Any Magnum P.I. novels

[Styles Bitchley]

Hey Styles,

The Robin's Nest you refer to was a spin off of Man About the House. Both were British shows. The wildly successful American show Three's Company was based on Man About the House. When Three's Company came to an end they tried to spin it off also, but were unsuccessful with Three's a Crowd.

...and thanks for the info!

Thanks for making that connection. I still get a kick out of goofy Three's Company and recently watched an episode of the British show just to see the original concept.

[Lar]

Look forward to hearing what Lar has to say when his book arrives.

It finally arrived just the other day. I thought for sure that I ordered from a US seller, but it turns out it had to come from the UK. Not sure what exactly happened there, but it's here now. Haven't had time to really crack into it yet; I'm just about finished with a Beatles biography and then I'll jump headfirst into the MPI book. Initial impressions: there is a notation about it being based on the pilot, though it doesn't seem to start out the same way (I kinda like that). Also, I was a little disappointed to see that it's not written in the first-person; I was hoping we'd get one long "little voice"! It seems to be a pretty good-sized read though; not exactly Gone With The Wind but it is thicker than I was expecting. Definitely doesn't appear to be your standard dash-off TV tie-in.

I'll get back to you all once I start reading.

[KENJI]

Look forward to hearing what Lar has to say when his book arrives.

It finally arrived just the other day. I thought for sure that I ordered from a US seller, but it turns out it had to come from the UK. Not sure what exactly happened there, but it's here now. Haven't had time to really crack into it yet; I'm just about finished with a Beatles biography and then I'll jump headfirst into the MPI book. Initial impressions: there is a notation about it being based on the pilot, though it doesn't seem to start out the same way (I kinda like that). Also, I was a little disappointed to see that it's not written in the first-person; I was hoping we'd get one long "little voice"! It seems to be a pretty good-sized read though; not exactly Gone With The Wind but it is thicker than I was expecting. Definitely doesn't appear to be your standard dash-off TV tie-in.

I'll get back to you all once I start reading.

Thanks for the update Lar!

[Pahonu]

Just got the novel yesterday and read the first chapter. I don't want to give too much away, but it begins in Saigon during the war with Magnum investigating a rape case for the NIA. I browsed a bit and it seems the famous opening scene with the stealing of the Ferrari doesn't begin until chapter 6! From there it seems to follow the pilot very closely. The first chapter has already made mention of Dan Cook, Dan's father the admiral, and Captain Cooley, showing he knew Cooley during the war also. I think that is new information. As mentioned above, it is not in first person, so no "little voice", however from what I've perused, it seems much of the voice-over in the pilot is simply exposition in the novel, sometimes almost word for word.

[Lar]

Just finished the first chapter myself. I was expecting something tailored a bit more to younger fans, but boy, so far the writing is pretty adult. That's to say, the first chapter involves Magnum (as an Ensign in the Navy) investigating a rape case, and some of the language is pretty crude, even a bit graphic. There was at least one f-bomb drop, and the author even has Magnum say "f*ggot," which, even in a Naval-interrogation setting and with a much younger Magnum, seems pretty un-Magnum-like to me.

I'll finish the book, it's not badly written (though where detective books are concerned, it's tough going from Robert B. Parker to this) and if nothing else it's an interesting take on MPI, but something tells me (and this is just a hunch) that the sense of fun that tempered the more serious elements of the show may not be present in any of the subsequent chapters. But, I don't wanna put the cart before the horse, so we'll see...

[Pahonu]

I just finished the novel this weekend. Again, I won't give anything away, but it is very obvious that this was written by a British author and seemed to be marketed to a British audience. The choice of vocabulary is sometimes odd, ie. referring to the newspaper as the news sheet, and several other examples like this. It creates a strange juxtaposition when the dialogue is straight from the pilot using typical American English, but the exposition is more British. Where this is most strange is in those first five chapters of backstory where the author is creating the dialogue for Magnum as well. It just doesn't sound the way Magnum would speak.

I agree about the explicit nature of the early chapters. My 13-year old daughter has watched many episodes with me and had expressed an interest in reading it when I finished. That was quickly ruled out! I'm interested in your thoughts as well.

Anyone else buy the novel?

[Lar]

Just finished the book myself today. It's...interesting. Caution: a few spoilers ahead, though I think we're all familiar with the pilot, so they should be minor.

The writing the whole way through is often very adult, sometimes needlessly so. It seems that every time things are rolling along as expected, the writing will suddenly turn sexual. It's like the author threw it in just because he could. Not that I'm trying to sound like a prude, I'm a Robert B. Parker vet after all, but it just comes off awkward here, because it almost never has any real basis for being there.

I found the overall plot to have a lot inconsistencies and/or problems with pacing. For example: Magnum and Alice sneaking into Pearl, Higgins being saved by Rick and TC outside the club, and the final confrontation with La Bulle, plus the standard "ending scene," as well as some Vietnam flashbacks (of which there's a LOT throughout), it's all shoehorned into the last 20 or so pages. For awhile I thought the author was actually going to cut out Magnum discovering Cooly's body, and the conclusion is only a paragraph or two long and takes place immediately after Magnum kills La Bulle! Considering there is a lot of original backstory, flashbacks, etc., it's odd that the author seemingly rushed through the parts that were actually from Donald P. Bellisario's script. It's almost like the climax was an afterthought! Considering there are five chapters of exposition that weren't in the pilot, that's inexcusable.

Plus, there are some glaring mistakes. Near the end, after Magnum and Alice leave Pearl, the books cuts to Magnum, Higgins, Rick and TC at the club (as this is based on the pilot, no King Kamehameha yet, obviously). It specifically says Magnum is there with them. But then, as Rick and TC rush out to save Higgins from the hitman, the author has Magnum and Alice just coming from Pearl and stumbling upon what's going on! That's just plain amateurish. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but in the pilot, Alice retrieves Dan's personal belongings, including the team ring, from Healy while Magnum investigates, right? In the book, as previously stated, that takes place near the end. Problem is, it was already established earlier that the personal belongings had been collected; just like the pilot, it's the team ring on the table that causes Magnum to go into a flashback!

Also, I noticed a lot of spelling errors. At first I thought it was just a lot of British usage of this or that, but there were just too many, and ones I wasn't familiar with. And, odd analogies abound. Things like "He was wound tighter than the strings on a country and western fiddle" are used liberally, and it almost always comes off corny at best, weird at worst.

Furthermore, backstories are given to most of the characters (TC and Rick kinda get short-shrift), and Higgins' in particular I positively hate. I told my brother (also a big MPI fan) about it, and his response was a clear "That's not Higgins!" Also, TC is a drinker and smoker here. Granted, he did have a beer in the pilot, and this is (somewhat) based on a script before the characters had firmly been established (plus, with a 1981 copyright, the author only had most of season one or half of season two at best to work with, though it doesn't appear he went beyond the pilot at all), but it's symptomatic of the fact that these really aren't the same characters we know and love from the show; they may share some of the same traits, but it's basically Magnum, Higgins, Rick and TC in name only. Everyone is far less likable here, and while that can be attributed to just how much the characters were transformed by the actors in the show, I really think it's a fault of the author.

The cover of the book, as was mentioned earlier in this thread, makes it seem that the show was based on this book. I can only guess that the series was either brand new or hadn't aired yet in the places the book was marketed (according to the back cover: the UK, Australia, New Zealand). I sure hope there were no readers that read the book thinking it came before the series, but this really isn't the same thing at all.

So, it's an interesting MPI collectible, and I am glad I have it, but I can also almost guarantee I'll never read it again. It's interesting, but overall, I don't think it's very good.

[terryfromkerry]

Hi Lar,

Thanks for the detailed and entertaining review .

[Styles Bitchley]

Thanks to you both for the info. Very good review, Lar. Interesting that it's aimed at a British audience. I know it was big in the UK, but I would have thought it would have been an even better seller in the States.

I don't think I'll order it online, but might dig through some used book stores looking for it next time I'm in the UK or Canada.

[Pahonu]

I'm with you Lar!

My singular largest complaint was that, after having 5 chapters of almost needless backstory, the rushed ending was just awful. I had the exact same thought as you as I approached the end: what's going to be cut out with only three or four pages to go. There was no suspense built up whatsoever in those last five chapters. They just blew by. I actually went back and reread the scene at Rick's where Magnum is present before I went on to finish, because I thought I had misunderstood. I also agree TC and Rick had next to no back story, while Philippe got a whole chapter about joing the French Foreign Legion. Odd choices, indeed, as was making TC a whisky drinker! Higgins seemed misogynistic and Magnum had none of the playfulness to counter his seriousness about solving the case. Years ago, I wrote a version of the opening scene and stealing the Ferrari. I actually think my poor attempt was better! Overall, a missed opportunity.

Styles, if your interested, I paid just under $8.00 shipping and all to get my copy.

[Lar]

I'm with you Lar!

My singular largest complaint was that, after having 5 chapters of almost needless backstory, the rushed ending was just awful. I had the exact same thought as you as I approached the end: what's going to be cut out with only three or four pages to go. There was no suspense built up whatsoever in those last five chapters. They just blew by. I actually went back and reread the scene at Rick's where Magnum is present before I went on to finish, because I thought I had misunderstood. I also agree TC and Rick had next to no back story, while Philippe got a whole chapter about joing the French Foreign Legion. Odd choices, indeed, as was making TC a whisky drinker! Higgins seemed misogynistic and Magnum had none of the playfulness to counter his seriousness about solving the case. Years ago, I wrote a version of the opening scene and stealing the Ferrari. I actually think my poor attempt was better! Overall, a missed opportunity.

Styles, if your interested, I paid just under $8.00 shipping and all to get my copy.

Agreed 100% I think the only thing I found suspenseful during the whole book was near the end when I was wondering just how the author was going to wrap everything up so quickly. It wasn't a product of good writing, it was just deplorable pacing. At one point, I was seriously thinking my book may be missing some pages, and at another point, I was thinking the author was going to have La Bulle escape, in order to provide fodder for any future books.

"Misogynistic" is the perfect word to describe the book's depiction of Higgins. He comes off like a total jerk the whole way through (instead of the "antagonistic friend" that he was in the series), even when the book is trying not to portray him that way. From start to finish, I don't like Bowdler's version of Higgins at all.

The sense of fun from the series (which was present from the very start) just isn't here. Even when the lighter moments from the pilot are depicted in the book, they fall flat. It's not that that feeling couldn't have been translated successfully to novel form, it just wasn't.

Oddly enough, for as down as I am on this book, I wouldn't mind tracking down the other Bowdler novel (provided there is an English version, which I presume there almost certainly would be). Maybe it would adhere to the actual show more closely?

I don't think I'll order it online, but might dig through some used book stores looking for it next time I'm in the UK or Canada.

Just like Pahonu, my copy was pretty cheap used off of Amazon, and while it's not a great or canonical representation of our show, it IS a neat piece for collecting-purposes.

[Pahonu]

I think i found a third novelization by the same author...sadly again in German.

http://www.amazon.com/Magnum-Neige-Hawa ... 640&sr=1-9

[Styles Bitchley]

I think i found a third novelization by the same author...sadly again in German.

http://www.amazon.com/Magnum-Neige-Hawa ... 640&sr=1-9

That's actually the French version of the first one.

[Pahonu]

I think i found a third novelization by the same author...sadly again in German.

http://www.amazon.com/Magnum-Neige-Hawa ... 640&sr=1-9

That's actually the French version of the first one.

DUH!

[Lar]

So where are we at regarding MPI novels? The first Bowdler book, which was written in English and translated in several different languages, a second Bowdler book that may or may not have an English counterpart, and the apparently mega-rare Plot-It-Yourself Maui Mystery? Kinda surprising that a show as popular as MPI seemingly had so few novelizations; I think there were several tie-ins for Miami Vice, all UK-only (IIRC), and Heaven knows there's a ton of M*A*S*Htie-ins, besides the three 'real' M*A*S*H books. It's even more of a shame when you consider that the one MPI book that's easily attainable nowadays is also severely disappointing.

The MPI collector in me is seriously wants to pick up a (cheap) copy of the 2nd Bowdler book, even though I'd have no way to read it (though I draw the line at paying $400, or anywhere near that, for Maui Mystery).