The Prisoner: The Prisoner's Dilemma
by Jonathan Blum and Rupert Booth
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jonathan Blum and Rupert BoothEdition: Paperback
Published: 2005-03-31
ISBN: 0967728053
Number of pages: 327
Publisher: Powys Media
Book Reviews of The Prisoner: The Prisoner's Dilemma
Book Review: The Prisoner's Dilemma - The Unmutual Website's Verdict
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Prisoner's Dilemma" excels where other Prisoner novels didn't. It isn't afraid to keep the action moving. Barely a page goes by without a change of pace or a new scene to take in. But a book needs to have its action bound together, and this is perhaps the book's greatest plus point. There is not one central theme, but several - all relevant to the The Prisoner, but previously largely unexplored within the series.
The main themes - the cult of Celebrity, Mass-media, information technology, "Big Brother" Society, and terrorism, are all dealt with extremely well and whilst we might think of these as modern themes, and perhaps easy for the writers to explore, it's not so easy in practice to inject these into the Village setting, but somehow Blum and Booth manage to do just that.
When reading about a character called Number Six, one can't help but picture McGoohan uttering the lines, or performing the actions, and whilst this is the fault of this reviewer, the authors have to accept that in setting the book during the TV series, with McGoohan's Prisoner the lead character, most people reading the book will be doing the same. And this is perhaps the book's one failing, despite at times a damn good effort by the writers.
After a while I mentally changed from thinking of Number Six as McGoohan but as a "generic" Prisoner. This makes the book a more enjoyable read, in my opinion, but does this mean the authors have ultimately failed? Possibly, but not as far as I am concerned. "The Prisoner's Dilemma" isn't an additional episode fitting perfectly into "The Prisoner", but it doesn't have to be. It isn't an indispensible aspect of the "Prisoner" opus alongside such greats as "Free For All" or "Checkmate", but it was never meant to be. It isn't a perfect example of McGoohanesque dialogue. That would be impossible.
What it is is a very good read. The themes explored are brave, without being reckless. The writing includes humour, without lampooning the series. The approach is daring, without being arrogant. It references the series, without ripping it off. It's fast-paced, without getting sidetracked. And, perhaps most importantly, it dares to be different without being ridiculous.
Rick Davy (The Unmutual Website)
Summary of The Prisoner: The Prisoner's Dilemma
THE PRISONER'S DILEMMA is the first in Powys Media's new line of novels based on the classic television series, THE PRISONER. Things are changing in the Village--the charming holiday camp for the disappeared, the civilized prison for those who know too much. The authorities have found new ways of exploiting community spirit... using a lost pioneer of computer science to put their stamp on the coming Information Age. But then there's Number 18. She's a murderer... for the best of reasons. She's a bit of a collaborator, for reasons of her own. She's fiercely protective of herself. And she may be Number 6's best chance of out-thinking the authorities' newest attempt at control. But it all depends on what the Village's masters are really aiming for. Do they expect him to trust her... or destroy her? THE PRISONER'S DILEMMA features a foreword by J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI, the multiple Hugo-Award-winning creator of BABYLON 5.Subjects Books
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