Review: Diagnosis: Entertainment
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 22, 2012
Sometimes I let my interest in the next Donovan Creed book interfere with my pleasure that indie thriller writer John Locke has released something new that's not a Creed novel. In the case of BAD DOCTOR, the first in what appears intended as a series of Dr. Gideon Box novels, indulging in disappointment would be a mistake.Of all of Locke's characters to date, Dr. Box is perhaps the most villainous; he's a doctor. More specifically, he's a doctor in the same rough mold as Fox TV's Dr. Gregory House, only unfiltered for television.Dr. Box is a man bent on revenge against anyone and everyone who ever crosses him in even the slightest way. Even if it takes decades. As a medical doctor, he uses his position to exact that revenge in a way that could cause more sensitive readers to swear off medical care forever.Eventually, over the course of this slim novel, Locke allows us to see past the gruff exterior to realize that, Dr. Box, while monstrous, is not the worst creature walking the planet; unfortunately, there are far worse monsters out there and at times, he is the cure to their existence.Creating empathy is in short supply here, which offers Locke perhaps his biggest challenge to date. In order to compel his readers to go for this ride, he must find a way other than "Dr. Box isn't such a bad guy after all" or "Dr. Box is a victim himself" reasons to follow his adventures.Most creative writing classes will instruct young writers that creating empathy for one's main character is a writer's greatest task, because "if you don't like the narrator, the reader won't stick around to find out what happens to him or her."Like the producers of HOUSE, M.D., Locke rejects that advice as being universally true. With the Fox TV drama, they were able to rely on Hugh Laurie's significant charm and humor as an actor to make Dr. House "like-ably despicable."In a prose novel, such charm is difficult to pull off; yet Locke's primary approach may be just as workable. His Dr. Gideon Box may be even less appealing than Dr. House, but Dr. Box, so far, is one thing every interesting main character must be: compelling.If Locke can maintain that quality without softening Dr. Box into someone more likable, he may not need the charm of Hugh Laurie to pull readers along for the ride.