Helpful Score: 3
As a fan of the show, I was really looking forward to getting another story with these great characters in this great setting. The book ends up being very hot or miss when it comes to that.
Goldberg does a good job at first of hitting the beats of the show when it comes to dialogue, pace, and character relationships; but he loses this in different places along the way. Part of this is the internal dialogue of Michael Westin, which we already get in the show, but in the novel is really expounded on, to the detriment of the book. It's almost as if the reason to read the book is to get more insight on the characters and their motivations, but this is what is most distracting.
The attempts at fleshing Westin out, and making him seem more sentimental about his youth in Miami fell flat to me. It did more to distract from the action and plot than add to what was going on.
As far as the plot, for me it again just missed the mark. It starts off with a very good noir premise, but as it comes toward the climax, it becomes very convoluted and difficult to follow what happened and why; especially when it comes to the subplot that the book starts off with.
All this said, the book wasn't horrible, but just not as good as it could have been,which is a shame. This may just be a case of a property not translating as well from it's original medium.
Goldberg does a good job at first of hitting the beats of the show when it comes to dialogue, pace, and character relationships; but he loses this in different places along the way. Part of this is the internal dialogue of Michael Westin, which we already get in the show, but in the novel is really expounded on, to the detriment of the book. It's almost as if the reason to read the book is to get more insight on the characters and their motivations, but this is what is most distracting.
The attempts at fleshing Westin out, and making him seem more sentimental about his youth in Miami fell flat to me. It did more to distract from the action and plot than add to what was going on.
As far as the plot, for me it again just missed the mark. It starts off with a very good noir premise, but as it comes toward the climax, it becomes very convoluted and difficult to follow what happened and why; especially when it comes to the subplot that the book starts off with.
All this said, the book wasn't horrible, but just not as good as it could have been,which is a shame. This may just be a case of a property not translating as well from it's original medium.
I liked this book--the tv show is one of my favorites and when you know the characters and the format of the show then the books just come alive and you can just picture what is happening in your mind while reading.
Not fond of the inernational part of the story with Russians, etc. and the bad language is not necessasry as it doesn't fit the format of the show, but it is a good quick read.
Not fond of the inernational part of the story with Russians, etc. and the bad language is not necessasry as it doesn't fit the format of the show, but it is a good quick read.
Fun! Just like an episode, with a plot full of twists and turns.
This was a great side story to a fun show. I really enjoyed this book! Some of the swearing was probably unnecessary - I don't see Mike Weston doing it *quite* so much, but hey, it's still a great read.
If you're a fan of the show - this is terrific. If you're not familiar with the show, read this book and you'll start watching it. All the characters are drawn as clearly as they should be, the mystery isn't the point, the scenarios to catch the villians are what you will enjoy. Hire a ex-bad guy to get rid of the current bad guys, it works. This is a good read.
