The Dark Knight
by Dennis O'Neil
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Book Summary Information
Author: Dennis O'NeilEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-07-18
ISBN: 0425222861
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Berkley
Book Reviews of The Dark Knight
Book Review: A comic book without pictures
Summary: 1 Stars
The first few pages recap what happened in Batman Begins. However, the novel takes a while before it starts with the events of the Dark Knight. The novel contains only two new scenes; one detailing how Scarecrow escaped and what he was doing in the meantime leading up to his appearance in The Dark Knight. The second scene is a little more interesting; it's about Bruce looking up info on Harvey Dent and this gives us some background on Dent. However, most of the characters in the novel are just names attached to big blocks of dialogue.
The characters have "dialogue vomit", i.e. they just spit out large blocks of dialogue at a time, without pausing, making a gesture or revealing their inner thoughts. When Dent is in the alley with Schiff, Harvey argues with Batman and says "you can't give in" but again it's simply dialogue with no emotion and no exclamation marks! Also it seems to me that there were extra big spaces in between paragraphs as if they were trying to make the book longer (it's 292 pages). Once you start reading this novel you get the idea that Dennis O' Neil was not allowed to see the film, didn't care or was too busy. I strongly suspect the first reason since he mentions this fact in the introduction. Also writing a novel based on a film is a difficult task since the writer is working from a script that changes during filming.
For example, during the mob meeting some of the lines are spoken by different characters. The final battle with the Joker is different. In the novel Batman simply ties him up while Joker just says his speech which was superbly delivered on screen. Because O'Neil was working from just a script he misses a lot of the memorable lines and gestures from the movie. The party crashing scene is an example of this. There is no sense of terror as the Joker threatens the guests. (One interesting point in the novel is that the Joker's "laugh" is a mixture of laughing and crying). However one feels nothing because there is context or realism throughout the novel.
However when Dennis O' Neil does write something it seems more like something that belongs in a comic book. For example, during the Dent fundraiser the Joker "tip toes" over to Rachel Dawes. In the novel the Joker tends to lean towards the cartoon Joker, and not the terrifying realistic Joker of the movie.
This book seems more like a transcript rather than a novel. The novel was completed on or before February 2008, while the film wasn't released until July 2008. I can't believe that in the age of the computer O'Neil couldn't delete, insert or rewrite some new lines. Perhaps he was too busy or maybe he couldn't see the finished movie but this is a poor novelization without any enthusiasm or style. The characters simply deliver their lines and that's it. There is no new insight into the characters or the story. Christopher Nolan has managed to bring Batman and his universe into the real world while Dennis O'Neil manages to bring it back into the comic book world. Save your money and just enjoy the movie instead.
Summary of The Dark Knight
Based on the blockbuster Warner Bros. Pictures film starring Christian Bale and Heath Ledger.Allied with both the police department and the district attorney?s office, the vigilante known as Batman continues to bring justice and hope to Gotham City.
But one man dares to mock Batman?s mission. A man with a twisted sense of humor. A man whose grotesque smile is reflected on the calling card he leaves at the scene of his crimes: The Joker.
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