Finding Lost - Season Four: The Unofficial Guide [Paperback]

Nikki Stafford (Author)

Book Description

Series: Finding Lost | Publication Date: January 1, 2009

The third installment in the critically acclaimed, best selling Finding Lost series.

"The Finding Lost series is quite simply the best resource for fans. Not only is the information concise and complete, Nikki Stafford’s commentary is insightful, relevant, and entertaining. No matter how well you know the show, Stafford’s analysis of the themes and symbolism of Lost will renew your desire to go back and watch over and over again." —Jon "DocArzt" Lachonis

Throughout the first three seasons of Lost, we saw the Lostaways trying to get rescued, adapting to the island, and then dealing with the "natives" of the island, the Others. But the jaw-dropping fourth season was the turning point in the series, giving fans a glimpse of the future through flashforwards of those who made it off the island. While this season provided answers to earlier mysteries, it also raised new questions and muddled viewers' brains with time-traveling bunnies. This book helps put those pieces back into a context that begins to make sense again. Finding Lost is the only Lost guide that analyzes the show episode by episode, and includes:

• An in-depth look at every episode of season 4, with highlights, little-known facts, and nitpicks

• Chapters on time travel, the popular time loop theory, philosopher Jeremy Bentham, the online game Find815, and the Lost mobisodes

• Sidebars chronicling fun trivia such as Sawyer's nicknames, the meaning of Abaddon's name, favorite online Lost parodies, and many more

• Bios of the new actors on the show

• Analyses of the show's literary references, including Slaughterhouse-Five, The Tempest, VALIS, The Invention of Morel, and the Mystery Tales comic

• Photos of the filming locations in Hawaii

With exclusive photos and enough background to put you leagues ahead of other viewers, this book will help you "find" Lost.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Nikki Stafford knows TV, and she knows TV fans . . . Stafford has succeeded in creating books for [Lost fans], a crowd that could arguably be called the most difficult to please."  —Jon Lachonis, BuddyTV.com

"Nikki Stafford has a gift for writing about television … this book is an interesting read and definitely a must for any Lost fan."  —The Medium Online

"The best part about Finding Lost: The Unofficial Guide is that Nikki Stafford brings the symbolism, themes, and mythology to the forefront, so that casual viewers and devoted fans have a better understanding of what is happening in each episode. When reading many of her points, I would think, 'Yes, of course, I knew that somewhere in my brain, but now Nikki has pointed it out so that I can think about it and come to my own conclusions.'"  —About.com

"If you're a fan of the popular TV show Lost, you can't be without this unofficial guide."  —California Bookwatch

About the Author

Nikki Stafford is the author of six books, including the first two volumes of Finding Lost, Bite Me! An Unofficial Guide to the World of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and is co-author of Uncovering Alias: An Unofficial Guide. She blogs at nikkistafford.blogspot.com

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: ECW Press (January 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550228781
• ISBN-13: 978-1550228786
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #536,903 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nikki Stafford has appeared on television, radio, the web, and in print as an expert on all things Lost, and her Finding Lost series of books (published by ECW Press) is considered the Lost fan's bible. Newsday has referred to Nikki as "one of the show's leading scholars," and superfan DocArzt wrote, "The Finding Lost series is quite simply the best resource for fans." Nikki is the author of several authoritative television companion guides, including ones for Xena: Warrior Princess, Angel, and Alias (all published by ECW Press). Her bestselling book, Bite Me: The Unofficial Guide to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is in its third edition, and she was a featured keynote speaker at the Third Biennial Slayage Conference on the Whedonverses in 2008 (she has been asked back for the 2010 conference). Nikki blogs regularly on her site, Nik at Nite (http://nikkistafford.blogspot.com) and has contributed to other collections, including The Essential Cult TV Reader (ed. David Lavery) and Girls Who Bite Back: Witches, Mutants, Slayers, and Freak (ed. Emily Pohl-Weary). She has conducted a complete Lost rewatch at http://lost-rewatch.blogspot.com. Nikki lives in Toronto with her husband and two children. Her season 6 instalment of the Finding Lost series will be published in October 2010.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Puzzled about LOST? Put the pieces together with Nikki's help, October 15, 2009

By 

Chris J. Doran (Boston MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Finding Lost - Season Four: The Unofficial Guide (Paperback)

For the true LOST aficionado, the hiatus between seasons of the show is only slightly more excruciating than the wait for Nikki Stafford's latest guide to the series. Her in-depth analysis of the relationships, story-telling and mythology of the show is an essential tool in understanding the multi-faceted phenomenon of television's most compelling series. Literary references, the significance of characters' names, scientific theories - they're all described here in accessible and exhaustive detail. Fans the world over are asking themselves: what will they do when LOST ends its sixth and final season in 2010? I can tell them: line up in anticipation of Nikki's next installment

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A collector's item, October 15, 2009

By 

Jennings - See all my reviews

This review is from: Finding Lost - Season Four: The Unofficial Guide (Paperback)

What I love about Nikki's books is that she has a gift for engaging the reader's mind and letting him or her join in the process of analyzing Lost. It means her books, and this one is no exception, are not only fun to read, but fun to think about for a long time afterward. Season four's guide is her best effort yet and great fun.

4.0 out of 5 stars GETTING UN LOST, August 2, 2010

By 

SFC_COLEMAN - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Finding Lost - Season Four: The Unofficial Guide (Paperback)

If you are a Lost fan like me but were unable to catch all the epasodes in order or were left puzzled at the end of each season this is a great book. It is very well writen and clues you in on all the little things they sneak in on you as well as clearifying the stuff you did catch.