Anybody read Bad Twin?

[Goblinmonger]

Just finished it last weekend. It was pretty good. I am looking for some other perspectives. I am currently reading The Third Policeman and will finishe my summer "Lost trilogy" with Our Mutual Companion (?) by Dickens which was prominant in the season's last episode.

[AnnieBW]

1. Yep

Loved it! I'm trying to figure out how it fits into canon, though. I know that the family had the same name as they mysterious Desmond's girlfriend - Widmore. And there were other references to the Lost-verse, like Paik Heavy Industry (Sun's father's company). I'm not really a mystery fan, unless it involves some supernatural element (a la Jim Butcher or Laurell K. Hamilton). But "Bad Twin" was pretty darn good reading!

[Goblinmonger]

2. I think some of it will fit in

during season 3. There is the obvious Hanso reference and the connection to the Widmore family/company.

I like that the boat that killed Moth was called the "Escape Hatch."

The discussion of John Locke was good, too.

I think the important thing I took away was the "what seems evil is really good" philosophy that the book had. Obviously relating to the Others. Though I think the "get rid of the money" bit was perhaps giving us some clue into the Others. Maybe they are actually fighting against the Hanso corporation. That is why they weren't really pissed when the "explosion" occurred at the end of the last episode. Perhaps they were experiment guinea pigs that figured it all out and revolted. That is why the "experiment" doesn't seem all that active.

[catbert836]

3. Yes. I'm an unabashed LOST geek.

The book itself was pure escapism, and I was disappointed that there weren't more clues in there. Obviously, I picked up the whole Widmore thing, but maybe I'm not looking hard enough.

The book you're thinking of is "Our Mutual Friend" by Charles Dickens which I think is his last novel. It's good that so much literature is mentioned in the show- it encourages people to read more. I personally read "The Brothers Karamazov" by Dostoevsky because of LOST, and I'm looking forward to reading other selections of the LOST book club, such as "Watership Down", "The Third Policeman", and also "Our Mutual Friend".

What other book is part of your LOST trilogy?

[Goblinmonger]

4. I just finished The Third Policeman

this past week while on a trip to Dallas. It is fantastic literature and sheds A LOT of light on LOST. Though it sheds light on a theory that has been "denied" by the creators. So go figure. Give it a read. It is much more substantial literature than Bad Twin. Let me know what you think when you are done. I marked some passages.

[catbert836]

5. Just looked for it at the library today...

They didn't have it at any of their 7 or 8 branches. Go figure. I'll have to get it off of Amazon, I suppose.

[catbert836]

6. All right, I just finished. (Spoilers!)

Here are my observations in relation to LOST:

- The underground location of "Eternity" bears a strong resemblance to the DHARMA Hatch "The Swan". Check this out:

I saw a long passage lit fitfully at intervals by the crude home-made noise machines….the walls of the passage seemed to be made with bolted sheets of pig-iron…there was a mass of wires and what appeared to be particularly thick wires or possibly pipes…here I saw a dial or an intricate nest of clocks and knobs resembling a control board…

- The strange map created by a spreading crack on the roof of the cell in the police station is kind of like the Blast Door Map in the Swan.

- Policeman MacCruiskeen and his partner continue to take readings, and when these readings are unsafe, they readjust them to safe levels. This seems a lot like the survivors pressing the button in the hatch every 108 minutes.

And a few theories:

- While MacCruiskeen and his partner keep returning aberrant readings to the safe levels, Policeman Fox is manipulating these readings for his own amusement. On one occasion, it is revealed that he saves the narrator from being hanged by doing so. Applying this to LOST, could it be that Desmond saved the passengers of Flight 815 from a worse fate when he forgot to press the button?

- The idea in this novel is that hell goes round and round. Could the same be true of the Island? Desmond was unable to escape to Fiji, so maybe Michael and Walt will also be unable to leave the Island.