I fell in love with the idea of the BenBella Smart Pop Books some time ago, and between actually finding the Jane Austen/Jenny Crusie one in my library, and the free essays that BenBella put up every week, I became an absolute convert. I bought a couple of piles of the books directly from the publisher in December, mostly to give away as presents. But I kept a couple for myself, including the one that made me bounce with excitement when I discovered its existence – Neptune Noir, a collection of fun, thoughtful essays about Veronica Mars.

This is one of the best of the BenBella books I’ve read – the balance of topics is good, covering the writing structure, noir influences and themes, and relationships of the show. There are even a few oddball topics like – why is Veronica Mars so popular among conservatives? By about halfway through, I was desperate to rewatch my VM DVDs which is quite an achievement as I only did my last mass rewatch less than 6 months ago.

The biggest disappointment of the book is that it was released in 2006 – after season two, but before any of the essay writers had seen the third and final season. It makes sense that the book would have been released at the height of the show’s popularity, and that they didn’t know there was only one year to go before it would be cancelled, but with so much great insight and analysis about the first two seasons, the book couldn’t help but feel unfinished without reference to that. It’s a particular shame because season three did several things to break away from the formula and traditions of the first two seasons, and many articles read how left me with the sense of ‘to be continued’ without reference to that final act.

(some mild spoilers follow)
(more…)