’ll have to read them on my computer, which isn’t terrible, but it’s hell to read from a desktop in bed.
Eoin Colfer – And Another Thing…: If you haven’t heard of this book, it’s the new sixth book in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy trilogy. Of course, the first five books were written by Douglas Adams, may he rest in peace. I’m not entirely sure of the reasons why the Adams estate authorised Colfer (author of the Artemis Fowl books, none of which I’ve read) to write this additional sequel, and it certainly doens’t add much to the series.
The Guide series already went downhill with the last Adams installment, Mostly Harmless. In my opinion, the series should have ended with So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish — especially with Arthur Dent in a happy place. Mostly Harmless just screwed everything up, depressed the hell out of me, and introduced at least one loathsome new character (Random). So where does Colfer have to go from there?
On the one hand, I wished that Colfer branched out into new territory more. He frequently makes reference to established persons/places/things, like Squornshellous Zeta, Eccentrica Gallumbits, Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged, Vogons galore, and the cows who beg to be eaten. I yearned for more creativity; more unique and never-before-seen people and places. But in the spots where Colfer does develop new ground, it just feels awkward and out-of-place (see the entire interaction with Chulthu). He also has clearly watched the 2005 movie for inspiration, because Zaphod is now described as having curling blond hair, and Trillian is clearly written as that icky Zooey Deschanel.
The one thing Colfer could have done to make me happy was to give a little bit of Arthur’s happiness back. But alas; he hints at it for a brief moment near the end (for a whole half-page), then gives Arthur an even more depressing fate. Colfer could have righted many of the wrongs of Mostly Harmless, but instead wrote a plodding-in-places and not-clever-enough volume that leaves many characters in even worse places, and has others act in ways that five previous books prove to be completely wrong. 4 out of 10.
Richard Castle – Heat Wave: Of course, this book isn’t really written by Richard Castle; it’s a lightweight (208 pages) ghostwritten novel from the folks at ABC and Beacon Pictures. It’s a brilliant tie-in — if you have a hit TV show about a writer, why not actually release the book that’s released in the show? I can only imagine how many Murder, She Wrote books would have sold back in the 80s with this same concept.
Anyhoo, the book is light and fluffy, corny and cheesy. It actually reads like a well-written piece of Castle fanfiction with the names changed. Which I think is the feeling they were shooting for. The crime in the novel has plenty of twists and turns, especially the second half when the clues start rolling in and things come together. The first half of the book was a little slow at times as far as the crime, and weirdly fast and jarring as far as the attraction between Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook — the initial spark seems to come out of nowhere. It almost feels like the writer(s) finally hit their stride and go comfortable midway through the novel, then forgot to go back and spruce up the first half with the appropriate groove.
Still, it was a fun little romp. And when the characters in the show make eyebrow-wiggling reference to “page 105″, now I know what they’re talking about. I’ll definitely be checking out Naked Heat when it hits the shelves in September. 7 out of 10.
I definitely agree with you on And Another Thing… I have read the Artemis Fowl books, and was definitely hoping for much the same you were. My only disagreement is with your opinion of Zooey Deschanel. I’ll agree she was wrong for Trillian, but I’ve really enjoyed her when she’s playing the right role (500 Days of Summer being pretty much the perfect role for her).
My wife is a huge Nathan Fillion fan (and I’m not complaining) so we watch and enjoy Castle, but I’m not big on mystery novels in general, so I hadn’t really considered Heat Wave. But now you’ve got me thinking about it. I enjoy early John D. MacDonald, and Heat Wave sounds similar.
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missy Reply:
May 15th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
See, the only knowledge of Zooey Deschanel I have is H2G2 and that awful cotton commercial where she sounds like she has a frog inside a bubble inside her throat. Haven’t seen Summer yet; maybe I’ll put it on the Netflix.
Even if you don’t end up liking Heat Wave, it’s only 208 pages. It was a really fast read. And the mystery is good, but it seems to take a backseat to the bantering and simmering between Heat and Rook.
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Ah, the fifth Hitchhiker’s book… I, too, rather wish that the series had ended with number four. Although there were some interesting moments in Mostly Harmless, by the end I felt rather… I don’t know… robbed or something. The zaniness of the series seemed to take to sour a turn, in my opinion.
I think I shall give the sixth book a pass, and re-read the first four again.
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Ooo, I know I’ve already got a comment awaiting moderation, but of course I thought of something else to add after I hit ‘Submit.’
What bothered me most about the fifth book was that in one single volume, the series went from being sarcastic to being cynical. Sarcasm allowed the reader to have a great way to examine just how overly seriously we all take things, and that maybe, in spite of it all or because of it–or both–some things just happen and we might as well try to enjoy ourselves, even if we don’t ‘get it’ all the time. The fifth book just felt like ‘what’s the point?’ was the point. Blah.
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