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Post by robela on Feb 19, 2011 23:08:54 GMT
 Finished reading Vendetta last night. Thoroughly enjoyed it and like Zenina found it hard to put down. Although Dibdin's Zen is older that Rufus, Rufus has captured the heart and sole of Zen and I could picture Rufus all the way through the book. I did think that the screenwriters for the tv series made Vendetta even more exciting and thrilling than Dibdin's writing. By this I am in no way detracting from the brilliance of Michael Dibdin as a writer. I am really looking forward to seeing the other Zen books made into TV. 
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Post by vmaciv on Feb 20, 2011 4:49:14 GMT
Amen to that. I am waiting patiently for PBS to present them
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Post by robela on Mar 7, 2011 13:21:01 GMT
I have today finished reading Cabal.
It took me a little longer to get into this one than the other two but like the other two was very well written and hard to put down.
The story was very different to the t.v. episode and I think in this instance the book was definitely better than the t.v. version.
I think probably they cannot adapt them like the books because of the complications of filming and locations etc. A lot of Cabal was set in Milan in the book.
The on/off romance of Aurelio and Tania continues in this book. They are both like starcrossed lovers, jealous of each other seeing other people and getting things misunderstood. At the end of the book they are together again and I am so looking forward (hopefully) to more stories being made into t.v.
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Post by kissmekate on Mar 7, 2011 15:19:52 GMT
I've finished Vendetta this weekend and was absolutely riveted by the story. It starts rather slowly but with the wonderful sentence about Aurelio "lounging on the sofa like a listless god" which brought Rufus to my mind's eye immediately  and develops into a quiet but well-paced and highly suspenseful mystery, intertwined with Aurelio's ironical view of the world, some wry humour and the stony path of his and Tania's relationship. The showdown was as breathtaking as it was in the film, although it didn't take place in the cave but outside in the hills and woods. Both the films and the books aren't blow-all-up-in-your-face action but rather brainy entertainment with a nice kind of humour and a penchant for excellent little ironic twists. |
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Post by rueful on Mar 8, 2011 15:10:02 GMT
I'm glad everyone is enjoying the books. I devoured them all quickly (too quickly) last spring. I thought they were fantastically written, and each one was so different from the other. You're right, the television plots were quite a bit different (but still very well done), but what the films and the books share are the wonderful character of Zen--a fully realized, three-dimensional, interesting human being!
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Post by kissmekate on Mar 8, 2011 15:31:26 GMT
I'm saving "Cabal" up a bit so that the fun won't be over too quickly Initially I wanted to wait and see if there will be more Rufusified copies coming up, but I guess I can't really go without more Zen books that long. It has been a very long time since a series of crime novels impressed me so much that I really felt the urge to buy all of them. Usually murder mysteries are the kind of stuff I borrow from the library because I won't read them twice anyway. However, the Zen books are not only exciting reading with regard to the cases to be solved, but I love the style of Dibdin's prose, the insightful portrait of Zen's character and the ironic humour. And despite some plot changes, I still maintain that the films capture the tone and feel of the books very, very well. Thanks to Rufus for picking up this role, otherwise I would not just have missed some great films but also a wonderful series of books  |
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Post by rueful on Mar 8, 2011 16:04:49 GMT
I'm saving "Cabal" up a bit so that the fun won't be over too quickly You're obviously both smarter and more patient than I. ;D However, the Zen books are not only exciting reading with regard to the cases to be solved, but I love the style of Dibdin's prose, the insightful portrait of Zen's character and the ironic humour. When I've dug myself out of my work heap, I plan to read them all again. This time, imagining Rufus in his fabulous suits. And despite some plot changes, I still maintain that the films capture the tone and feel of the books very, very well. You're right, they captured the books very well! I tend to be a stickler about adaptations. For example, although I loved the acting and enjoyed the series, I did not like the meaningless and needless plot changes to TPOTE, and that was even though I read that book after I saw the series. But frankly, the original plots of the Zen books are so complex, I couldn't always remember the details, so I didn't always know what was changed. And more importantly, the changes I did notice seemed to be in the service of the story, and not just a way to add a titillating detail (well, with the exception of the dress-changing Arianna, but I guess we have to let the boys have something. ) |
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Post by zenina on Mar 8, 2011 16:15:10 GMT
I'm also at Cabal now - wanted to save it first as well until I knew if there would be more Zen and new covers, but like KMK I think I will have to buy the rest of the series as well.
I'm usually not much into murder mystery books but it's really Michael Dibdin's style that makes the books so special. Well and of course the fact that I can't help seeing Rufus as Zen even though he is older in the books, but otherwise the description Dibdin gives of him is not so far off the mark.
I agree that the plots and sideplots are sometimes a bit confusing, but that doesn't distract from enjoying the books.
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Post by joyceinva on Mar 8, 2011 19:44:25 GMT
[You're right, they captured the books very well! I tend to be a stickler about adaptations. For example, although I loved the acting and enjoyed the series, I did not like the meaningless and needless plot changes to TPOTE, and that was even though I read that book after I saw the series. But frankly, the original plots of the Zen books are so complex, I couldn't always remember the details, so I didn't always know what was changed. And more importantly, the changes I did notice seemed to be in the service of the story, and not just a way to add a titillating detail (well, with the exception of the dress-changing Arianna, but I guess we have to let the boys have something. ) I'm like Rueful, if I've read and loved the book I generally hate the movie. And I had read and loved the books. But I thought the adaptations were well done. They kept the bones of the story so to speak. As Rue notes, the plots of the originals are so complex there was no way to do a totally faithful adaptation. But if you read the books after seeing Zen, you will see that the basic outline is all there. The biggest change was in setting all of the stories in Rome - Andy Harries said in an interview that they had to do that for financial reasons, couldn't afford all those location shoots! Frankly the Zen series reminded me of what they did with Sherlock. The stories are different, but they're the same, if you know what I mean. |
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Post by kissmekate on Mar 9, 2011 13:25:47 GMT
Joyce and Rue, I normally feel the same about book adaptations, usually finding loads of things to complain about - but not with Zen. The changes were well done and necessary to make the stories understandable to those viewers who haven't read the books.
(I was quite happy with TPOTE for the first three/six episodes, but I hated the unnecessary gory details in the last one/two).
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Post by robela on Mar 13, 2011 10:57:23 GMT
Having finished the three books which were adapted for the t.v. series I have now bought three more of the Michael Dibdin - Inspector Zen Mystery books. (Three for two in Waterstones) I am disappointed that they do not have Rufus as Aurelio on the covers!!!  I have started the next book written (I am trying to read in the order of writing) Dead Lagoon. It is really good from the start. It is a really intriguing story so far.It is good to read not knowing what is going to happen already from the series. Do hope against hope that more of the books are adapted for t.v. starring our wonderful Rufus . It is really criminal what the BBC have done! |
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Post by walt on Mar 13, 2011 11:02:37 GMT
On Mar 13, 2011 at 11:57 Robela wrote:
There's nothing more to add....except, enjoy the other books!
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Post by kissmekate on Mar 25, 2011 15:32:10 GMT
Just came across this little book review, with a positive  to Rufus as Aurelio. Nothing spectacular but I thought I'd share it anyway Finished reading "Cabal" recently, by the way, which I enjoyed just as much as the other two. Now I'm facing a bit of a Zen draught because of my traditional book-buying stop during Lent (somehow I have to rein in my book-buy mania at least for a certain time). Should have been clever enough to buy the remaining eight Zens before  |
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Post by zenina on Mar 25, 2011 15:44:16 GMT
Thank you KMK - I think I've stumbled upon this too. I have also finished the first 3 books - I think I like Vendetta best from these 3 books. Spent two hours sitting in the garden in glorious sunshine and about 18°C and started reading Dead Lagoon. Like robela said, this is really gripping right from the beginning and I love the descriptions and pictures Dibdin paints of Venice. It's very visual and you really feel with Aurelio that this is his city. Love it so far.  |
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Post by kissmekate on Apr 25, 2011 16:51:09 GMT
I finished Dead Lagoon this afternoon and I agree, it's another very fine novel, beautifully capturing the somewhat morbid atmosphere of Venice, taking Zen not just on a (contrived) secondment from Rome to help solve a case but also on a (mostly disillusioning) trip into his own past. At the beginning it's a bit hard to keep all the threads of the plot in mind, but having read the first three books I shouldn't have worried about that. Dibdin ties everything up neatly in the end without making it look too glib and easy. I so wish they would go on with the series. This would make a wonderful film! Poor Aurelio gets bullied around quite badly this time, both physically and verbally, but still there's a self-deprecating humour shining through that reminds me of someone Some scenes seemed to be written with Rufus in mind, the descriptions fit him so well. (Not hard to imagine him hurling the burned coffeemaker into the canal!  ) Now I have to get the other books rather urgently. I was planning to read them at a rate of one a month to savour the pleasure of the first-time read as long as possible, but I guess I won't be able to keep that up ... |
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Finished reading Vendetta last night. Thoroughly enjoyed it and like Zenina found it hard to put down. Although Dibdin's Zen is older that Rufus, Rufus has captured the heart and sole of Zen and I could picture Rufus all the way through the book. I did think that the screenwriters for the tv series made Vendetta even more exciting and thrilling than Dibdin's writing. By this I am in no way detracting from the brilliance of Michael Dibdin as a writer. I am really looking forward to seeing the other Zen books made into TV. 
and develops into a quiet but well-paced and highly suspenseful mystery, intertwined with Aurelio's ironical view of the world, some wry humour and the stony path of his and Tania's relationship. The showdown was as breathtaking as it was in the film, although it didn't take place in the cave but outside in the hills and woods.
