Book 1 of the Temperance Brennan series
Read by Barbara Rosenblat
Genre: crime fiction
Format: ebook/paperback & audiobook
About Déjà Dead:
Forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan has finally planned a weekend off to explore Montreal. But when an unidentified female corpse is discovered meticulously dismembered and stashed in garbage bags, her weekend plans -- and her life -- are turned upside down.Source: Info in the About Déjà Dead was taken from Goodreads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/231604.D_j_Dead on 18/02/2013.
Review:
Okey, I confess that the only reason that I picked this book up was because I am now a Bones TV series fan and waiting impatiently for Season 8 to become available in the UK. While waiting, why not read the book? So I already have David Boreanaz's image firmly in my head as Special Agent Seeley Booth, plus a serious crush on his character! I also expected this book to read very similarly to the pilot episode of Bones. I was pleasantly surprised that though it did read similarly to a Bones episode, it was not a Bones episode. There are distinct dissimilarities. I am glad of that because then it opens up to surprises. However, I could not quite marry the image of Sergeant Detective Luc Claudel with David Boreanaz. I don't know, for some reason it just don't match!! How silly is that! But there I was... slightly disappointed. David is more like Sergeant Detective Andrew Ryan. Maybe...
I love the way Barbara Rosenblat infused vivazz into the story with the way she reads compensating for the quality of her voice which to my ears is not as pleasant as Alyssa Bresnahan's nor Therese Plummer's. I also needed the paperback or the ebook to keep up with the story. It might be because of the French words because I don't understand French from Greek. Or it could be my unconscious way of telling myself that I needed a moment or two of lag time to digest the story. Or it could also be that I am now used to listening to an audiobook with a print copy at the same time. Whatever the reason, I needed the ebook/print copy to understand the audiobook, which is not a very encouraging sign. However, I do like the occasional humorous commentary between the pages. Humour never fails to pick me up!
The book series and the TV show has two main similarities and then it deviated from each other. One, the forensics similarity is just the idea of forensics and naught else. The forensics lab and team are totally different. Second, is the name Dr. Temperance Brennan. The Dr. Brennan in the Bones TV show is totally different to the book. The one in the book is too stupid to live (TSTL)! I prefer Emily Deschanel to the book... At the end of it, the book wasn't that bad, but it was a bit of a disappointment after the TV show.
Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 3
Character development = 1.5
Story itself = 3
Ending = 4
World building = 4
Cover art = 3
Pace = N/A (16 hours of listening time)
Plot = 3.5
Narrator = 3.5
Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 cherries
Thanks for this review. I am in doubt myself to start to read the books as I am watching the series and sometimes it can really ruin the one or the other for you. I like the fact that they are note forcefully alike :)
ReplyDeleteHope you do not have to wait for season 8 to long so you can enjoy Booth again.
I love the show and have heard the books are too different. If they were similar I would be all over them. But I'm too enamored with the characters the way I know them. Great honest review.
ReplyDeleteI tried reading book 1 but I just found it too different :/
ReplyDeleteWow. I had no idea there were books out like this. Interesting.
ReplyDelete