Better Than Life (1990)

Enjoyed it very much, though slightly less than the first book in the series. Heartily recommend it! ( )

The second of the Red Dwarf books which were written as supporting spin-offs from the TV series of the same name. The books flesh out the spare nature of the TV episodes, and are readable, but toward the end of the second book, I couldn't help feeling that the creative element had slipped away. No cigar. Read Jan 2012. ( )

NIL

I actually read the Red Dwarf books before I watched any of the tv series, and I must say that I prefer the books. Don’t get me wrong, the tv show is brilliant, but I think that the books offer a more satisfying depth and continuity.

I have chosen to review ‘Infinity welcomes careful drivers’ and ‘Better than life’ together as they were written by the same two-person team who also created the tv series: Rob Grant and Doug Naylor. Scenes and episode ideas from the series are used throughout both books, and in a lot of cases these are built upon to expand them beyond the original scope. Regular viewers will recognise sections interwoven into the prose, as well as the familiar cast of characters, but the books also serve as an excellent introduction to the series for those who have no idea what I’m talking about. (For those people: Red Dwarf is a science fiction comedy set in the future where the moons of the solar system are colonised and space travel is commonplace.) I find it is satisfyingly similar to Douglas Adams’ style in that I can open the book at a random page and find something that will make me smile. ( )

This is the second novelized book from the guys who wrote Red Dwarf. The first book of course shares its name with the name of the TV series. This book deviates from the plot line used in the TV series, and at some points feels more like a summary of the series than a novelization. Then again there are also times where they explore things that would be way to expensive to do in a TV show for the BBC, so that's fun.

http://www.stillhq.com/book/Grant_Naylor/Better_Than_Life.html ( )