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I
must admit to be more than a little concerned when I heard details
of SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET being
posted on a ROSWELL mailing list.
Having
pretty much enjoyed the first three post-TV series novels, I
didn't think that we needed a "relaunch" (see SHADES),
with a new look - the old one was perfectly fine as far as I
was concerned.
Even
more worrying was the fact that the books seemed to be relying
on a high level of continuity, something that I'm rather in
favour of.
Now,
that's not to say that I want to see the TV series' continuity
junked, but any novels need to advance ROSWELL's
continuity, rather than simply falling back on old characters,
old situations and referencing everything to something that's
happened in the past.
First
impressions of SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET
aren't impressive, with an absolutely terrible cover that looks
like it was knocked up in five minutes by someone with exceptionally
poor Photoshop skills. Oh well.
After
a brief prologue set in 1947 that sees a pair of newlyweds abducted
by aliens, we're back in the present - between seasons 2 and
3 to be precise - just outside town.
Not
for the first time, a body is discovered outside Roswell, and
in a neat, and fairly unobtrusive piece of continuity, it's
discovered by two of Michael's (future) co-workers. The gap
between THE DEPARTURE and BUSTED
provides a space for a series of linked novels, and as long
as it's not overdone, introducing these sorts of characters
isn't a problem.
However,
things went downhill after this as far as I'm concerned, as
the authors can't resist throwing in the continuity references.
These
really fall into two categories. There are those that are merely
references to previous events, which are annoying but understandable,
especially if the range is trying to pull in those who weren't
avid viewers of the TV series.
However,
there are also ones that are best described as "stupid",
such as Isabel thinking that her relationship with Jesse is
like a 1950s TV courtship or the even more stupider scene where
she thinks about getting her hair cut like an actress on some
WB show. No doubt we're supposed to find these sort of things
clever, but they just proved grating as far as I was concerned.
Argh!
Beneath
all the gratutious continuity references and occasional stupidity,
we're pretty much left with two main plots - Michael being accused
of murder and Max and Isabel following up a lead on the human
half of the hybrids' DNA.
Personally
I couldn't see just why they felt compelled to do this, especially
since it could have exposed all of them to further risk.
So
a bit of an average novel, then. Too many continuity references,
a less than brilliant plot and it also appeared to be pitched
at a slightly younger audience than most of the other post-TV
series novels.
Oh,
and the gay hotel desk clerk could have provided a moment of
light humour but instead the authors decided to make a point
out of out and it came across as way too clunky.
All
in all, a bit disappointing. BACK
TO THE TOP
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