Writing a tie-in novel to a popular (and current) TV show can't be an easy thing to do. Some of them are pretty lousy, dashed off to appeal to fans of the show and/or cash in on the show (and let's not even get into fan fiction). The author also has to be careful not to tick off loyal fans who know the show backwards and forwards. What if you get the voice wrong? What if you get character information wrong or change something in the show's world that fans don't buy (and actually ticks them off)? What if you suddenly make the lead character a robot or a leather bondage fanatic?Luckily none of those things are a problem in the first Burn Notice tie-in novel, The Fix. It's written by Tod Goldberg, author the the novels Fake Liar Cheat, Living Dead Girl, and the short story collection Simplify, and it's his first journey into the world of TV show tie-ins. It's quite good. Fans will be pleased and it works as a separate little adventure as well.
What Goldberg gets down perfectly (and it's the most vital part to get right in this novel, in my opinion) is Michael Westen's voice. The Fix is written in the first person, with Michael narrating the story like he narrates each adventure on the show. As you read the words you can really hear Jeffrey Donovan saying them. And it's not just that he parrots the first person narrative, he talks about the things Michael talks about in the way that Michael talks about them: how to create a gadget out of nothing, rules for spying, how to read someone quickly, those sorts of things.
The plot involves Michael helping socialite Cricket O'Connor locate her missing husband. But the plot isn't as important here (or in the show) as the narrative is, as the characters are, and on these parts Goldberg hits the mark. It's a really fun book.
Actually, I'll even go this far: the second season of Burn Notice has been quite good so far, but I'm tempted to say that The Fix is the best episode of the show this year so far. It's like a lost episode of the series, one that captures the action and humor of the show without seeming like a pale imitation. That's not easy to do at all. The Fix gets it right. They should include a copy of the book in every second season DVD set they sell next year.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-28-2008 @ 1:22AM
Walt said...
I know this is reeeal late to be commenting, but having just read the aforementioned book, I'll agree with everything said about it in the above commentary.
The voice is nails -- dead on. Plus, it's one of the better episodes they've had so far. I won't spoil it by mentioning that the producers would have to pony up a few dollars for the special effects required in the last act.
If they could get Donovan to do the audio version of this book, you'd pretty much have the show on disc. It's that good.
The only problem with the book that I see is that it makes me realize that without the TV show, the concept probably wouldn't have been quite as solid as a book series alone. The TV show really does make the characters come to life.
Disclaimer: I know the author of this book through a friend of a friend of a friend.
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8-30-2008 @ 3:20PM
burnnoticelover727 said...
i loved the book!!!! and its good so if u havent seen the show it evplanse alot of the seres and i just found the book by mistace and LOVED it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i
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