Bad Twin by Gary Troup

Being the avid LOST fan that I am (if you need proof, just scroll down the blog), I was really excited to read Bad Twin by Gary Troup. The "author" was a flight on Oceanic 815, and was killed off in the pilot. The book was peppered with small references to the show (Hanso, Widmore, Paik, Mr. Cluck, 8-15-16, Cindy the stewardess), and Troup's name is an anagram for PURGATORY. With the way that the flash-sideways played out in season six, I thought it'd be cool to get through.

Boy, was it a chore.

It was cheesy, bad noir. The detective was a coward, constantly unsure of himself. Why should I root for someone like that? Likable characters were few and far between -- and when they popped up, they weren't in the story for very long.

In the entire book, one paragraph (p. 98-99) was worth reading. It shined some light on what Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof's perception of purgatory might be. I won't ruin it here, though -- go make your way through this sludge on your own.