Frank T. Thompson

Yeah, all right, I'll give it three stars, I'm feeling generous. Why? Because Jeff - the author's OC Oceanic survivor - is an actual likable and not terrible human being, the writing is pretty decent, and Jeff's story on the island was pretty interesting, although it relied pretty heavily on dream sequences. Also, Frank T. Thompson did a good job writing the actual LOST characters and their relationships, especially the early antagonism between Sawyer and Jack as well as the characters of Locke, Hurley, and Charlie (complete with near obligatory Driveshaft references). Clearly the best LOST tie-in novel of the trio that tries to go in-depth about characters that the show doesn't look at.

Dear LOST folks: I wish I had been watching the show when it was airing. I would have loved to write one of these books about a non-canon survivor! Also, I'd like to think I'd do a better job at creating a character than Nikki and Paulo from the show. Razzle effin' dazzle.

(Are these novels canon? I know the LOST Experience is considered canon thanks to Word of God, and I think that includes the video games and the Missing Pieces webisodes as well, but these novels are in canoncity gray space right now for me.)… (meer)

It's October, so I figured that there would be no better time to read about Tim BUrton's crossover holiday movie the Nightmare Before Christmas and I was definitely right! I enjoyed delving into the making of the film so much so that I just had to go and rewatch it. Knowing all the nitty gritty details about how it was made actually made the film even more enjoyable to watch, since I started noticing all the production details and could appreciate the huge amounts of effort put in by the crew to make the first feature-length stop-motion animated film. As per usualy with these types of book, I was left wanting more, but Thompson collected an admirable amount of material and presented it in a highly accessible (and readable) manner.… (meer)

We are taken in the Dark Ages as the last Roman legions are withdrawing Britain. There are many interesting tidbits not seen in the film, I especially enjoyed the extended role of Guinevere who takes central stage in Thompson's novelization as opposed to the film in which she is little more than a pretty (albeit, expressionless) face standing in the background, carrying a bow. Arthur and his knights are adequately developed, Cendric the Saxon is an imposing villain, but for me, the real hero in the film and in the novelization is Lancelot, the knight who sees further than anyone else and never stops questioning the purpose of a mission of madness.

A well-written novelization of the excellent 2004 film which departed from the popular story and tried to trace the historical figure of the man who became a legend.

… (meer)