Customer Reviews

Endangered Species (Lost)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Until I see the name Umberto Eco on the spine of a novel based on the TV series "Lost", I am going to have low expectations. I knew going in that "Lost: Endangered Species" was going to be pretty dreadful. But I love the show, I crave the show, and I had to own and read the book. It's thin and it's low cost, so it wasn't too much of a strain to pick it up.

I agree that it's odd to have a book that's not about any of the "Lost" characters we know on TV. Maybe if you think about it, that 1 1/2 seasons of the show stretches through only seven weeks of real time, then you'll realize there's not a lot of room to tell original stories about these people. This book is about a different Flight 815 survivor, never seen on TV, and alternates chapters about her experiences on the island with chapters about how she came to be there. The TV characters are only seen in between scenes from the two-hour pilot episode. Faith is an annoying, naive character, who passively gets led by the nose throughout the book, until really bad things happen. Another novel-only character harrasses her on the island until she is predictably forced to save his life.

There's no hatch here, no Dharma Initiative, no Others, no sharks with logos on their tail fins. There are no sci-fi elements to this novel, and no real sense of danger anywhere in the island scenes. The title "Endangered Species" leads you to believe that there could be a Dharma Initiative tie-in to the "paradise parrot" seen throughout the book, but it isn't there.

Maybe later "Lost" books, if there are any, will delve deeper into the TV series mythology. Then again, if you read the copyright page, you see that Touchstone owns copyright and pays a flat fee to the writers; these books are quickies not meant to be the cutting edge of TV tie-in fiction. If you just want to read low-impact stories about the island on "Lost", help yourself. I will probably read the second book in the series, but doubt I will ever have to invest the same emotional energy that I reserve for the actual show.

"Endangered Species" by Cathy Hapka is okay book but you have to take it for what it is. It's a 200 page book for 5.99 that is trying to cash in on the "Lost Craze." Yes, you see some of the main characters, but the focus on the book character that was made up the writer. It was okay, but some true Lost fans should pass and hope that we will see better books in the future.

Take the book for what it is - an attempt to capitalize on the huge success of the TV show. The plot centers around Faith, a crash survivor who had been a PHD candidate in biology (particularly snakes). Chapters alternate between her backstory, which contain the same elements as the main characters, and her first few days on the island. She has minor interactions with the main cast, as the survivors struggle through the first few days.

People who wish to read the book should understand a few things. First, the story and backstory of the main characters are pretty much reserved for the TV show. No new information about them will be revealed. Second, Faith has the same kind of flaws as the main cast, which ties into the main story. Third, the plot of Faith's backstory is predictable.

What the book does provide is a look at the show's first few days from a different perspective. Faith does useful things, such as recover luggage, and has her own encounters with the wildlife on the island. This was the most interesting part of the book.

...but nothing to go crazy about. A bit predictable. The character of Faith is very simple. Is hard to beleive someone could be so naive. Some of the main characters on the show have brief mentions. The book made me glad Faith is not a regular in the show.

I found this book very interesting. All you pessimists need to take it down a notch. This book isn't about any of the main characters, rather, one made up. I found this part helpful becuase it is almost like a behind the scenes kind of view. I read it in two days. Not a touch read, but certainly a book you will want to read. I say this author is great and I will be buying future LOST books by her! Come on people it's five bucks plus sah. I'd buy it if I were you!

First of all, this is not a horribly written book. I have read worse books than this. Believe me, because I read a lot. No, the problem lies in with what this book is about: a background character/island extra on the tv show. Here is the plot summary from the back of the book:

"Environmentalist Faith Harrington could be one of the keys to survival for a group of forty-eight passengers left stranded on a remote tropic island by the crash of Oceanic flight 815, but first she must deal with the guilt, self-doubt, and secrets of the past."

Basically, the book is pretty similar in structure to an episode of the tv show. A character is focused on and the problem they have on the island is connected in the flashbacks presented. Even manages to throw in a Locke sage advice one liner at the end like the show.

However, the characters we know and love are pretty much AWOL. They pop in and out just to say "oh, we're around." I mean, why should we care about Faith? It doesn't help that her character is a weak willed ninny. Plus, there is no "island mystery." Oh, the author makes a lame attempt at some but it falls flat.

What I find most disgusted with is the cover of this book. Kate is on the cover. Why? Faith has more interaction with Hurley than Kate. So folks, the cover is a pretty lure to trap you into buying this mediocre book.

Final Verdict: Don't buy this unless you are a fanatic. I'd recommed waiting for this novel to come to your local library or borrow from a fanatic. As one reviewer mentioned, there are fanfics out there that are better than this.

Before reviewing the book I need to mention that I had heard about these novels before I purchased the book, thus I knew they weren't going to be about the main characters. That being said, people who complained about the main cast only being in the book peripherally need to look before the leap. Yes, the cover is misleading, since Kate is NOT the focus of the book. A quick look at the summary on the back cover, however, clears that right up. Now, I'm not saying this is a fantastic book that will change your entire view of the show. It's not and it won't. What I AM saying is that it shows us what one of the "little" people has gone through while all the "major" characters were off doing their thing. Sure, we all want more details about the characters we've come to know and love, but that's not what is going on here. This is just a cherry on top of the cake. You don't need to read it to enjoy the show, it's just a little extra fluff for those of us who want to know everything about the passangers of Oceanic flight 815.

Maybe the other folks were kinda harsh, but the book is a classic example of the "rush-to-market" syndrome. The author could barely have seen the entire series before rushing this book out. I wouldn't even blame the author, just a bad marketing cash-in. Good solid writing, and not uninteresting, just dosen't capture the "Lost" energy. For sure, you would be better off spending your 6 bucks on a classic sci-fi paperback then getting this unfortunate 'novelization'.

The producers of Lost once said that the reason the show has worked so amazingly well, is because the audience is keen, sharp, and aware of what's going on. They think of ideas that the writers may or may not have thought of on their own, they uncover secrets the writers were trying to hide - in summary, the audience is nowhere near stupid. Nor do they need to be hit on the head with clues or messages to heed what the writers were trying to say.
And yet, this is exactly what Endangered Species did. It treated the reader as if he were stupid, as if he wouldn't be able to understand anything past the obvious. As a an avid fan of the show, I was a bit offended that the reader should be treated in such a... stupefying manner.
And as a writer, I'm even *more* surprised at the book! The Producers of the show have such a cache of talented writers on their crew, would be able to find better ones if they wished to, and yet somehow they came out with *this*. A completely predictable plotline and a main character one can barely sympathize with.
To be fair, the author had a lot to compensate for. The fact that Faith couldn't be part of the main mystery, couldn't have *that* much interaction with the main characters. No original mysteries of her own could be created unless it was kept completely separated from the main plot of the show, and was unimportant to the welfare of the lostaways as a whole.
As a whole, it was pretty unentertaining. The only reason I would recommend reading it would be to idle away the time.

If you are looking for a book to read and aren't obsessed with LOST like I am, this isn't the book for you. I liked it because its something short to read and its interesting how mixed in parts of the show you can't see on tv. i.e. like how Locke found out Sayid and Kate were going on an excursion to set up the transcievers. The actual storyline of the book was quite predictable, though. Yet, it does give a Lost freak (Like me) a fix, until the next show.