Search - The Abyss

great read - not just copying the film but fills in bits you wish had been in there - orson scott card does a fantastic job - read it in one sitting - couldnt put it down

This is unlike any novelization you have ever read.

This is due both to James Cameron's commitment to have the book be a viable work on its own as well as Orson Scott Card just being a great writer.

Most books based on movies suffer from the writer being excluded from the production process. (Read Terry Brook's account of doing the Novelization for "Hook" in his book "Sometimes The Magic Works" for examples of this.)

But Card was not only involved in the production, he subtlely influenced the story.

There are four kinds of additional content in this book that aren't in the movie.

The first is backstory. The first three chapters give the histories of the three main characters, Buddy, Linsey and the head of the navy seal team, Coffee. While not included in the movie, these were given to the actors and helped shape the roles.

The second are additonal scenes Card wrote that weren't in the original script, but were true to the original story.

The third is research. For example, there is more history on the "liquid breating" system that is used when the mouse is breathing underwater. (And yes, that mouse is really breathing underwater).

And the fourth are scenes that were in the script, but cut. Some of these were added into the "director's cut" of the film, but not all.

Truthfully, like the novel of 2001, the book and the movie are meant to go hand in hand. Each makes the most sense when experienced with the other.

Superb novel! As good as the film, which is brilliant, especially in regard to the roles and performances of Ed Harris and Mary Ellen Mastrantonio. The book differs slightly from the film, and elaborates on some of the themes in it. A great read, and one of Card's best.