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I’m thinking what I read of the book was that it was about season 1, and there would be another later on presumably about season 2. I don’t think the entire book is episode 1. That said there are many different styles etc, I’m just irked by the very wrong “quotes” that don’t sound like anything our characters would say and are so different, yet it’s an official book. HUH?!? Why not do an official book right and use things that have been seen on screen (without adding in anything that may or may not be right) and then OK it with Adam & Eddie and make it official merchandise then. I just don’t get it!
They did the same last year with the promo department doing the “special” for people to catch up on the show…and they had Sidney narrate which was fine, and then they had downright incorrect facts! Why can’t they let the showrunners in on stuff? It’s like releasing HUGE reveals in the promos that you know would have been better to keep hidden. They don’t know the difference between tease and tell, so I can’t say I’m not shocked they’ve now made “official” books full of inaccuracies, but I am disappointed.
[adrotate group="5"]Keeper of Hook's Trenchcoat.
Gee, I loved the excert! It doesn’t bother me that the dialogue is a bit paraphrased- it makes it more interesting to get a different take on it, and I am looking forward to getting more into the characters’ heads and learning new things about them.
Think the difference of dialogue, quotes is on purpose, or should be, otherwise it would be plain bad writing. Hardly a copyright issue, at least I can’t see any reason to not use the exact script quotes, after all this is meant to be official merchandising as far as we know.
If it’s meant to display different point of view might be okay, and could be even brilliant when written well. We remember things differently, we already experience things differently. When you ask people right after an event you will get at least slightly different versions of it. You all know the game, I guess, called telephone or messenger game, when people pass a message to another whispering – and the last player tells the message to the group. That is not just a game, it’s a good demonstration of psychology at work, it is more than only about hear-say and how information can be changed by indirect communication, but it’s as well about attention and different perception. Have fun and change the set-up for example but inducing some distractions, it will get harder for people to pass the exact message.
Nevertheless changes in dialogue like this can be distracting for fans, bit of a risk. And changes in details should have purpose in my opinion, do something for the story, for seeing the character differently while staying true to the character (something fan fiction often fails to do), otherwise they are just distracting and annoying.
For example letting Henry eat the cupcake (by the way, the cupcake did move on the table between shots, to the side of the juice bottle closer to Henry, think it’s the cupcake, otherwise it disappeared). Hm. But Henry saying he is good at telling if people lie too? Or that in the show Emma had painted fingernails when she met Ryan, while in the book for a moment she is bothered that she hasn’t painted them. Okay, maybe she hasn’t done it fresh and could have done overhaul, but something like that does make me wonder how much attention the author paid to detail, or more how little, or what she wants to say with that about the character (and wonder here not in a good way, although the not painted fingernails could be fitting to character). I’m normally someone not even paying myself attention to such tiny details like painted fingernails, or it’s something easily slipping my attention, so means something, that even I noticed and remembered that in the show Emma had painted fingernails. And then there is the moment when Henry doesn’t tell her the address – and sorry, that is not how I think Emma would remember it. Nitpicking maybe. But if I already find enough things in just one chapter, on just a few pages, which make me stumble and not let find any good rhythm of reading, I doubt I will enjoy much of the rest of the book. In other words: To me it looks like this is a book not for fans, or at worst a rip-off (fans are so dump to buy everything even if they hate it, because true fans have to have things, right)
Who is Odette Bean? Didn’t find much besides this book announcement, and in times of social media sides that is a tad odd. Newbie author or alias or just an author who hasn’t published anything yet and been some web shy very private person? Just wondering (and I know a bit about searching people on the web)
Such TV or movie books seldom are revelations of good writing, in my experience, reason why I hardly ever buy them by now (there are libraries). My expectations are low anyway. But if getting the feeling this is just for the money and not the least giving fans a bit love back, because, sorry who else would buy such stuff, then it can even tick me off.
After this tease, this first chapter, I don’t have the feeling to get a better look at the inside of the characters or learn new things. At the moment this looks to me like some bad written fan fiction paying not enough attention to story or characters, and there are tons of that stuff for free on the web. Very disappointing.
Yes, harsh review of a just the first chapter. But I think fans deserve better than that. And non-fans too.
¯\_(?????? ?)_/¯
Honestly, I have not gone back and rewatched the pilot since it first aired, so I didn’t remember well enough to tell what had been changed. Those are minor details, though, that probably wouldn’t bother me.
In the “Once Upon a Time” book of fairy tales there is a copy of the original script from the Pilot. It is very different from what actually was filmed. So I think that must have informed the decision to have Henry eat the cupcake – I remember that was in that original script.
Myril, calling fans “dumb” (or “dump”) for buying this book or for being open to trying it is not really in the spirit of this forum. You’ve made your decision that you don’t like it. Other people might have a different opinion and are not necessarily dumb.
@LaurieAnne wrote:
Myril, calling fans “dumb” (or “dump”) for buying this book or for being open to trying it is not really in the spirit of this forum. You’ve made your decision that you don’t like it. Other people might have a different opinion and are not necessarily dumb.
Should have put it in quotation marks, sorry, because that is certainly not how I think, otherwise I would not be on any forum at all, but that is how I know some people think, merchandising folks who don’t care at all about fans but all about money. If someone wonders, yes, I’ve met that kind of people in real life, who think that fans are so “dumb” to buy anything with the right label on it, no matter what crap. I think differently, and for sure think fans deserve better. That was all I wanted to express with it, that was no judgment of fans on my side, it was a judgment about how some do fan merchandising.
If you like this book or not, buy it or not is of course your decision, not judging anyone for that.
But yes, at the moment this looks to me more like fan merchandising done bad and not like showing real love for the fans.
¯\_(?????? ?)_/¯
I totally agree with myril and the others. The first chapter is very poorly written and has a lot of inaccuracies that are quite glaring for fans. It would be very unprofessional to release official merchandise that misrepresents or otherwise deviates from the canon, unless it’s something Stan Lee wrote. ***
Even if you try to say that Emma isn’t recalling things correctly, it’s not in the first person for us to assume that it’s her perspective. Furthermore, are we really going to believe that she totally didn’t notice Graham, but noticed the “beautiful” and “immaculately legged” Regina? I’m not saying Regina isn’t stunning. I would be equally amazed at her as well, but to not remember the handsome Sheriff? I’m not even a Graham fan, but this is an epic stretch. In the show, Emma has dialogue at the station with Graham about the previous night, which they now have to skip or alter in the book, and thus begins the eventual snowballing of the various things left out until it builds and suddenly there is a gaping black plot hole.
I’m not sure whose pen name is Odette (Swan Princess) [Magical] Bean, but I certainly won’t be purchasing a very cheap knock-off of the wonderfully written and acted out story I love.
*** In case you don’t read comics, my statement is criticizing Marvel. Stan Lee is notorious for writing great comics and completely deviating from his own canon when it comes to merchandizing and films. This is somehow accepted by most fans.
@qbkitsune wrote:
Furthermore, are we really going to believe that she totally didn’t notice Graham, but noticed the “beautiful” and “immaculately legged” Regina? I’m not saying Regina isn’t stunning. I would be equally amazed at her as well, but to not remember the handsome Sheriff? .
I wonder if the author is a fan of SwanQueen, lol.
I’m really disappointed about this, especially since I was thrilled to hear about the book. I came on this board to see if everyone else is as put off as I am, and it would seem so for the most part!
I’m a writer, and I’ve studied writing styles for years. I’m not professing to be a pro or even a published author, but this writer simply isn’t all that good. She’s not bad, but the writing seems amazingly amateur to me. On the fanfiction website it would be fine (if, let’s be honest, kind of boring in a world where writers can make whatever they want happen) but I just would expect so much better from a published, authorized novelization. In fact I can name any number of writers on fanfiction.net that would have done a much better job. I’m also pretty sure I could do a better job, too, lol. (But that would only be too cool for me 😉 )
NO…you know what would have been the BEST? If Jane Epsenson wrote it!!! Ugh. That would have been amazing.
I agree with others who said that it’s kind of insulting that they’d just throw this at it when it’s obvious not a whole lot of care was taken with it. (It doesn’t even look all that well edited for crying out loud.) To be honest, I’ll still buy it, if for nothing else than to support Once merchandise because I WANT Once merchandise…but I’m bummed. 🙁
I was interested in maybe buying this until I read the preview but it was very disappointing. It does read like fanfiction. I’m not going to buy it now so I’m glad there was a preview.
On a happier note, there is meant to be a graphic novel released focussing on Graham during his time between Regina ripping out his heart and the curse. I may purchase that.
All magic comes with a price!
Keeper of FelixAmazon posted the book as the paperback version of another book (a fairy tales book with a castle on the cover), I notified them of their mistake & they fixed it. So here’s the link for those of you interested in pre-ordering the book.
Also I just noticed that there’s another book called “Once Upon a Time: An Insider’s Guide to Storybrooke” that will be released on October 1, 2013. I honestly know nothing about that one but here’s the amazon link for it.
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