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Like many other readers, I picked up Déjà Dead because I liked the Bones TV series so much. The other reviews of this book warned me that Déjà Dead and the Tempe Brennan books bear little resemblance to their small screen counterpart, so I was semi-prepared to not find my favorite Jeffersonian residents in its pages. Which is good because what I found was a lot stranger.
In the TV show, the Jeffersonian team describes Dr. Brennan's books as very technical, with some sexiness on the side (provided by Angela). When the Jeffersonians say things like this, they're not only describing how TV Dr. Brennan would write a book, they're describing Reiches' actual book series. Déjà Dead features many descriptions of the minutiae of forensic and crime work. If you're interested in that sort of thing, you're going to adore Reichs' writing. If you're more of an Agatha Christie fan where the detective reveals nothing until the end, you're going to be displeased.
Uneasily married to this depth of science is a wealth of beautiful descriptions and poetic language. I could picture everything in this story, from the grime on the street to the clouds in the sky. Being an English major, I ate all this up. However, I wasn't quite convinced that Tempe would describe her world with such eloquence. Scientists can appreciate beauty and their surroundings, of course: there are many artists who are also scientists. But, like any other skill, they have to work at it. From what I know in Déjà Dead, Dr. Brennan has spent zero time thinking about metaphors. She's too busy examining bones and trying to understand her daughter. Where the heck did all these metaphors come from?
The other drawback is the overfull cast of characters. There's A LOT of men in this book, and they all get one detailed description and then we never are reminded who they are again. I desperately wanted a character index. I also couldn't figure out who was supposed to be Booth. There are Angela, Hodgins, Cam, and Zack analogous characters, but no Booth. Is his character made up by Hart Hanson or is he an amalgamation of all these dudes or what? Imma miss that boy.
On the diversity front, there's plenty of feminism and girl power to balance out the testosterone. Several characters are of color are present in various roles (A man of Cherokee descent is an expert on saws! One detective looks Antonio Banderas!) and language/bilingualism is a major theme. All and all, a good, gory murder read.
In the TV show, the Jeffersonian team describes Dr. Brennan's books as very technical, with some sexiness on the side (provided by Angela). When the Jeffersonians say things like this, they're not only describing how TV Dr. Brennan would write a book, they're describing Reiches' actual book series. Déjà Dead features many descriptions of the minutiae of forensic and crime work. If you're interested in that sort of thing, you're going to adore Reichs' writing. If you're more of an Agatha Christie fan where the detective reveals nothing until the end, you're going to be displeased.
Uneasily married to this depth of science is a wealth of beautiful descriptions and poetic language. I could picture everything in this story, from the grime on the street to the clouds in the sky. Being an English major, I ate all this up. However, I wasn't quite convinced that Tempe would describe her world with such eloquence. Scientists can appreciate beauty and their surroundings, of course: there are many artists who are also scientists. But, like any other skill, they have to work at it. From what I know in Déjà Dead, Dr. Brennan has spent zero time thinking about metaphors. She's too busy examining bones and trying to understand her daughter. Where the heck did all these metaphors come from?
The other drawback is the overfull cast of characters. There's A LOT of men in this book, and they all get one detailed description and then we never are reminded who they are again. I desperately wanted a character index. I also couldn't figure out who was supposed to be Booth. There are Angela, Hodgins, Cam, and Zack analogous characters, but no Booth. Is his character made up by Hart Hanson or is he an amalgamation of all these dudes or what? Imma miss that boy.
On the diversity front, there's plenty of feminism and girl power to balance out the testosterone. Several characters are of color are present in various roles (A man of Cherokee descent is an expert on saws! One detective looks Antonio Banderas!) and language/bilingualism is a major theme. All and all, a good, gory murder read.