Nov 17 2009
Book Review: Heat Wave
These odd, medium-crossing books are such a joy to read because though the works can’t usually live up to the mythos provided them in the medium they were originally fiction in, they connect you to the universe and, at the very least, make you wonder if you are dreaming when you pass them by at the bookstore. When I passed God Hates Us All by fictional author Hank Moody I had to literally stop myself, shake my head, do a double-take and then realize a)I’m not dreaming and b)I can’t have a shot at sleeping with Madeline Zima.
Not like fellow author Ricard Castle’s book Heat Wave is actually on the shelves. This book, in Arizona at least, is damn impossible to find. I had to order it from two separate stores AFTER checking seven others. Heat Wave might be up in the air as a critical success (I liked it) but it will undoubtedly be an experiment that has paid off for Hyperion books and ABC who have now found media-tie in materials to go with a show that probably didn’t have the potential to have any in the first place. By July of next year I can guarantee there will be another Nikki Heat novel ready to be sold out and gobbled up.
I’ll get the few complaints out first: the book is too short. At 198 pages I can definitely tell you I wanted more. But what I wanted more of wasn’t in the book because basically Heat Wave is an episode of Castle. I fully expected the opening page to say, ‘. . .and the names have been changed to protect the innocent’. All the names of the characters are changed and all of them, except Castle’s daughter Alexis, are present. Castle is Rook (get it), Beckett is Heat (obviously), Esposito is Ochoa and so on. Though this book works at poking fun at the so-obvious representations of the characters from the fictional Castle’s tag-along with the NYPD, it can be frustrating when you realize this is basically a glorified media tie-in with different names. Adding Castle’s name to it makes it extra special but the plot and characters make we realize I wouldn’t mind normal Castle books (a la Star Trek books) being produced.
Where Heat Wave works well is in the aforementioned references to the show. The cover (very cool), the dedication and a particularly saucy scene on page 105 have been seen, referenced or both on the actual TV show. In a way, though there are many copies to buy (supposedly) you end up feeling like your holding (and owning) a prop from the show. God Hates Us All didn’t work in that department and that is a shame.
The big bummer is the book doesn’t know how to represent itself. The book is absolutely hilarious when you buy into the fact that ‘Richard Castle’ wrote the book: he over exaggerates Heat (aka Beckett’s) attraction to Rook (Castle) and has her naked quite often. But the book also tries to be spot on with the show’s cast’s camaraderie: there is lots of back-and-forth between the leads and plenty of gallows humor that sound so much like lines taken directly from abandoned Castle scripts. Plus the book is, in the end, serious: as funny as it is read from a certain perspective, the author (whoever it really is) wrote a valid (if uninspired) mystery and didn’t cheat to solve it. In the end you have a fun, somewhat engaging episode of Castle in book form.
I’m trying to figure out who wrote it. I’m ruling out Nathan Fillion though a bookstore clerk (and Internet research) informed me the actor actually did a book signing AS Richard Castle somewhere. I’m now jealous. The same book clerk assumes James Patterson wrote it but I am going to say that’s only 25% possible. My guess is part-time actor/producer, special features participant (on the Castle DVD) and mystery writer Stephen J. Cannell. I wouldn’t be surprised (or disappointed) if it was him. He is close to the show and knows how it clicks and when Heat Wave clicks, it clicks. I highly recommended read but only if you are a fan of Castle or of shows like it.
PS: found this cute action-picture on the Internet somewhere. I can’t remember who made it but if you (s/he who created it) find this, shout your name out in the comments and I’ll post your credit on here.
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