Classic Red Dwarf. And a trip down memory lane.

I give this four stars, but you must understand: if you're not a RD fan, you'll probably give this 2 stars, at the most. You've been warned. :) ( )

This book is an alternate continuation to "Better than Life" (the other continuation being "Last Human"). About the first 1/3 of the book takes place exclusively in the Backwards universe, and that part, I have to admit, is amazing. Grant does a great job of reverse-engineering all the events and putting the characters in interesting positions throughout that bit.

The rest of the book feels a bit weird... as though Grant is trying to set up surprizes for the reader that aren't surprizes at all if you've seen the show. The other books had a little of this, but they didn't tease it out for anywhere near as long, and didn't lean so heavily on that. ( )

Despite what the title says, it's the 3rd Red Dwarf book. The continuity of the last book to this book is much better.

The main story is taken from an episode of the TV Show and expanded. In this case they do a great job. They bring back 'Ace' Rimmer, and the gelfs, and it's quite enjoyable. I'd say that this is the best of the books, because I've already read Red Dwarf #4, 'The Last Human'. ( )

The original "Red Dwarf" novel "Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers" had me in stitches while the follow-up "Better then Life" was regularly amusing. The law of diminishing returns has come into play though and the humour in "Backwards" is more difficult to find.

The idea behind "Backwards", that the Red Dwarf crew get stuck in a dimension where time is going backwards, is an interesting one and raises some uncomfortable outcomes, such as what happens when you defecate. And the ending is easily the most heartwarming of the "Red Dwarf" series. ( )

Rob Grant's Backwards is the alternate third Red Dwarf novel following Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers and Better Than Life, both of which Grant co-authored with his Red Dwarf co-creator Doug Naylor. Backwards picks up right where Better Than Life left off, though it slightly deviates from the television series. Unlike Naylor's solo novel, this book holds fairly true to the original series. The story revolves around the escape from the backwards universe and the events of the episode "Gunmen of the Apocalypse". While Grant's writing builds on these plots a bit, he mostly uses a disjointed style of writing to attempt to recreate some of the humor of the show. Unfortunately, the backwards universe works better on film than in print. Grant's portrayal of the characters he co-created features everything fans of the show want to see and the story will entertain die-hard fans. Though Doug Naylor wrote a previous book, titled Last Human, that novel is an alternate sequel to Better Than Life rather than a predecessor to Backwards. Both of these novels offer an alternate conclusion to the series. ( )