Review: Dear Luke, We Need to Talk, Darth by John Moe

Title: Deat Luke, We Need to Talk, Darth: And Other Pop Culture Correspondences

Author: John Moe

Publisher: Three Rivers Press

Date of Publication: 2014

Number of Pages: 304

Summary

We all know how Darth Vader shared his big secret with Luke Skywalker, but what if he had delivered the news in a handwritten note instead? And what if someone found that letter, as well as all of the drafts that landed in the Dark Lord’s trash can? In the riotously funny collection Dear Luke, We Need to Talk, Darth, John Moe finally reveals these lost notes alongside all the imagined letters, e-mails, text messages, and other correspondences your favorite pop culture icons never meant for you to see.

Like a like a bonus track to a favorite CD or a deleted scene from a cult movie, Dear Luke, We Need to Talk, Darth offer a fresh twist on the pop culture classics we thought we knew by heart. You already know part of their story. Now find out the rest.

Review

I couldn't pick up Dear Luke, We Need to Talk, Darth a better time of the year. It proved to be a really easy and quick read, with a lot of pop culture references. In collections like this, everyone can find something to like.

But an essential condition for this book to work is that you have to be familiar with each reference. In my case, I loved Vader's letters, Captain Kirk's log and the engineer's notes from the recording of Rumours by Fleetwood Mac. The most hilarious part was The Exchange between Neal Hefti, creator of the Batman TV theme song, and the show's producer. Who hasn't heard Batman, Batman, Batman, Nananananananana Batman? It was really awesome to read how John Moe imagined how it came to be. 

Moreover, I can't understand how the author acquired the Top secret British intelligence notes on the fates of Agents 001 through 006. It was enlightening about why Bond has this certain way of acting and why his face is constantly changing. Another shocking document in this book was the Note to Clark Kent from the maker of his new glasses. I mean, we all know that he looks like a certain superhero, but how can a pair of glasses distort his image so much that nobody recognises him? 

It appears that the writer has acquaintances in the music industry as well. As I have already revealed we learn the whole story behind the making of the album Rumours through the eyes of the engineer. If you are a fan of Fleetwood Mac like me, then you'll love this part. But these are not the only documents concerning really popular musicians and songs. We read the Notes on "Sweet Child o' Mine" as delivered to Axl Rose by his editor. The lyrics were almost altered and the song would never be the same again. Finally, Leonard Cohen text messages Leonard Cohen whilst writing a new song gives us insight on how this songwriter created one of his most well-known songs. You can easily guess which one.

Throughout this book, there was a running gag of Rejected Superbowl Halftime Show Proposals. I have to admit that this was the worst part for me. Not all of them were uninspired, but most of them felt like it. But it was only a small part of the book, so it didn't really bother me. I can't really complain about anything.

All in all, Dear Luke, We Need to Talk, Darth is a very enjoyable book. It brought laughter to me in more than one cases and it was just what I needed. I didn't have any problem with the pop culture references since most of them are well-known, so my enjoyment wasn't spoiled. I would recommend it to everybody, especially if you want a really quick read or something easy to read between heavier books. 

So, my advice is...

Join the Walker's (Notable Zombies') forum!