As I believe I've written before, the best thing about Lee Goldberg's Monk novels is that he has the skill to write so that I can hear the characters talking in the actors' voices. Mr. Monk in Outer Space is no exception.
In this story, now out in paperback, Monk investigates the murder of Conrad Stipe, the creator of Beyond Earth, a short-lived 70s cult sci-fi television series currently being revived in much revised format, to the dismay of a vocal sector of fandom. The murder occurs outside a fan con, and takes place in full view of four security cameras, but the killer doesn't care, because he's dressed as the show's inhuman second lead, Mr. Snork.
There's also the case of the man who was shot after he died, a case so mysterious, and yet so far beneath the attention of Captain Stottlemeyer's homicide squad, that Lt. Disher is assigned to head up a Special Desecration Unit to unravel it.
Since desecration is naturally of keen interest to the obsessive compulsive detective, Monk is drawn to the case. But in order to also solve Stipe's murder, Monk is forced to come to grips with the most disturbing discovery of all: His brother Ambrose is a Big Name Fan in "Earther" circles and author of multiple books and guides about the series.
From there on out, it's classic Monk style all the way. The Monk series is perfect popcorn mystery, fun and easy to read. Goldberg's use of Natalie as narrator means that we spend the most time in the presence and thoughts of simply the most pleasant character on the show, making the read even easier.
Outer Space has more to offer the long-term Goldberg fan, because he is essentially revisiting his earlier novel, Beyond the Beyond, a comic mystery dealing with the same subject, albeit with much more focus on the quirks and outright dysfunctions of fandom. The Monk version, naturally, focuses on Monk and the rest of his cast, and the structure of the Monk novels, with several related and unrelated crimes for Monk to unravel per novel, draws attention away from the sci-fi cult.
The subject of media fandom is near but hardly dear to Goldberg, a one-time showrunner of Seaquest DSV who has a notorious and vehement disdain for fanfic in particular and little sympathy for fandom in general. As noted, Beyond the Beyond is a purer examination of this, but Outer Space is not above taking notice. In particular, Goldberg holds Ambrose Monk's expertise up as admirable, leading Monk to recognize his brother's contribution to solving the case.
Posted by Greg at June 8, 2008 8:08 PM
I'm pretty sure you've not mentioned them before, because this is the first time I've heard that there are Monk novels. (Google backs me up.)
The writers of the Futurama comic are very good at capturing the voices of the characters, too.
Huh. I could have sworn I'd written about the series, and particularly about how it made me recognize the skill of writing in someone else's character's voice.
I refer to it over in the BMB-Doom discussion, but without direct reference to Monk. Huh.