Being Human novels

Being Human Novels
1. Being Human - The Road (Simon Guerrier)
2. Being Human - Chasers (Mark Michalowski)
3. Being Human - Bad Blood (James Goss)
Author Simon Guerrier, Mark Michalowski and James Goss
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Genre Fantasy, mystery, gothic fiction, vampire fiction, werewolf fiction, supernatural fiction, ghost story
Publisher BBC Books
Published 4 February 2010
No. of books 3

The Being Human novels are a series of three fantasy novels written by Simon Guerrier, Mark Michalowski and James Goss. The novels are based on the British television series Being Human, created by Toby Whithouse.[1]

General information

There are three novels which deal with the characters of the British Being Human series. The first novel is The Road written by Simon Guerrier. The second novel Chasers is written by Mark Michalowski and the final novel Bad blood is written by James Goss.[2] All three authors have already written novels for the British television series Doctor Who.[3]

Since the story line goes on throughout all three books the books should be read in the right order, starting with the Road, followed by Chasers and finishing with Bad Blood.[4] The Being Human novels follow the story line of the second series of Being Human. They take place between episode 2x02 and episode 2x03.[4] Annie is invisible and has left the pub. Nina has left George and the vampires of Bristol are without a leader, since Herrick has gone.[5] There are a few characters from the second series, which are mentioned, like Lucy Jaggat.[4] The daughter of the novel character Dr. Declan McGough was murdered by a vampire, during the same time that the wife and daughter of the television character Kemp was murdered. Dr. Declan Mc Gough made contact with a religious organization after this which could be Kemp's CenSSA Organisation.

The books were all published on February the 4th 2010.[6] Two years later, in 2012, three audio books were released on mp3. The audio books were read by Lenora Crichlow, Russell Tovey and Lucy Gaskell.[7] Lenora Crichlow plays the main character Annie Sawyer in the television series.[8] Russell Tovey portrays the main character George Sands in the television series.[9] Lucy Gaskell is also known to fans of the television series. She plays the recurring character Sam Danson.[10] In April 2013 the audio book The Road was released on audio CD.[11]

Plot

The vampire Mitchell, the werewolf George and the ghost Annie are flatmates. Together they try to live a human life, and control their instincts. Mitchell wants to stop drinking blood, George tries to live a life that isn't affected by the werewolf curse and Annie likes to be with someone that can understand her and talk to her. This isn't as easy as it seems, as their supernatural part always finds a way to show itself. So they always need to support each other in living their lives, living with the guilt that some actions are causing and dealing with the "ghosts" from their past.

The Road

Annie is being threatened by the men with the sticks and ropes. These are demons who want to force Annie to go to the other side, to purgatory. When Annie hears a noise in the living room, while she is alone at home, she thinks that the men with the sticks and ropes have finally found her. But when she goes to the living room a door appears and the ghost Gemma enters the living room through the door. Since Gemma needs a place to stay Mitchell and George offer her to stay at the house. Annie doesn't like this idea, however Gemma seems to have nowhere to go, so Annie can't say no. Annie feels like her power is sucked away whenever she is around Gemma. Furthermore, Annie sees that Gemma is scared about something. Annie is sure that Gemma is scared of the men with the sticks and ropes who want Annie as well. Annie thinks that the men might go after Gemma and then might take Annie as well. This makes Annie even more scared. She also realizes that Gemma doesn't tell Annie all about herself. Meanwhile, George and Mitchell have problems with the new administrator at the St. Judes Hospital, Dr. Declan McGuff. Since Dr. Declan McGuff is working at the hospital, the members there are scared to get sacked. Dr. Declan McGuff controls how they are working and tells the employees to asperse each other at him if something is wrong. Mitchell wants to find out whether he is a human or another supernatural being.

Chasers

The lesbian couple Kaz and Gail want to have baby. They ask George to be the father. At first George is shocked, but then he likes the idea. However he needs to find out if the baby will suffer from the same curse as him and will become a werewolf or not. Meanwhile, Mitchell meets the patient Leo Willis at the hospital. Leo tells Mitchell that he has cancer and since Leo is pretty much interested in the 80s, Mitchell and Leo share something in common. They start spending a lot of time together.

Bad Blood

Annie's old friend Denise O'Halloran suddenly appears in front of Annie's door. She sees that Annie isn't leaving the house a lot and wants to change that. So Annie and Denise start going out. They even want to organize a big event, a Bingo night. Even though everything is very well planned, Mitchell and George have a feeling that something might go horribly wrong and they also wonder why their boss Dr. Declan McGuff appears at the party.

Characters

Main characters

Name The Road Chasers Bad Blood
Annie Sawyer Main
George Sands Main
John Mitchell Main
Gemma Romain Main
Kaz Guest Main
Gail Guest Main
Dr. Declan McGough Guest Main
Denise O'Halloran Main

Guest characters

Vampires

Ghosts

Humans

Demons

Release

Novels

Number Title Author Year Publisher ISBN
1
The Road Simon Guerrier
2010
ISBN 978-1-84607-898-9
2
Chasers Mark Michalowski
2010
Random House (BBC Books)
ISBN 978-1-84607-899-6
3
Bad Blood James Goss
2010
Random House (BBC Books)
ISBN 978-1-84607-900-9

Audio books

# Title Author Read by Length Published (download/cd) ISBN (audio download) ISBN (audio cd)
01 The Road Simon Guerrier Lenora Crichlow 5 hours 38 minutes 7 November 2012/16 April 2013 ISBN 9781471305115 ISBN 9781620647240
02 Chasers Mark Michalowski Russell Tovey 5 hours 18 minutes 1 November 2012/15 April 2013 ISBN 9781471305252 ISBN 9781471305283
03 Bad Blood James Goss Lucy Gaskell 6 hours 45 minutes 1 November 2012/15 May 2013 ISBN 9781471305290 ISBN 9781471305306

Critical reception

Jayne Nelson (for the SFX Magazine) explains that all three authors have managed to capture the "snarkiness", which, according to Nelson, is a main element of the show.[12] Paul Simpsons explains that all three authors have successfully gotten the voices of the main characters right. According to him the books are a quick and nice reads for fans of the series.[4] The author Joanne Black says that there are a few inconsistencies in the book, but they are an entertaining read. She describes them as sharply plotted and explains that they are keeping the "overal feel of the series".[13] Amie Gibb adds that fans of series like Being Human, True Blood, The Vampire Diaries, or Ghost Whisperer will enjoy the novels.[14]

The Road

Dave Adamson writes that the first novel The Road turned out very good, tells an interesting story and is a fantastic start for the book series.[15] Frank Collins adds that The Road is an "engrossing mystery written in a brittle prose that conjures up the swirling emotions of loss and revenge eating away at broken human lives that test the enduring spirits" of the three main characters.[16] Jayne Nelson (for the SFX Magazine) appens that Simon Guerrier describes the characters perfectly, even their small personality traits, although she thinks that there is to little action in the plot.[12] Charles Packer calls the book a combination of a murder mystery and haunted house theme with a lot of humor. He explains that all three main characters of the series are true to their television counterparts. He mentions that one doesn't need to see the series, to enjoy the novel. Parker gives the book 8 of 10 points.[17] SciFiChick adds that the road is a "fast-paced read" and a great start of the novel series.[18]

Chasers

Michael Bush writes about Chasers that the author captures the essence of Being Human and is playing out plots that fit within the context of the series. He also praises the authors gift to capture "the voices of Toby Whithouse's characters and the quirks of the actors who play them."[19] Frank Collins adds that Chasers is warm, often hilariously funny and very moving.[16] Jayne Nelson (for the SFX Magazine) mentions that she enjoyed the humor of the book, but found the ending oddly anti-climatic.[12] Charles Packer also mentions the enjoyable humour of the book. According to Packer the book is entertaining and captures the essence of the Being Human characters. Packer gives the book 7 of 10 points.[17] According to SciFiChick Chasers picks up where the previous novel left off. The story darkens and more questions come up as to what is going on at the hospital.[20]

Bad Blood

Lucy Felthouse writes about Bad Blood that the read was a good fun. The writing "lulled" once or twice, but she would still recommend the book, whether someone has seen the show or not.[21] Jayne Nelson (for the SFX Magazine) added that James Goss has great experiential ideas, like naming chapters after bingo calls or "breaking the fourth wall" between the reader and the story. According to Jayne Nelson Bad Blood is a fun read and does juice to the television series which manufactured the novels.[12] The author Joanne Black explains that she exspecially likes the internal monologues from the characters about age, holidays and death.[22] Charles Packer added that James Goss has a nice and easy writing style. The story is well constructed and there are a lot of humorous moments. James Goss manages to capture the characters of Mitchell and Annie well, but Packer felt "that Goss's take on George’s obsessional neurosis tended to be played for laughs and made his character more two-dimensional than that portrayed in the show". Packer gives the book 6 of 10 points.[23] SciFiChick Chasers explains that there is no plot progression in the first half of the book. But then the stoty gets exciting. In the finale questions about the story and characters are answered and the novel comes to a satisfying conclusion.[24]

See also

References

  1. Rose (8 January 2010). "BOOKS NEWS FOR JAN 8: MARTIAN IN TIBET & THREE-NOVEL TIE IN TO BEING HUMAN". Openbooksociety.com. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  2. Debi Moore (7 January 2010). "BBC Books Publishing a Three-Novel Tie-In to Being Human". Dreadcentral.com. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  3. John Seymour. "Being Human - UK Sci-Fi TV Book Guide". Ntlworld.com. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Paul Simpson (7 January 2010). "Being Human: Review: The Road / Chasers / Bad Blood". Scifibulletin.com. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  5. Joanne Black (2011): Read all about it - the books. In: Joanne Black: A guide to being human [series 1-3]. Cambridge: Classic TV Press. P.432-433
  6. "Being Human Timeline". Clivebanks.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  7. "Amazon". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  8. "Being Human Hit supernatural thriller returns to BBC Three". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  9. Simon Hattenstone (24 August 2013). "Russell Tovey: the unlikely lad". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  10. Daniel Martin (7 February 2010). "Being Human: series two, episode five.". theguardian.com. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  11. "Being Human: The Road [Audiobook]". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Jayne Nelson (2010): Rated Books. Being Human. Our favourite paranormal housemates hit the page. In: SFX Magazine. Edition: May 2010. P.116
  13. Joanne Black (2011): Niggles and Quibbles. In: Joanne Black: A guide to being human [series 1-3]. Cambridge: Classic TV Press. P.437
  14. Amie Gibb (12 May 2010). "BEING HUMAN: Chasers and Bad Blood [Review]". Bookequals.com. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  15. Dave Adamson (10 February 2010). "Being Human: The Road book review". denofgeek.com. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  16. 1 2 Frank Collins (1 February 2010). "BEING HUMAN: Novels - The Road, Chasers and Bad Blood / Review". cathoderaytube.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  17. 1 2 Charles Packer (2 April 2010). "Book Review. Being Human. Chasers.". Sci-fi-online.com. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  18. SciFiChick (22 February 2010). "Book Review: Being Human: The Road". scifichick.com. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  19. Michael Bush (22 February 2010). "Being Human: Chasers book review". denofgeek.com. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  20. SciFiChick (23 February 2010). "Book Review: Being Human: Chasers". scifichick.com. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  21. Lucy Felthouse (26 April 2010). "Being Human: Bad Blood book review". denofgeek.com. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  22. Joanne Black (2011): Book Three - Bad Blood by James Goss. In: Joanne Black: A guide to being human [series 1-3]. Cambridge: Classic TV Press. P.435
  23. Charles Packer (2 April 2010). "Book Review. Being Human. Bad Blood.". Sci-fi-online.com. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  24. SciFiChick (24 February 2010). "Book Review: Being Human: Bad Blood". scifichick.com. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
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