Red Dwarf novels - Book Review (Spoiler Free)
(Too many books to post a picture, but they’re pretty easy to find if you google them.)
Happy birthday Red Dwarf! I know this is super late, since the anniversary was on Thursday, but this is the first time I’ve really had to myself to post this since Thursday, so apologies for that. A-levels are tiring, is what I’m trying to say. Anyway, this is more like 3 mini-reviews of the novelisations of the TV show Red Dwarf, which is my favourite show ever, so you can probably tell that this will be very positive. This goes to show that I don’t hate every book. Mini disclaimer, I’ve only read the first 3. I’m not sure if Last Human is part of this series or if it’s something else entirely, feel free to let me know. Also, this review is written more for people who are familiar with Red Dwarf, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pick this up if you’ve never heard of it. In fact, I highly recommend it.
See the end for a TL;DR, as always. I’ll also summarise my views on the entire series before going into each book.
This series is written in such a way that you can enjoy it whether you’re a fan of Red Dwarf or only just getting into it. If you like sci-fi and/or comedy (which I do) then chances are you’ll really enjoy it. The best way I can explain the changes between the show and the book is that it’s like an alternate universe re-imagining of the show. The authors (Grant Naylor is actually two people, Rob Grant and Doug Naylor) re-tell some of the better known Red Dwarf stories, changing the order of some events, how they connect, and, in some cases, what actually happens. You don’t have to have an encyclopedic knowledge of Red Dwarf to enjoy this, in fact it might make the experience more enjoyable (depending on your opinions on them changing the stories). So yeah, if you can’t be bothered to sit through my individual reviews (or want to go in as blind as possible), then here’s my recommendation. If you have any interest in sci-fi, Red Dwarf, or British comedy, then pick up this series and give it a go.
Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers
This is essentially a Red Dwarf prequel. The first few chapters re-tell how the main characters came to meet each other (since they’ve already known each other for a while when the TV show starts), and give a little exposition/backstory into Red Dwarf (the ship) and the world this story is set in. It does, later on, start to re-imagine events from the early series, so I guess it’s not exactly a prequel but oh well. The stories from the show this retells are The End, Future Echoes, Kryten, Me2 (meant to be “squared” but I can’t work out how to format it), and the start of Better Than Life, so it all takes place pretty early on in the series. Most of these stories are pretty similar to how they go down in the show, and it’s more the way they’re connected that’s changed. However, I don’t have any kind of problem with this, since I get enough of a kick out of seeing my favourite programme translated into novel form for this not to bother me. The story that’s the most changed is Better Than Life, but that’s not entirely relevant to this review, since the majority of that story takes place in the sequel named after it. If I had to nitpick, I’d say that I wasn’t too keen on them including the Future Echoes story, since the payoff to that (Parallel Universe) is not included, so the plot point with Lister somehow getting twin boys isn’t resolved. This is probably only a problem if you’ve never seen the show, since my Red Dwarf obsessed brain just filled in all the gaps. Despite this flaw, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes Red Dwarf, or is planning on getting into the series.
Now this is probably my favourite book of the series. The Better Than Life story arc is a really major part of this book (as you can probably tell since it’s named after it) and it’s amazing. It’s changed so drastically from the show that it’s almost a different story. The stakes are higher, it’s more intense, and much more emotional than the TV series. It does adapt some other stories, like White Hole (I think, anyway), and Polymorph, but Better Than Life is really the star of the show. The Polymorph story arc is also incredible, but it isn’t changed as much as Better Than Life is so it didn’t leave as much of an impact on me. Another thing I loved about this book is that it seems a lot more serious than the TV show. One thing I often wander when thinking about Red Dwarf (and secretly writing fanfiction for it) is what it would be like if certain aspects weren’t played for comedy. I might write something about this on my main blog, but this story is basically what I would imagine. It seems quite a bit darker than the TV series, and a lot more intense. Some people might not be keen on this, but I love the darker tone. I love dark stories in general, but seeing Red Dwarf become more serious and emotional is basically everything I’ve ever wanted to see from Red Dwarf, and if you’re anything like me then I highly recommend this (but obviously read the first one as well).
This is the novel that I’m the least familiar with. I could probably give a most accurate plot summary, and I do know what stories it adapts, but this is the only book I couldn’t find in audiobook form, so I haven’t read (or listened to) it as much as the others. However, that won’t stop me from reviewing it. It adapts the stories Backwards (again, no shit there), Dimension Jump, and Gunmen of the Apocalypse. The latter is definitely my favourite in this book, since I love the original story, (series 6 is my favourite Red Dwarf series), and it once again has that darker twist. In fact, this one is probably even more twisted than Better Than Life with the addition of the Agonoids (this book’s version of Simulants). Also, the very first chapter of this book (kind of like a prologue I think) nearly made me cry, since it was an emotional insight into my favourite Red Dwarf character. Of all the books in this series, this one is definitely the most changed from the TV series. All of the story-arcs are majorly adapted in some way, and I really love that. While I can’t remember as much of this book as the others, I would still highly recommend it to any sci-fi fan. My only issue with it is that I feel like the end is left a little ambiguous. I’m pretty sure some people would consider it concluded, but I felt like there was more to say, like a cliffhanger that’s never resolved. However, this is very subjective, and it probably won’t bother too many people.
TL;DR: Definitely pick this series up if you like Red Dwarf or anything sci-fi. You don’t need any prior knowledge of Red Dwarf to be able to enjoy this, but any existing fan can still get a kick out of the stories being re-told. It’s a lot more serious than the TV show, but it still does have some comedic lines and moments, so it’s not unrecognisable as a Red Dwarf story.
Once again, happy 30th birthday Red Dwarf. This show has given me so much joy, and I genuinely think I would be a different person if I’d never discovered it.
Next week: The YA dystopian that made me completely give up on the genre. (It’s probably more of a rant than a review, but eh.)
