Customer Reviews

Zen Omnibus

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This book contains the first three Michael Dibdin - Aurelio Zen novels. After having already watched the BBC versions of the stories, which I enjoyed, I was curious to see how they tracked with the books. In a nutshell, they don't. The books are better, of course, offering more character development and more involved plotlines. The BBC versions offer TV-specfic diversions not found in the books, some of which add humor, but are basically done to make the novels more watchable, in someone's opinion. Apparently it didn't work, as the series was cancelled after just the three episodes. The books take place in various Italian locales - Perugia and Sardinia - where the TV series is centered in Rome. I recommend the books over the TV series, but both are entertaining. I read the next two Zen novels, as well, and am "hooked". They take place in Venice and Naples. I am looking forward to reading the other Zen novels, too. I recommend reading them in the order that they were written, as some of the recurring relationships are developed over time. Micheal Dibdin is excellent at describing the settings. His vivid imagery lets you feel the mood of the scene that he is describing, and he gets better at it, in my opinion, with each succeeding novel in the series. See if you don't agree.