What do you think?
Rate this book
Search (Probe) #2
Moonrock
Novelization of an episode of a short-lived TV series. Weverka also did a novelization of the series pilot, Search.
- GenresScience Fiction
150 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1973
13 people want to read
About the author
Robert Weverka
37 books9 followersRobert Weverka (pseudonym Robert McMahon) was born in Los Angeles and educated at USC where he majored in economics. His novels include March Or Die, The Sting, Murder By Decree, Moonrock, Apple's Way and The Widowed Master.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 7, 2007
Don't get me wrong; this isn't Great Literature or possessed of Deep Ideas. It is, however, a thoroughly enjoyable and fast-paced book. It's also my favorite size for a book: 150 pages, as opposed to today's bloated, unedited, monsters.
April 17, 2019
The short-lived TV series Search had a rotating trio of "Probe" agents, portrayed by High O'Brian, Tony Fransciosa, and Doug MacLure. It was a staple of my high school days (early 70s), and this book provided an immensely dated flashback to those good old days when micro-circuitry, neural audio implants, and a dimly-lit roomful of computer banks were cool. The go-to performer for the series was the central controller, V. C. R. Cameron, portrayed by the redoubtable Burgess Meredith. This book is an adaptation of one of those old episodes, and it performed adequately but with serious flaws.
Apart from needing a much better editor and a more commanding narrative voice, the book also suffers from the irritating habit found in many adaptations of screenplays -- an irresponsible shifting of viewpoint without warning or benefit to the narrative. There is also an unfortunate need to pad the narrative, and Mr.Weverka does it poorly; not only would the television standards of the day prohibit a character getting away with shouting "Goddammit!", the character of V. C. R. Cameron would not stoop so low. As he is forever reminding Lockwood (O'Brian), "We are taping your every move for the record" (in the pilot film). Breaking character is always jarring, even if the book were to be taken as a stand-alone novel. Weverka failed to make the characters and series tropes richer by borrowing from the other episodes and the series "bible" (background information).
This book suffers from adequacy; it's a slap-dash job that could have been far more rich, but it is instead simply a poor retelling of a TV series episode. Since both the pilot film and the complete series are now available on DVD, I would recommend getting them and letting the nostalgia be served by the original presenters.
Apart from needing a much better editor and a more commanding narrative voice, the book also suffers from the irritating habit found in many adaptations of screenplays -- an irresponsible shifting of viewpoint without warning or benefit to the narrative. There is also an unfortunate need to pad the narrative, and Mr.Weverka does it poorly; not only would the television standards of the day prohibit a character getting away with shouting "Goddammit!", the character of V. C. R. Cameron would not stoop so low. As he is forever reminding Lockwood (O'Brian), "We are taping your every move for the record" (in the pilot film). Breaking character is always jarring, even if the book were to be taken as a stand-alone novel. Weverka failed to make the characters and series tropes richer by borrowing from the other episodes and the series "bible" (background information).
This book suffers from adequacy; it's a slap-dash job that could have been far more rich, but it is instead simply a poor retelling of a TV series episode. Since both the pilot film and the complete series are now available on DVD, I would recommend getting them and letting the nostalgia be served by the original presenters.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews