Bad Twin

Lost - Season Two Forum

Bad Twin was the name of the manuscript that Sawyer was reading and Jack brutishly burned. After that episode aired, Bad Twin was released to book stores. Pipofamom came home with a copy today. I haven't started it yet--I'm not even half way through the book I'm reading now--but I plan to read it. Has anyone else checked out this book?

http://www.thetailsection.com/uploaded_images/badtwin234-769876.jpg

The back cover says It is with a mix of pride and sorrow that Hyperion presents 'Bad Twin,' the last novel by a wonderful author who was taken from us in the very prime of his writing life. As many readers are already aware, Gary Troup has been missing since September 2004, when the jetliner that was carrying him from Sydney to Los Angeles crashed somewhere over the South Pacific. While nothing is more human that to hope for miracles, reason tells us that the author and his fellow travelers cannot have survived this disaster.

In addition to his many novels of mystery and crime, Gary Troup authored several non-fiction books, including 'The Valenzetti Equation.' His disappearance is mourned by all who knew him and enjoyed his work.

Good thing it's summer vacation. I'll have plenty of time to look up The Valenzetti Equation and read this book

I have heard rumors that Steven King wrote this book. No idea if there's any weight behind that.

Tell us how it goes. I'v read enough King, look out for Kingism's.

Like that someone smiles with their mouth, but not their eyes. King says that a lot.


Also, he likes to say that bones popping when people stand up are like pistol cracks.


Hmmm...what else? King likes to go into weird third person narratives in dream sequences. Like someone in the book will have a dream, and as it's explained, the font goes into italics and the narrative changes to a forced present tense.


ex:


David walks into the room, and on the table is a beer. He takes the beers and drinks it, the coldness of it surprising his throat. David drinks more of the beer, as he turns the t.v. channels, yada yada yada.

Don't know if that makes sense, but if you see any of that stuff, maybe King did write it.

http://www.valenzettifoundation.org/

Alright, the dedication is for Cindy the stewardess on the flight. Also the main character was snooping around the big Widmore building and went to floor 42 by mistake. There were a bunch of people walking around in lab coats. So Dharma is on the 42nd floor of the Widmore building, eh?

Forget Doctor Zhivago, this book sounds like it moves MUCH faster.

I went to that website and clicked on the link for the interview with Gary Troup. It took me to Amazon.com, but I read the stuff about Bad Twin there and scrolled down and there was The Valenzetti Equation all underlined and blue. When I clicked on it, I got the interview. I have plenty of free time on my hands, so I'll listen a few more times and write out what is said

Gary: And allegedly--now I emphasize allegedly--Alvar Hanso bought up all the available copies and he bought the rights to reprint.

Interviewer: Why would he do that?

Gary: Good question.

Interviewer: You're book was critical of him?

Gary: No, but as I was doing my research I discovered that Alvar Hanso is the only guy in the world who has an actual copy of the Valenzetti Equation. Now, despite repeated requests, I was categorically denied access to it. In fact, no one outside the Hanso Foundation has access to it.

Interviewer: And what about inside the Hanso Foundation?

Gary: Alright, from what I've been able to learn, even within the Ha-----

This is where the interview cuts off. The people behind Lost have put a lot of work into this!

I found an Alias tie in. Under "about me", then "our famous ansestor".

It goes into a bio of Rimbaldi, the Rimabaldi from alias who lived in the 1400's, could see the future, drew a painting of Sydney, and made a device that would make you immortal.


I'm not sure how I feel about this. One part of me thinks it's neat, the other part of me doesn't want a tie in with Alias, as the last season went lamo, and the last episode was far fetched, almost cartoonish in nature.

But by then, all the cool people who could write and direct had left the show to work on LOST full time.

I went to StephenKing.com and the official answer is that, though King is a huge fan of Lost, he did NOT write Bad Twin.

I found the whole Gary Troup interview transcript from lostpedia.com

Gary Troup: The boat captain is just a point of departure. Here's this guy. One day he's taking families fishing and the next day he's making smuggling runs, and it was that duality that intrigued me - how we all have good and bad inside of us.

Laird Granger: And is that what the title 'Bad Twin' refers to?

Gary Troup: Er, yeah. The book is a story about a private investigator named Paul Artisan who's hired by this rich man to track down his missing twin, the supposed "bad twin" from the title.

Laird Granger: But without giving anything away here, who is bad and who is good - that's all part of the mystery isn't it?

Gary Troup: (nods) Yes, yes, very much so.

Laird Granger: Your book mentions a lot of real life people, places and institutions.

Gary Troup: Yeah, I try to incorporate real-life stuff into my fiction, um, just gives it a lot more... veracity.

Laird Granger: Like Alvar Hanso, and the Hanso Foundation?

Gary Troup: (looks uncomfortable)... right...

Laird Granger: Did including them have anything to do with your non-fiction writing?

Gary Troup: Absolutely. I wrote a non-fiction book called The Valenzetti Equation

Laird Granger: (interrupting) about the reclusive Princeton University mathematician Enzo Valenzetti and his famous theorem...

Gary Troup: Yes

Laird Granger: At least that's what they say it's about. (shaking head) I have to confess I can't find a copy.

Gary Troup: (nods) Yeah, I know. I mean, first of all it was a small printing, and allegedly, now, I emphasize allegedly, Alvar Hanso bought up all of the available copies and (emphasis) he bought the rights to reprint.

Laird Granger: Why would he do that?

Gary Troup: That's a good question...

Laird Granger: The book was critical of him?

Gary Troup: erm... no. But as I was doing my research I discovered that Alvar Hanso is the only guy in the world who has an actual copy of the Valenzetti Equation (pause) now, despite repeated requests, I was categorically denied access to it. In fact, no one outside the Hanso Foundation has access to it.

Laird Granger: (interrupting) and what about inside The Hanso Foundation?

Gary Troup: From what I've been able to learn, even within The Hanso Foundation, the Valenzetti Equation is one of the most closely guarded secrets.

Laird Grainger: That must have made it hard for you to write the book.

Gary Troup: Beyond that.. look at every turn Alvar Hanso and the Hanso Foundation... they tried to stop me from writing it. I mean, for whatever reason, they want to keep Valenzetti and his work a secret. They don't want the public to know anything about it. You know what... we are here to talk about "Bad Twin"

Laird Granger: Sounds like you've got your next piece of non-fiction in the works here.

Gary Troup: Look, The Hanso Foundation promotes itself as "bettering humanity"... um, and that's all I am gonna say about it right now because I am gonna to be writing a book about this, and I'll tell you this, that as soon as people find out what is going on inside this huge, famous, supposedly benevolent foundation.. it's going to shock you.

Laird Granger: Tell me about Cindy...

Gary Troup: (laughs) This isn't going to air until after the book is published, right?

Laird Granger: Yes, that's right

Gary Troup: Alright, well I, I'm an inveterate bachelor, I mean, I never even thought about coming close.

the website I posted earlier is a hoax. Not affiliated with LOST. So there is no ALIAS connection as yet. Sorry! Turns out there are boat loads of fake sites out there, preying on non suspecting nubes like myself.

Phew! That's good, because that last episode of Alias was a huge let down and I wasn't looking forward to MORE Rimbaldi.

I'm half-way through the book now.

So far all I've gotten out of it that links to the show is that the Widmore family is seriously screwed up. Also that the Hanso Foundation and the Widmores are intertwined, but we already knew that.

It's not a best seller, but it's a good book. A lot more cursing than I was expecting, though.

I'm a little cornfuzzled.

Sawyer was reading this book on the Island, yet it had the Whidmore's in it. The Whidmores are "real", and involved with Desmond. So, Sawyer is reading a book about real people he is involved with?


Is the book supposed to be fiction or fact?

It's a mix. The hero is fiction, and maybe the case is fictional, but Gary Troup mixed in real people and real businesses.

One of the characters mentions the philosopher John Locke. I never knew there was a philosopher named John Locke.

The book tells us that Locke the philosopher was a seventeenth century Brit who said that the highest goal of our intelligence is the careful and constant pursuit of true and solid happiness.

That's all we get about the philosopher. One paragraph. But it's cool to know how our Locke came to be named.

I finished the book, and it has next to nothing to do with the show.

All it tells us is that the Hanso Foundation and the Widmore family are parteners, the Widmores have a partenership with Paik Heavy Industries (Paik is Sun's maiden name), and the Widmore family is badly screwed up. That's about it.

Anyone remember the name of Penny's dad? We saw it when Desmond was talking to Libby, but I forgot it. The Widmores in the book are Cliff, Alexander, Charles, and Vivian.

Uh, I think it might have been Charles. That sounds right. But it's been awhile.