Substitution Method

Eureka #1

by Cris Ramsay

View our feature on Chris Ramsay's Substitution Method Welcome to Eureka. BRILLIANT It's a town of geniuses—and now it's the smartest series going. Founded by Albert Einstein and Harry Truman after WWII, Eureka is home to the greatest minds in science and technology. But the creations of these eccentric geniuses threaten to destroy the world as often as they save it. Jack Carter is the everyman sheriff who must use his common sense and unique street smarts to keep a lid on this Pandora's Box of a town. Especially now, when Eureka's people, cars, and buildings are being swapped with people, cars and buildings from other places. View the SyFy TV trailer

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Mystery, Media Tie In, Tv, Fantasy, Paranormal

Paperback

First published July 29, 2010

About the author

Cris Ramsay is the house name for Aaron S. Rosenberg, an American novelist and game designer.

Originally from New Jersey and New York, Mr. Rosenberg returned to New York City in 1996 after stints in New Orleans and Kansas. He has taught college-level English and worked in corporate graphics and book publishing. Mr. Rosenberg lives in New York City with his family.

Reviews

[Emily G · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars out of 5, as I did really like the story and felt that it would have made a good episode (which is kinda the point of tv tie-in books, after all!) but there were a couple of niggles that meant I couldn't give it 4 stars.

A brief summary of the story is that some tech at GD has gone out of control swapping people, houses, cars and other things from Eureka with like items from around the United States. With the town being highly classified, you can imagine the chaos that ensues. Just another day in Eureka ;-)!

So onto my niggles. The first was that it didn't say at the beginning where in the Eureka tv seasons the story sat. With a series that has changed so much like Eureka, I like to know where in the story I am so I have an idea of how characters are going to react to each other. For info, I would say that the book is placed between seasons 3 and 4.

The second was that in order to allow people who have not seen the tv series to be able to read the book, past events, when referred to, are explained. I've not got the best memory, I will freely admit, so at first I thought it was a good thing, but by the end, I was finding it a bit irritating.

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining but I also thought it was sort of average. Nice writing, the plot is kind of predictable. I barely remembered anything from the series but the basics and followed well enough (maybe if I actually remembered more I would have enjoyed it better?)

[Josepha Hauser · Rating 4 out of 5]

After watching the whole series again, I knew I needed more stories from Eureka! And this book was perfect for that. The characters read like they appear in the series and the story fits in perfectly. I was able to immerse myself again and forget that there won't be any more episodes.
A must for anyone who can't get enough of Eureka!

[Bry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eureka is such an awesome show - but I am not sure how well its adapts to book form. This read exactly like a typical episode (i.e. quick build up, focus on action, not a lot of character development)and since I am very familiar with the show that didn't bother me. Others though would probably be horribly bothered by the lack of characterization - then again why would they be reading a tv tie in if they didn't watch the show. Catch 22 anyone?

Either way I did enjoy the book - although it took me longer to read than expected because it just didn't capture my attention like I thought it would. Fargo and Zoe played huge roles in this book which I adored. Fargo annoys me so badly in the show but this book made me appreciate his character much more. Some of the mainstay characters though like Jo/Allison/Zane were underutilized. True they played to their strengths and stuck close to characer but Zoe and Fargo were fleshed out so much more and allowed to be more than the annoying brat teenager and super annoying bumbling idiot. The plot was just as involved as the show with ever increasing risks and an imminent threat to life. But through it all Jack Carter et all save the day!

My main issue was determining when the hell this was all taking place. When I read the Supernatural book it literally had a page at the very beginning stating that this adventure took place between this episode and that episode. It took me 1/2 the book to determine this book took place somewhere between Seasons 3 and 3.5. Zoe is off to college but still with her hish school boy friend and has long hair, Taggert is back on the scene but still with Zane (thus they haven't gone to the past yet), Allison has had baby Jenna but is not together with Carter, etc. Why couldn't they have just said so though instead of making the reader be all confused?

All in all if you are a fan of the show though I do recommend it as another source of Eureka goodness.

[Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I want to change my scoring by 0.50 or more of a star. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)

I'm finally going through my tv, film etc. tie in library owned book list, to add more older basic reviews. If I liked a book enough to keep then they are at the least a 3 star.

I'm only adding one book per author and I'm not going to re-read every book to be more accurate, not when I have 1000s of new to me authors to try (I can't say no to free books....)

First time read the author's work?: Yes

Will you be reading more?: Yes

Would you recommend?: Yes


------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)

All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked

Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book the same way I might enjoy having ice cream for dinner. Which is delightful by the way. But ice cream for dinner is not nutritiously helpful if done constantly. Reading books such as Eureka: Substitution Method is not necessarily nutritious reading either but it is fun. I especially appreciated the numerous references to several different occurrences in the actual TeeVee series. (And I was a BIG fan of the TeeVee show Eureka. Well, I was until they did what usually happens to series that run a long time: they added a pregnancy. Allison Blake's pregnancy. Such a tired plot device.)
So three stars for being a fast easy fun read. And I probably will read more of these.

[Chris Haynes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book

I thought this book was very good. The writing was good, the situation was interesting and handled very well and most of all, I felt the characters were very true to the TV show.

If I had one quibble, it would be that the book was too long. In some places it felt like the book was repetitive and padded to make the book longer. I think the book would be much better if it was 50 or so pages shorter.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to all fans of the show.

[Jennifer Gallagher · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oof… that was painful! This was a DNF for me. Loved the show - even the last series when things got weird and they wrapped everything up like a five year old wrapping Christmas presents… this was just terrible. And there were THREE books written? Bless y’all who finished one - sainthood to those who read all three. Yikes. No thanks.

[Clerk · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly engrossing tale with familiar people.
Having binge-watched the series a few times, it's nice to have a new tale for a series I obviously like.

[Graisi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fun quick read in this series based on the tv show.

[Melanie A. Baca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eureka!!

Full of odd happenings, strange characters, and a crazy mix of mystery and excitement - all the normal stuff for Eureka!!

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing is so childish that it takes twice the words to tell the story. It should have been cute and fun, and it almost was, but the writing is just dreadful.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eureka: Subsitution Method was a great fun find at Barnes and Noble. I should have known that there would be some Eureka books around since all my favorite Sci-fi shows tend to have some book tie-ins. It was a joy to read since it was like having an episode of Eureka in book form.

I found this book almost on accident. I was intending to buy a Star Trek book on that trip to Barnes and Noble. But other then a book I’ve already purchase, there wasn’t really a Star Trek book calling to me. As I as giving up and stood up to leave the section, I saw Colin Ferguson’s face and smiled instantly. Being a huge Eureka fan, I knew that I should give the book a shot. Traditionally TV tie-in books can go one of two ways: it’s wonderful or awful but my gut was telling me that this book was going to be one of the wonderful ones.

As soon as I read the first chapter, I was in love. It had everything I loved about Eureka the TV show. It’s got science to it but extrapolated out to a foreseeable degree and great humor. There were times I was just laughing and smiling. I loved so much of the dialog. One of my favorite exchanges between Carter and Henry follows:
“No, but I’ll bet my fire engine still is.”
“Your what?” Carter shook his head. “You were going to take that thing?”
“Sure, why not? It’s an official Eureka vehicle.”
“Henry, it’s a fire engine!”
“Is that a problem?”
“Yes, it’s a problem.” Carter ticked off reasons on one hand, keeping the other on the wheel. “First off, it looks ridiculous. Second, its top speed is what, forty? Third, where would you put people if you had to drive them back? On the ladder? Fourth it looks ridiculous.”
“You said that already.”
“Well, it’s worth repeating! Seriously, you can’t take that. Not if you want anyone to listen to you at all.”
“All right, fine.” Henry harrumphed and crossed his arms. “Swing back by my place, then. I’ll take my car.”
“Do you even have a car?”
“Of course I have a car!” Henry looked slightly insulted. “I just don’t drive it much. I like the fire engine better.”
“What are you, five?”
“Easy for you to say,” his friend pointed out. “You drive a police car.”
Carter started to reply to that, stopped, started again, and stopped again. “Jeep,” he corrected finally, though it was almost under his breath. “It’s a police Jeep. And I almost never get to run the lights.”
“Whatever you say Jack.”
I love this dialogue since it would happen on the show. You get to see both the wit, the teasing nature and how they are just friends. Plus it made me giggle thinking of little kids and their love of the emergency vehicles and how that love doesn’t always leave just because you grew up.
But the best thing about the book, the characters spoke to me as being real. In my head, I had every bit of dialogue and characterizations really hit the mark. They were accurate. The only weak spot was in the first introduction of Zane but that was quickly sorted and he too was perfectly written. There wasn’t really a point where something spoke to me as wrong and taking me out of the story.
This book has made me want to watch the entire third season of Eureka (well more the whole series all over from the start). I love how Cris Ramsay incorporated a lot of characters from the various episodes, not just the big characters, and hinted to which episode it was. I was a little thrown off on the timing of things since this happens before the fourth season and the alternate timeline that is the new official timeline thing. It was like when I read a Star Trek book that took place before Destiny after reading all of those. Not bad thing but you have to remember where you were in the timeline.
I simply enjoyed this book. It was great fun. It was exactly like a Eureka episode which is what you want from a tie-in. Something that fits perfectly and uses the characters without cheapening anything.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Media tie-ins are a tricky business. They aren’t meant to be great literature–they aren’t even really intended to appeal to a wide audience. They cater to the tiny segment of the populace who watched the original source and wants more. If the book is just a rehash of a popular film, there’s usually little point to giving it the time required to read it. On the other hand, there are times that the book transcends the source material and adds something new. Getting inside Anakin’s head in the Revenge Of The Sith novelization? That story almost made sense after that. Almost. With regards to TV series, a tie-in can offer a chance to do something that the time or effects budget of the show wouldn’t normally allow. In such a case, the highest praise you can offer is that it felt like another episode of the series. That was my experience reading Substitution Method. Though that cover image has nothing to do with anything….

Okay, let me get this out of the way: if you haven’t watched Eureka before, you really should. It’s a great sci-fi comedy series. The basic premise is that Einstein and a bunch of his fellow world-changing scientists founded a town after WWII where they would all be in one place to share ideas, resources, and security measures. The result is a town full of super-geniuses who have a habit of letting their projects get out of hand. Jack Carter is the everyman sheriff of this town, and it certainly keeps him on his toes. If he isn’t trying to shut down some girl’s escaped mini-sun science project before it goes supernova and vaporizes the entire hemisphere, it probably means he’s busy trying to undo the consequences of that latest button Fargo couldn’t resist pushing. For obvious reasons, you need a truly frightening security clearance just to know Eureka exists. Which is why it’s especially troubling when people and buildings in Eureka suddenly start being swapped with people and buildings out in the wider Pacific Northwest….

Like I said, this very well captured the feel of the show. All of your favorite characters show up, even a bunch of the background characters we only met for that one episode when their project threatened the existence of life on the planet. The central gimmick of the novel was something suitably beyond the scope of the show’s effects budget without feeling forced or out of place in this universe, and the mini-subplot of Carter questioning his place in Eureka now that Zoe’s in college was something that you’d never get from a show that eschews inner-thought voice-overs. Oh! And in case you care, this is set between seasons three and four.

CONTENT: Pretty consistent with the show, which maintained a PG equivalent throughout its run. Some mild language. The threat of violence or bodily harm, what a kids’ movie might describe as “mild peril” in its rating description. Mild sexual innuendo, but nothing anywhere nearing explicit.

[David Caldwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a big fan of Eureka. I had missed the books though. It seems they came out during the third season and that there were a total of three books. This is the first book.

One of the local scientists has a major breakthrough in the field of teleportation. He can teleport plants, people , even full buildings over hundreds of miles. To make sure something isn't teleported into something that is already there, his invention actually swaps like items. So a person gets switched for another person while an office building will get switched for another office building. But since this is Eureka, there will be problems. The machine starts switching items at a faster rate and doesn't seem like it will quit anytime soon. On top of that, it keeps drawing more and more power from its unique power source. If it isn't stopped all of Eureka's secrets will be exposed. Even worse if it isn't stopped it could end up blowing up and destroying most of what has been swapped already.

I have missed Eureka since it was cancelled, so this was a nice chance to revisit. It is an original story that features all of the show's favorites. Like I said earlier, it is set sometime in the third season so it took me a little while to remember that time on the show (since so much changed in seasons four and five).

The only thing that I would have liked to have seen differently was that it could have been used to tell more about some of the background characters from the town.

[Rusty · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my absolute favorite show on TV right now. I don't watch too much TV so that might not be saying much, but I recently watched the entire series on via DVD or itunes over the course of a couple of weeks and found myself quite sad when there was nothing left to watch.

Imagine my glee when I was at the bookstore and I saw the novel tie-in to the show. I've heard stories that authors often "mail it in" when they write the these tie-ins... I won't go so far as to say that was the case with this book - but there was very little here to convince me that this story was developed much beyond an outline.

There wasn't much here to redeem this in my mind. I was too frustrated to even really figure why it didn't work, aside from the story really feeling like an episode of the show. Of course, where a lingering look or touch of the hand can convey a lot of information on the screen that may not appear in a script, there is nothing in this novel that serves as the literary equivalent. It's just a connect the dots approach to the book.

In fact, after thinking about it, I guess I was pretty close to giving this one star. But I figure if I'm going to drag this book through the mud that much I should probably present a better argument for it. So this gets an extra star for my laziness.

[MissM · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the show and am sad it was cancelled, so when I saw this on the shelf at the library, I thought, "Oh what the heck" and checked it out.

The book itself was ok. Not great. First, it was hard to figure out when and where in the show's timeline things took place. Especially with the various timelines and reboots within the show, it was kinda weird to go back to a time when Allison was still GD head, Fargo was an annoying nobody, General Mansfield (forgot about him) was still a problem and yet after Beverley was a traitor, Zoe went off to college, etc. So that was awkward.

Also, it was just...ok. Some moments felt very "on" with the characters and I could almost "hear" them saying those lines. Other times, much less so.

Over all it was a mostly cute, mindless little story, much like an over padded, slightly too much filler random episode.

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a pretty big fan of the series, love the characters and of course the crazy town of Eureka. The problem with this book, is that it seems to be essentially a script for an episode put down into a book. And what I mean by that is that there is no Character development, no new twists that add something to the existing drama of Eureka, just a plan old episode that falls somewhere between season 3 and 4...kinda. I'd say that if your a fan of the series and have 3 hours to burn then go for it... your time wont be wasted to bad because your already a Eureka fan and you like this material anyways.... if your not a Eureka fan, I'd watch the series first and then pick up the book otherwise you wont ever take a chance on the show which is far superior!

[Tiffany Klier · Rating 2 out of 5]

This volume follows the show from season three. All the new information as of this past season changes the perspective of this fan fic in a few ways, but not significantly. The book does read like a long, detailed episode with the characters not gaining much more depth than already studied through the character profiles.
The plot is easy to follow and the adventure is interesting enough to keep a nerd like me involved. But, it wasn't one of those books you read until the wee hours. It was easy to put down and come back to later. I recommend this book and it's sequel for Eureka fans that will need a fix during the off season.

[Kerrikoala · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I thought the author had a good understanding of the characters and wrote them well. The book felt a little too long, and I didn't care for the one-sided phone conversations with ellipses instead of the other person's side. I also thought it was weird that Zoe was home visiting from college, but still occasionally talked about the high school as if she still went there. (Plus there was at least one line about her having to go to school or similar). I didn't find it nearly enjoyable as watching the show, but it would have served as a nice filler for when the show was done for the season. Or, I guess, to help stave off withdrawal once the final episode airs. *sniffle*

[Neily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the Eureka series on syfy and wished they would have made more seasons; so finding this book was a little piece of heaven. If you enjoyed the series, you'll enjoy the book. It's a rainy day read. It wasn't as heart pounding as watching the actual show, but I couldn't put it down. It was entertaining, funny, and you get caught up in the affairs of the town as if you're an outsider looking in. The characters were the same and the plot was well carved out. Although I was wishing the ending was a little less predictable and more "on the edge of my seat" the last line of the book made the read well worth it. I'm looking forward to reading the other two books in the series.

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eureka has a bit of a problem. Bits of it seem to be vanishing and ending up somewhere else only to replaced by objects that were at those locations. Trade a school for another school. A house for a completely different house.

Now that's a problem, of course, but Eureka actually now has two problems. First, how do you stop the transfers from taking place and getting the right buildings back to the right location. Second, while you're trying to figure out just how to acccomplish that, how do you stop the news of this getting out? It all makes for a rather interesting book. Actually, I think all three novels would have made good television episodes.

[Jim C · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little book based on the tv show. Once again a crisis has befallen the town of Eureka and it is up to the characters to save the day. You can tell that the author was a fan of the show and he captured the essence of the characters. I think he mentioned everyone that ever visited this town. The only problem I had with this book is there were too many examples of the crisis and therefore some scenes were not needed. If he wrote a secondary plot, this book would have been one of the best written books based on a tv show. If you were a fan of the show, I strongly recommend it.

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty good though it was not what I was expecting. I thought this was more like a book that a TV showed was based on, not a book based on a TV show. So, there was not a lot of introducing of characters as the author seemed to be writing for fans of the show. I have never seen the show so I sort of felt like I was missing something. Still, not a bad read. It was easy on my brain at least.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exactly what you expect from a tie-in novel - the feel and flow of the show are captured very well, to the point that this could have been a treatment or script that was rejected for cost. The only problem comes with the presentation, far to much monologuing goes on with the characters discussing their motivations'!' and their thought processes'?' with far to many punctuation marks for my taste.

[John Love IV · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book. It was just like the show only longer. Of course, I thought that some of the incidents that they were dealing with seemed like filler. The characters seem to be portrayed pretty much like they were on the show. Everything seemed to operate like the show as well. Wasn't sure all the time frame stuff was correct but I don't have the show memorized.

Basically, I liked the show and I like the book. It's a light read but fun. Give it a shot.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoy this TV show, because I really like scifi shows. I liked the story in the book, it sounded like a plot that could have come straight from the show. I just wish the book took place after the show was cancelled because it was a little difficult placing the time of the book in relation to the show. Overall I enjoyed this book and the characters were all as I pictured them and I love them as much in print as on the screen.

[Elisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read just like an extended Eureka episode... which made it kind of fun.. however, it was at a time prior to where the show is now... which was ok, but not the best... They have kept the show funny and fresh and this book didn't quite capture that. But from a science perspective, it was pretty fun, although I think that there were too many switches.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

So I am the biggest fan of this show so i thought I would give the books a try. The book was good but it took me 3 months to read. I kept going back and forth between other books. Now, I will say this,it would have made the BEST episode! The idea was fantastic but I had a hard time getting into it. I have the next book but I am not to sure when I will give it a try.

[Danie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was pretty good. Not great, and some of the characters were slightly off (like Zane and Allison didn't seem quite right, though they didn't seem horribly wrong either), but then again, The Sheriff was done really well and I could see Colin Ferguson speaking the lines from the book. (Zoe was pretty well done too).

Can't wait until I get Brain Box Blues.