Apparently James Patterson wrote a book about the famous pulp character “The Shadow”, which was released in mid July. Has anybody read it and, if so, how is it? Does it stay true to the character and his allies, or is it a cringefest?
I’m mildly curious about this as well-- I tried to download it onto my Kindle from Overdrive Metronet, and it didn’t work for some reason. I recently tried to download it again but had to place a hold, so it’ll be awhile before I get to read it. For free, at least.
Incidentally, James Patterson appears well into the territory of Tom Clancy and Clive Cussler before him, using lesser-known authors to crank out books by the dozen with Patterson’s marketable name slapped onto them. This one cites a “Brain Sitts” as “co-author”. I wonder how much actual contribution Patterson has to those “co-written” books. Does he at least do some cursory editing, to make sure it’s somewhat in his ‘voice’? Or does he just sit back and let the royalties roll in? (I’m not sure if I’m more critical or more jealous of that setup)
ETA: Even though the aggregate Amazon rating is 4.1 out of 5, the most recent 8 reviews here all all firmly in trainwreck territory:
Just a follow-up in case you’re still curious Czarcasm (judging by the lack of other posters it doesn’t appear anyone else is), the Patterson ‘Shadow’ book came off hold and I just finished reading it.
So I’m not extremely familiar with the characters as they are in the original radio serial, but a lot of deconstruction is done to the Shadow mythos that will probably disappoint a more knowledgeable fan of the original.
So the basic premise is that in 1937, Lamont Cranston and Margo Lane are poisoned, and before they die, Lamont has Dr. Fletcher put them in suspended animation using some experimental treatment they had developed for just such an emergency. There they stay, hidden in a warehouse for 150 years until they are revived in a dystopian 2087 New York. Lamont’s arch-rival Khan, being somehow immortal, is now President of the World, and made Lamont’s NY mansion the Presidential mansion.
In the book, ‘The Shadow’ exists both as a real character and as a fictional character from the old radio show and dime store novels of the 30s. Cranston explains that the fictional Shadow was only loosely based on reality, and that his powers are somewhat different. For example, the ‘real’ Shadow actually becomes invisible; it’s not just by ‘clouding men’s minds’. I think that’s because in 2087 NY security cameras are everywhere, so becoming invisible by hypnotizing people in the surrounding area wouldn’t be nearly as helpful. The Shadow has also developed new powers during the 150 years of suspended animation.
In short, if you’re a big fan of The Shadow, yeah, probably a cringe fest. The book has a simplistic YA feel, much of it written in first-person from the point of view of a 14 year old girl who teams up with Lamont and Margo for reasons. The villians are cartoonishly evil. Many plot points make little sense. I will say, Patterson’s “co-author” does have a knack for keeping the action chugging along nicely, so the book is readable enough that I burned through it quickly.
Thank you. It doesn’t look like I will be picking it up any time soon.
Admittedly, having someone be invisible to people but not cameras would be amusing.
It is actually intended as a YA book, isn’t it?
Yeah, it pretty much had to have been. I don’t remember the MetroNet description online saying anything about it being YA though.
Maybe the authors/publisher are trying to have it both ways. The reason I thought this was being marketed as a YA book was because this is paragraph 2 of the accompanying author bio on Amazon:
James is passionate about encouraging children to read. Inspired by his own son who was a reluctant reader, he also writes a range of books for young readers including the Middle School, I Funny, Treasure Hunters, Dog Diaries and Max Einstein series. James has donated millions in grants to independent bookshops and has been the most borrowed author of adult fiction in UK libraries for the past eleven years in a row. He lives in Florida with his wife and son.
But nothing else suggests that the book is YA lit. Maybe a poor choice of marketing strategy?
Well, one argument against it being YA is why resurrect The Shadow, a character I’m sure almost no teens or young adults have ever heard of, if it was intended as a YA novel?
On the other hand, the addition of a plucky 14 year old girl teaming up with Lamont Cranston and Margo Lane, with many chapters of the book written from her first-person point of view, argues for it being YA.
I really have no idea who the intended audience for the book was supposed to be.