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fractaltexan's review
4.0
She made one too many connections with the show for my taste, but otherwise a good book.
fangirlfelicia's review
1.0
an insight into how walter and william bell invented the drug cortexiphan and how they met nina sharp. also (because i'm from northern CA) I found the inclusion of the zodiac killer very interesting. but it was a little to long and since i'm mainly interested in walter alone the bits w/ bell and nina bored me. it does make a good balm if you're still wounded over the loss of fringe.
david_agranoff's review
4.0
Before I get into this tie-in novel, I want to talk about the show it was spun off from. I am assuming if you’re checking out this book review you probably watched the FOX show. Fringe is one of my favorite shows of all time. I know many who watched the pilot and just a few episodes feel like Fringe is just an X-files rip-off.
If you watched the show you know it is much more science fiction than X-files and in my opinion it has a better mythology. Walter Bishop played in emmy/ golden globe worthy performances over five season by John Noble is one of my favorite TV characters. The mythlogy of the show extends into alternate universes and perfectly incorporated monsters of the week which were always based on interesting sci-fi concepts. All the characters were well written and performed. The finale was heartbreaking and tear jerker so I was pleased when scanning the shelves in Sci-fi and saw this book.
What made me even more excited was seeing the name of the author. Christa Faust is a great writer twice nominated for the Edgar award. This told me instantly that the book would be high quality. Two Faust written Fringe novels have been released and from what I can tell we will get a third and maybe a fourth. It also appears that Faust had access to writers from the show to develop these books.
It seems she is genuine fan of the show and the characters, which is not always the case in Tie-in novels. I only had tiny nit-picks with how the characters were realized in the book, but they were such small problems they are not worth going into.
This is a very Fringe story, set in the late sixties and 70’s with young Walter Bishop, William Bell and Nina Sharp. Tied into the Zodiac killings, experimental drugs and an alternate universe origin of the Zodiac killer.
Faust ties all these elements together and created a excellently realized prequel. Above average prose for a tie-in and short fast moving chapters make this a must read for Fringe fans.
If you watched the show you know it is much more science fiction than X-files and in my opinion it has a better mythology. Walter Bishop played in emmy/ golden globe worthy performances over five season by John Noble is one of my favorite TV characters. The mythlogy of the show extends into alternate universes and perfectly incorporated monsters of the week which were always based on interesting sci-fi concepts. All the characters were well written and performed. The finale was heartbreaking and tear jerker so I was pleased when scanning the shelves in Sci-fi and saw this book.
What made me even more excited was seeing the name of the author. Christa Faust is a great writer twice nominated for the Edgar award. This told me instantly that the book would be high quality. Two Faust written Fringe novels have been released and from what I can tell we will get a third and maybe a fourth. It also appears that Faust had access to writers from the show to develop these books.
It seems she is genuine fan of the show and the characters, which is not always the case in Tie-in novels. I only had tiny nit-picks with how the characters were realized in the book, but they were such small problems they are not worth going into.
This is a very Fringe story, set in the late sixties and 70’s with young Walter Bishop, William Bell and Nina Sharp. Tied into the Zodiac killings, experimental drugs and an alternate universe origin of the Zodiac killer.
Faust ties all these elements together and created a excellently realized prequel. Above average prose for a tie-in and short fast moving chapters make this a must read for Fringe fans.
otherwyrld's review
3.0
Anyone who is a fan of the Fringe universe knows that much of what happened in the series was as a result of actions taken decades ago by Walter Bishop, so setting this novel in the late 60s and early 70s was a brilliant way of exploring this back story without contradictions in what we saw on the screen. Any errors could also easily be explained by the vast quantities of hallucinogenic drugs being consumed during this story. It does eliminate the other two main characters from the series, as neither of them had been born at this time, but this is Walter's story, not theirs.
Unfortunately, the end result was a little disappointing in that it took one of the most interesting characters in the series and turned them into the least interesting character in the book. The problem here is two-fold, and both relate to the roles played by the other characters.
First off is that this is not just Walter's story, it is also the story of William Bell and Nina Sharp. In the series the former (as played by the late Leonard Nimoy) is only a recurring character (he appears in only 11 out of 100 episodes), although his shadow certainly looms large throughout. Nina Sharp (Blair Brown) plays a much bigger role but to a certain extent she is sidelined in the series.
In the book, Walter is totally overshadowed by his two companion to the point where it pretty much stops being his story and becomes theirs. Considering how driven Walter later becomes it feels like a disservice to the character to make him so ineffectual here. The story might have been served better if the three main protagonists were a triumvirate of equal parts rather than a couple who lead the story with their socially awkward friend just tagging along.
The other issue is with the antagonist, the Zodiac serial killer who operated in California during this period and who was never caught. Having him accidentally cross over from the other universe during one of Bishop and Bell's experiments is a great plot device, but has the unintended effect of unbalancing the story at times. It almost feels as if the author just really wanted the explore the mind and motivations of a serial killer, and then shoehorned the Fringe elements in afterwards. This is probably a bit unfair on my part because I'm sure that's not how it was written, but the author does seem to get a bit carried away with looking at things from the antagonists point of view.
Characterisations aside, the story itself is a pretty good one, as our heroes work together to find a way to send the Zodiac killer back to his own realm. Set as it is towards the end of the hippy era, there is a lot of drug taking as already noted, but the author does a good job of describing what the era was like. The tensions between the establishment and the anti-authoritarian free love movement also provides an excellent background to the story, and well as providing a focus to the climax of the story, where the team get caught up in a confrontation between the two groups as they try to open the portal again. It was good that the author didn't gloss over the cost of this endeavor, as numerous innocent people die as a result of the experiment.
In the end, perhaps this story would have worked better for me if I had read it shortly after the series ended rather than five years later. That way, I could have more easily tied the events of this book and their consequences back to the aftereffects as seen in the series. It is an important part of the story though, but one where I wished that the Science Fiction elements had not lost out to the murder/thriller story.
Unfortunately, the end result was a little disappointing in that it took one of the most interesting characters in the series and turned them into the least interesting character in the book. The problem here is two-fold, and both relate to the roles played by the other characters.
First off is that this is not just Walter's story, it is also the story of William Bell and Nina Sharp. In the series the former (as played by the late Leonard Nimoy) is only a recurring character (he appears in only 11 out of 100 episodes), although his shadow certainly looms large throughout. Nina Sharp (Blair Brown) plays a much bigger role but to a certain extent she is sidelined in the series.
In the book, Walter is totally overshadowed by his two companion to the point where it pretty much stops being his story and becomes theirs. Considering how driven Walter later becomes it feels like a disservice to the character to make him so ineffectual here. The story might have been served better if the three main protagonists were a triumvirate of equal parts rather than a couple who lead the story with their socially awkward friend just tagging along.
The other issue is with the antagonist, the Zodiac serial killer who operated in California during this period and who was never caught. Having him accidentally cross over from the other universe during one of Bishop and Bell's experiments is a great plot device, but has the unintended effect of unbalancing the story at times. It almost feels as if the author just really wanted the explore the mind and motivations of a serial killer, and then shoehorned the Fringe elements in afterwards. This is probably a bit unfair on my part because I'm sure that's not how it was written, but the author does seem to get a bit carried away with looking at things from the antagonists point of view.
Characterisations aside, the story itself is a pretty good one, as our heroes work together to find a way to send the Zodiac killer back to his own realm. Set as it is towards the end of the hippy era, there is a lot of drug taking as already noted, but the author does a good job of describing what the era was like. The tensions between the establishment and the anti-authoritarian free love movement also provides an excellent background to the story, and well as providing a focus to the climax of the story, where the team get caught up in a confrontation between the two groups as they try to open the portal again. It was good that the author didn't gloss over the cost of this endeavor, as numerous innocent people die as a result of the experiment.
In the end, perhaps this story would have worked better for me if I had read it shortly after the series ended rather than five years later. That way, I could have more easily tied the events of this book and their consequences back to the aftereffects as seen in the series. It is an important part of the story though, but one where I wished that the Science Fiction elements had not lost out to the murder/thriller story.
raygunznrobots's review
2.0
This was not nearly as engrossing and suspenseful as the tv series. Each episode has several plot lines while this entire book has only one, and it's just ok. I did enjoy seeing the characters when younger, especially Nina.
littlemainelibrarian's review
5.0
**LOVED** this book!!! I am a big fan of the TV series (which I'm slowly making my way though via Netflix) and this was like coming home! :-D This book is definitely a prequel to the series and tells how Walter, Bell and Nina all come together.
There are teasers and spoilers around every turn. Those little "ah ha!" moments that bridge the TV series and the book, filling in gaps here and there. Walter, even a young Walter, is still the awkward 3rd wheel - he's delightedly Walterish! :-D
I was startled several times in the book as they referenced moments from the TV series. I worried that they would utilize the TV series so heavily that you felt if you hadn't seen the series you wouldn't get the book. On the contrary the book is definitely stand alone, just with our favorite characters. The little zips and zings, "deja vu's" if you will, from the TV series greatly enhance without ever detracting from this book.
It would seem that our trio was solving crimes, murders, even before coming together as we know them. Bell is still the snake I've always thought him to be! Whoops! Did I type that out loud? I guess that would be a spoiler! LOL! ;-)
Regardless, if you're a fan of the TV series, give this book a read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and plan to add the sequel to my reading pile very soon. :-)
XXOO
~Hope
There are teasers and spoilers around every turn. Those little "ah ha!" moments that bridge the TV series and the book, filling in gaps here and there. Walter, even a young Walter, is still the awkward 3rd wheel - he's delightedly Walterish! :-D
I was startled several times in the book as they referenced moments from the TV series. I worried that they would utilize the TV series so heavily that you felt if you hadn't seen the series you wouldn't get the book. On the contrary the book is definitely stand alone, just with our favorite characters. The little zips and zings, "deja vu's" if you will, from the TV series greatly enhance without ever detracting from this book.
It would seem that our trio was solving crimes, murders, even before coming together as we know them. Bell is still the snake I've always thought him to be! Whoops! Did I type that out loud? I guess that would be a spoiler! LOL! ;-)
Regardless, if you're a fan of the TV series, give this book a read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and plan to add the sequel to my reading pile very soon. :-)
XXOO
~Hope
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