Lost: Secret Identity – Cathy Hapka

Rating: 3/5

Lost References:

Like the first novella in the series, it’s set in the Lost-universe just after the crash.

Thoughts:

This one is pretty on par with Endangered Species, and again, the author tackles a common Lost theme: secret identities, obviously. Out of curiosity, I did some research on the author and found that she’s written a bunch of books – some of them tie-ins for companies like Disney and Lego, essentially professional fan-fiction. That really is what you get when reading Secret Identity and Endangered Species: good fan-fiction, no more and no less. You can tell the author is in love with all the existing characters, but it does mean that in both books, original characters apart from the main one don’t get much development. But no one reads these things for the literary value, right? Just enjoy them for what they are.

Lost: Endangered Species – Cathy Hapka

Rating: 3/5

Lost References:

This semi-canonical novella is set on the Island immediately following the Oceanic crash (except for the flashbacks, of course).

Thoughts:

The writing seemed amateurish, especially in the unnatural dialogue. However, it did move along at a good pace, and it handled some of the themes that readers would expect in Lost, if in a heavy-handed way. (The main character’s name is Faith, she struggles with self-confidence, she has a secretly violent past, etc. It is also formatted so that the 23 chapters alternate between Faith’s present and her flashbacks.) The big upshot for this book was that it did, in fact, focus on someone other than a member of the show’s main cast. It makes sense, considering how many people were on that flight, and I’m glad those responsible for these tie-in books decided to take that route. So, don’t expect anything deep, but your average Lost fan would probably get some enjoyment out of the experience.

Carrie – Stephen King

Rating: 2/5

Lost References:

Juliet chooses this book (her favorite) for the Others’ book club, even though Ben doesn’t like it. (Oddly, when Ben is later captured by the Losties, he asks Locke for Stephen King to read. Of course, this may have been part of his cover.) Juliet’s sister, Rachel, also has a copy of the book.

Fun Fact: Emilie de Ravin (Claire on Lost) played Chris Hargensen in the 2002 TV movie version of Carrie.

Thoughts:

Carrie is a disturbed, repressed girl with a supernatural gift. Since she’s a high schooler, she naturally uses it to get back at bullies. Low points: Carrie and her mother (both pretty crazy and unlovable), the ending (rushed, despite the novel being Stephen King’s usual doorstop length). High points: Stephen King (whose masterful control of the English language makes up for a lot), the Prom Scene (it’s a classic for a reason).