[samhw]

Honestly, I can't believe that book sold so many copies. The first one starts off well, with some really great subplots, but then it starts going on about all these weird rules that feel sorta dated, all about seafood and chlamydia. Just when it was getting good, too. And it makes it really hard to convert for TV - I can't imagine Netflix will pick it up. Anyway, then the sequel, it starts a generation later. That God chap doesn't show up so much, and instead it's all about his kid Jesus, who's a bit of a social justice warrior, banging on about capitalism and doing weird stuff with food. The only real plot tension comes when the book finally kills him off, but then it uses this lazy deux ex machina contrivance to bring him back. And the sequel had so much potential too, it could have rescued the series. It could have really explored Jesus's complex relationship with his dad. It might be worth it if you're on a long flight and really desperate, but really I'd just go for something like Harry Potter if I were you. 0/5 stars.

[gumby]

The general plot seems popular so there have been many remakes as well as de novo versions (just as Shakespeare wrote new stories from plot elements of old ones). In fact parts of that book use the same technique.