|
Rating:  -
The fun of the Monk series is that the hero makes use of his compulsive-obsessive cast of mind to solve the mysteries. He lives in terror of some things, but uses his own fears to ferret out the information that helps him corral the perps. Lee Goldberg, who writes these novels, brings freshness and a tender appreciation of troubled people and their idiosyncrasies. The Monk novels are rich with humor, which makes them perfect antidotes for the blues, bipolar disorder, St. Vitus Dance, neurosis, and leprosy. If you haven't read one, get a prescription for one Monk novel a day, taken at bedtime, and pick it up at your pharmacy.
Rating: -
"Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse" was adapted into the MONK episode "Mr. Monk Can't See a Thing," written by me & William Rabkin. There are some significant differences between the two (eg Monk isn't blind in the book), but if you have seen the episode, you may experience some deja vu, so please don't operate heavy machinery while reading the novel.
(This note will appear in future editions of the book, beginning with the sixth printing, coming this summer).
Rating: -
I am a brazilian Monk fan, and I was eager to read Monk's novel after I become addicted to the show. As I should import the books, it took me some while to get them. I chose this very book, after reading some reviews, and I wasn't surprised to see the links between written and filmed Monk. Actually, I was expecting to see it, and it is one of the features that I like the most on this book. But the main catching thing is that the written story allows us to go further than the limited view from the aired episodes -limited not in a bad way, but in a more guided way. While reading it we get the permission to figure the scenes the way our mind decides to. And the author allows us to do it, with his easy and catchy written abilities.
Allowing the reader to follow Natalie's thoughts, that many times carries us far away from Natalie's character on TV, is as exciting as waiting for the second part of a double episode, and gives us a different way of realizing Monk, sometimes getting other glimpses of Monk issues we haven't seen on the TV Show.
I believe this book series are recommended for the whole family, as the TV show. They maintain the essence of our admired TV Monk, but also allows us to get in another path and investigate differently every clue or thing related to Monk's cases, even to Monk's life. It is definitely A+.
Rating:  -
She claims to have liked it, but who knows if she was just saying that.:)
Rating:  -
For those of you who are fans of the series, and have watched all episodes, who probably even own the DVDs, prepare to be a little ripped off.
The book is well written. I do enjoy how it is put together; however, I also feel as if this is a bit of a trying ground for Mr. Goldberg. He tries it in a novel, then puts it in an episode. Or, he puts it in an episode, then writes it up.
"Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse" (publication date: 2006) is remarkably reminiscent of the episode "Mr. Monk Can't See A Thing." (Airdate: Feb 2006).
What's similar? Someone has been murdered, but that murder is covered up to look like an accidental death in a fire. Remarkably, in both, the victim is sitting in a position which indicates that there was someone else in the house. The killer left something behind, and realized it after he'd set the house on fire. Oh no! What's a killer to do? Why...go to the firehouse and borrow a fireman's jacket. Then he can enter the house unnoticed and retrieve that little piece of evidence that would tell who he was. In this book, Sparky gets in the way. In the episode, the older fireman and Monk. In short, it's a brilliant plot device; however, I felt that it was cheapened by the reuse later (especially so soon). I also felt that there was a bit here slightly recycled from Mr. Monk and the Missing Granny...supplanting Disher's feline allergy onto Monk .
Sure there are differences...and a lot of them. However, I really think that the method of murder and the method of the coverup of the murder being virtually recycled, is too much to be recycled. The cat allergy would not have annoyed me nearly as much had it not been for the recycled device. As both the book and the episode were written by the same individual, clearly this was done with foreknowledge. This was not a case of two people coming up with the same concept around the same time (which would have been a LOT more forgivable). Each book does have some interesting differences.
I do like the running monologue in Natalie's head, but I must agree with a previous reviewer about Natalie's focus on anatomy...it does come a bit from how a man must think a woman thinks, rather than how a woman actually thinks. This is something that tends to repeat itself also in Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii (though, thankfully, I've not noted that that one has been repeated in an episode yet).
I understand how difficult it can be to write stories based off of a television series. I've written fanfiction (not for Monk... I would not dare!), so I do recognize that following canon is not always easy. However, fanfiction is not written under the licenses of programming, and theorectically authorized by production. Fanfiction is not written by writers who do have the ability, authority, and responsibility to create the canon that the rest of us follow. I expect better of someone who writes the real thing, who writes the episodes. I expect Mr. Goldberg to know whether or not Monk is allergic to cats, rather than using cats as a convenient plot device. I expect Mr. Goldberg to come up with stories for his novels that I am not going to be seeing in next week's episodes. Mr. Goldberg is not writing fanfiction here...but this book sure reads like it. (Well written fanfiction, but fanfiction, nonetheless.)
Television Show
Collectibles
Movie Searches
|
|
|
Search for posters,
art prints, photos, collectables, merchandise, toys, t-shirts
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Join the Nielsen//NetRatings Research Panel and you could win a new car, a dream vacation, a dream home makeover or $50,000 Cash!
TV Guide
Program listings, celebrity profiles, industry
gossip, movie reviews, puzzle.
More
Entertainment
& TV Magazines
This site is
Hosted
by Bluehost
Read
my Bluehost Review
Original Superhero & other designs for t-shirts, bumper
stickers, prints, mugs, and other cool merchandise. |
|
