The Tail Section

Hello my fellow Losties. My name is Brinson, and I am doing the reviews of the books that are tied into  Lost. First off, I am honored to be part of this site now, and a part of Lost.  I will go in depth about the story lines, character connections, number connections and anything else that is similar to Lost, and I will post a new review as soon as I finish each book. The first review I have is Bad Twin by Gary Troup, I figured I should get this done first and then we will get into the other books. So lets get right to it shall we?

Gary Troup was on Oceanic flight 815 when it crashed, and he turned in his manuscript right before he boarded the doomed flight. As everyone knows Gary Troup’s name is an anagram for Purgatory, and what not a lot of people know is he was engaged to Cindy. Cindy was the flight attendant on flight 815; she was also one of the "tailies" and she was kidnapped by the others (or was she?) when the Tailies were headed towards the survivors camp. The book is also dedicated to her, and she makes a brief appearance in the book as well. There isn’t a ton of connections to Lost because this book is suppose to be a work of fiction in the “Lostiverse” but there are some connections.

Bad Twin is the story of a private detective named Paul Artisan whose is tapped by a very rich and very powerful family to track down their missing son. In the beginning you get a feel for the characters and what their purpose is. Paul Artisan is the Private detective, and his old college professor Manny Weisman, who is his mentor and best friend. Paul meets Cliff Widmore who wants Paul to find his missing brother Alexander (who goes by Zander now) Zander is the identical twin to Cliff. Cliff’s father is a Scottish descendant named Arthur Widmore and is married to (very sexual wife number 3) Vivian Widmore. When Paul takes the case it will take him to all sorts of places factual and fictional across the globe. Paul travels to the fictional Peconiquot to find Zander’s friend Moth, which in turn lead him to Key West where he encounters the Zanders ex Sky. Sky points him in the direction of a boat captain that will take him to Cuba by the name of Crunch. In Cuba Paul encounters a strange drug lord type of man who doesn’t like the questions Paul is asking. This man has Paul escorted back to his boat and makes sure Paul leaves Cuba.

After a brief trip back to New York, Paul heads to a small California town called Luna, which is described as a land locked island. After a conversation with a nudist colony leader named Elio (who has ties to the mob) Elio hesitantly points Paul to Australia. When Paul arrives in Australia he finds love and encounters danger along his journey. Once in Australia he heads to Lizard Island for the last leg of the search for Zander Widmore. Once he finds Zander Wilmore he doesn’t escape danger and won’t until he is back home and even then he doesn’t escape danger. What happens after he finds his mystery man is just as intense as the search for him. Is Zander as bad as his brother said he was or was his brother playing him all along? Is Cliff right or is he just wrong? Along this journey the people that are connected to Zander Widmore die shortly after they encounter Paul Artisan. It is a classic detective story with violence, suspense, & sex, told with the classic flow of Lost. The questions that are presented are followed by answers in the most intriguing ways possible. The answers are not given to you right away but after some personal thought and character development the answer will appear right before you, and it is a definitive answer not some assumed bullshit. You know for a fact what happened, and you see the truth in it all.

Like I said, this story doesn’t have many connections to the show or its storyline, but it has some links to the show. (So let me explain the things that tie into Lost, because to be honest that is the only reason I am writing this and it is the only reason you are reading this.)

In Bad Twin everything that happens takes place on an island, whether that island is real or fictional. It starts off in Manhattan, Long Island, Perconiquot, Key West, Cuba, Luna California, and Australia’s Lizard Island. Also in Bad Twin Paul Artisans mentor Manny Weisman mentions (Side note: all literary references in Bad Twin are very similar to all the books that are mentioned on LOST, and how they relate to the plot and story line as well) the philosopher John Locke and the beliefs John Locke held. Manny also talks about the complications of life and how it relates to a string of numbers. One of the biggest conversations in Bad Twin was the idea of Purgatory. Purgatory is only mentioned once but is discussed in great detail. Manny gives us the idea that Purgatory is the second chance to receive salvation (or getting into heaven if you will) and everything that happens in Purgatory has meaning and a purpose and is no way pointless, and if you screw it up there won’t be another chance to redeem yourself. (This brings up interesting questions regarding the nature of the Oceanic Flight 815 survivors and their relationship to the island and to each other.)

Some of the other connections between Bad Twin and LOST are, the sailboat Moth works on is named the Escape Hatch. It is not clear if this is referring to the Hatch from LOST or the name of Desmond’s boat. On his way to Luna California from L.A. Paul Artisan stops at Mr. Clucks to get some food. When Paul is heading to Sydney from L.A. on Oceanic Airlines he briefly meets a stewardess named Cindy.

The biggest connections between Bad Twin and LOST are the Widmores and the Hanso Foundation. Now, the Widmore Corporation has dealt with Paik Heavy a good bit and Zander had spent some time with that company in Korea. Now the Hanso Foundation is located in the same building as the Widmores (The appropriately titled Widmore Building) and Paul Artisan has a brief encounter with some Hanso employee’s on the Hanso Foundation floor. He describes them as being clean cut wearing white or green lab coats and being stoic and almost robotic like when they spoke. Arthur Widmore worked with Alvar Hanso years ago and the two made a ton of money together. Arthur respects Hanso because Hanso does things the way they were done in the old days and believes that’s how they should be done now. Cliff Widmore is friends with Thomas Mittelwerk from the Hanso Foundation and Cliff describes him as ambitious, while Arthur describes him as a man without morals. (Unfortunately there isn’t any more information about the Hanso Foundation in BAD TWIN) There is one thing about these Widmores that differ from the Widmores on LOST. The Widmores in BAD TWIN are not the same Widmores from LOST… Charles and Penelope Widmore are not even mentioned in BAD TWIN and Arthur, Vivian, Cliff and Zander Widmore have yet to be mentioned or appear on LOST. Only time will tell if these Widmores are related in anyway.

Now it has come to my attention that the Producers have mentioned that there are two different Widmore families, there are the American Widmores (the ones in this book) and a Widmore family that lives in Europe (the ones on the show) The way the story is told in this book is very similar to the story telling on Lost. One answer does not solve it all, and it isn’t that simple; it is a series of different answers that answer the one big question, and it all makes perfect sense once you discover the answer. But if Bad Twin is any indication on how LOST will progress in the upcoming years or how LOST will end then we are all in good shape.  If anyone has any questions or comments feel free to contact me.

Namaste,

Brinson.