Just Stab Me
This is an ok fantasy romance enlivened by a tremendously appealing meta plot where the ‘author’ talks with her characters about the story and events happening in her real life.
Originally a series of short videos on YouTube with the author playing all the parts. This is where I came across it.
Having enjoyed those little videos I decided to buy the novel.
At no point is it terribly original but it is frequently fun and different enough from the videos to be worth the outlay.
The World of Critical Role
A competent recounting of the Critical Role phenomenon, lavishly illustrated
The Secret Diary Of Lizzie Bennet
As I may have mentioned before (maybe more than once) I am a huge fan of the web series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (just go watch – that link is a complete playlist) which is a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. So what we have here is a novelization of a web series based on a novel. By any rights this should be a heinous cash in on the success of the show but somehow it turns out to be an entertaining read and offers a behind the scenes perspective that doesn’t just flesh out events but puts a new spin on things. Obviously it’s definitely not in the same league as a piece of literature as Austen’s original work.
Rorick, who is the principal writer here, wrote for the show and that results in a good translation of the characters and their personalities to the printed page. (Bernie Su was the chief writer, showrunner and director for the series and such wrote much of the material)
Overall, while the book is fun and has a couple of great moments, it doesn’t spark fully into life and frankly in places it must be really confusing for anyone who hasn’t seen the webseries. Also some of the puns don’t work if you haven’t read Pride and Prejudice.
I missed Ashley Clements – her performance as Lizzie in the show was extraordinary – and something is lacking without her to bring it to life. I guess that means I’ll have to buy the audiobook to see if her narration can take the story to another level.
As a fan I’m glad I don’t feel let down by the book and I look forward to the discussion on twitter and tumblr about some of the revelations the book delivers. If I’m being honest I suspect this is a real fans-only affair.