Neptune in Print: Veronica Mars Books - TWoP Forums p2:
Arsy80: I was fortunate enough to get an advance, unedited version of this in order to do a pre-release review of the book and I liked the essays a lot but I also really loved the forwards. I honestly believe Rob expresses himself on paper much better than he does in interviews where his answers can be kind of all over the place and often, as a someone who defends the show a good bit, I kind of feel he makes things worse. I liked having the chance to read thought out explanations for how he views things and during the hiatus when there was a good bit of freaking out, his Logan/Veronica forward gave me a lot of confidence in that particular ending. I feel like he eats a lot more crow, and acknowledges mistakes the show has made, in those forwards than he does in press interviews.

Book Review: Neptune Noir: Unauthorized Investigations into Veronica Mars Edited by Rob Thomas: Neptune Noir includes 18 different essays, plus an introduction to the book by Rob Thomas, and a few paragraphs by Rob preceding each essay. The essays focus on the exact areas one would think: girl power, class, racism, parental relationships, friendships, high school, noir, and story structure. While individually many of them are well-written, they tend to cover the same ground over and over, using the same episodes of the series to support their opinions. The essays all seem to come from the time between the end of the second and start of the third season (with Rob’s comments coming during the filming of the third season), so there really isn’t all that much material to work with (less than 50 episodes), and it shows.
By a large margin, the most interesting parts of the book are Rob Thomas’s introductions. He is quite clear in them about what his intents were when creating certain scenes and story arcs and what the “happy accidents” were.
These introductions are the beginning point of a fascinating dialogue between author and producer, fan and creator. Were it to be expanded (letters back and forth, transcripts of conversations between author and producer, etc.) it would make for an even more fascinating experience.
One of the best essays, perhaps for it being completely different than all the others, is Lawrence Walt-Evans’s “I’m in Love with My Car: Automotive Symbolism on Veronica Mars.” Walt-Evans takes a close look at the different type of vehicles that all the characters on the show drive (and they do all drive) and then applies those cars to the personality traits the characters exhibit. His argument is that this show is the one show on television where every vehicle choice is thought out and defined and an extension of the character’s personality. cool.
Taken individually the many essays that comprise Neptune Noir: Unauthorized Investigations into Veronica Mars provide a fascinating look not only at the show, but at its fanbase as well (make no mistake, many of the authors are fans). There are moments however when they seem to be trying to hard, when authors as fans push arguments that seem to be justifications, excuses, for them liking the series so much (I would include Misty Hook’s “Boom Goes the Dynamite: Why I Love Veronica and Logan” among these) rather than a more scholarly piece.


Book Review And Give-Away: Neptune Noir:
Chapter: Boom Goes the Dynamite: Why I Love Veronica and Logan
Written by: Misty Hook, Ph.D. - Licensed Psychologist
Synopsis: Dr. Hook analyzes Logan and Veronica’s relationship. She breaks down their chemistry, body language and shared experiences. She finds parallels between their personal histories, including their families eh and explains why they’re so easily drawn to one another. As a fan of the Logan and Veronica relationship, I felt that Hook really pinpointed all of the reasons why these two are so great to watch on screen together.
Sample: The audience was supposed to hate Logan for all the horrible things he had done and was doing to Veronica but you couldn’t help but want to see more of the two of them together; there was the sense that their mutual animosity wasn’t telling the whole story. .. Although there are other couples who possess good sexual chemistry, I can think of no other couple who responds so completely to one another at such a basic physical level. Kristen Bell and Jason Dohring deserve the credit here, as we can almost see Veronica and Logan’s relationship unfold through only their body language.” mmhm ok.