Book Review: Red Dwarf: Backwards by Rob Grant

By georgelthomas on 6 Sep 2024 • ( 0 )

Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well. Today is Friday, and it’s time for another review. This week, I am reviewing Red Dwarf: Backwards by Rob Grant, the fourth and final instalment in the series of Red Dwarf novel adaptations.

Red Dwarf: Backwards was published in 1996 by Penguin Books and is 352 pages long.

The Plot
Backwards follows the events in the second book, Better than Life, disregarding the third book, Last Human. Here, we follow the Red Dwarf crew as they attempt to rescue Lister from the Backwards World they left him on at the end of the second book and try to find their way back to Red Dwarf, which has been turned into a sadistic death trap by some emotionless cyborgs called Agonoids.

Characters
Lister
In this instalment, the Red Dwarf crew arrive on the Backwards World to meet up with Lister, who they left there to grow younger after his untimely death. When the gang show up, they discover Lister has spent the last eight years in prison, charged with murder and is just being unarrested and then chased by the police.

Later, stuck on the Backwards World due to a miscalculated take-off window, Lister grows ever younger to the point where he ends up as a moody teenager — much to Kryten and Rimmer’s chagrin.

Rimmer
Rimmer is still as self-righteous and pompous as ever and is continually baffled by the workings of the Backwards Universe. He is always in a state of confused frustration and is irritated by the ever-de-maturing of Lister and Cat.

Cat
Cat is having a hard time, indeed, in regards to the Backwards World. His toilet and eating habits are all reversed, and the only way he can get his head around putting on dirty and creased clothes is that they’ll become cleaner and less creased as the day goes on.

Kryten
Kryten discovers that he is responsible for taking a human life (in reverse), which goes against his programming and causes him to have an existential crisis.

Later, after fighting off an Agonoid, a member of a race of emotionless cyborgs bent on the destruction of all humans, Kryten is forced to infect himself with the same computer virus that the Agonoid has used on Starbug so that his subconscious can work out an antivirus. Lister, Cat and Rimmer enter his dreams via an artificial reality machine to help him fight the virus, which manifests in Kryten’s subconscious as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Holly
After being gone from the previous book, Last Human, Holly makes a welcome return in Backwards, although it is brief. Nonetheless, Red Dwarf stories feel somewhat incomplete without Holly.

Writing Style
Rob Grant has a talent for witty and engaging prose, and I certainly missed his presence in the last book. That said, I think Backwards could have done with a little sprinkling of Doug Naylor. I think the best Red Dwarf stories are the ones the two have written together.

The book is witty, which is what Red Dwarf fans would expect, and Rob Grant has done a great job of writing the characters we love without straying very far from the versions we know from the previous books.

As for criticisms, I found the first part of the plot a little slow. All the action in The Backwards World felt a little like work to read, and my enjoyment grew once the story moved on.

I will say this, though: the world-building of the Backwards World was brilliant. All the Backwards speak and scenarios, such as Cat’s bathroom mishaps and the crew’s eating habits, were disgusting but hilarious. I merely wish those chapters were a little shorter.

Something I liked a lot was the appearance of Commander “Ace” Rimmer from a parallel universe. Like the TV version of the character, he is witty and full of confidence and kindness – the complete opposite of ‘our’ Rimmer. The parts of the story where he shows up are well-written and compelling.

Final Thoughts
Overall, Red Dwarf: Backwards is a must-read for science fiction and comedy fans, especially those who enjoy the Red DwarfTV series. The book’s premise, well-written characters, and hilarious situations make it a fun read, and I highly recommend it.

I am giving Red Dwarf: Backwards a 6/10.

Have you read Backwards or the previous three Red Dwarf novel adaptations? Which is your favourite? Mine is Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers; it is quintessentially Red Dwarf and written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor (before the dissolution of their writing partnership), a recipe for the best Red Dwarf stories.

As ever, thank you for stopping by to read my review. I really appreciate it!

Until next time,

George