Sunday 5 August 2012

Eve Dallas and Kate Beckett

For all those Castle fans and avid readers....

My mom had many people recommend Eve Dallas to her. She read quite a few books in this series when she recommended the same to me. She had been telling me to try out this series by J.D. Robbs. I, on the other hand, have been gong from one book to the other, not looking at Eve Dallas for the simple reason that it wasn't in my Kindle.

A few weeks ago, I decided to clean up my Kindle and re-stock the books in it afresh. I deleted all the book and while I was adding, I also added the 20-30 books that we had on Eve Dallas.

And I began reading...

To say that the books are un-put-downable would be accurate. These books were murder mysteries and I expected run-in-the-mill stories. But I found that the stories were really well written, gripping and absolutely involving. All the mystery and adrenaline with a hint of romance as well...As one read, one became so drawn and involved  into the plot and the characters that it was difficult to put the book down without finishing it.

As I read the first few chapters of the first book, I realized that the character, Eve Dallas, seemed very familiar. As the read more I was convinced that Eve Dallas and Kate Beckett were one and the same or could be called doppelgangers who were existent at different periods of time.

Being a avid fan of the Castle, it was a pleasure to read about a character so similar. Castle could be considered set in the 21st century whereas Eve Dallas is set in the future. Kate seems more feminine and has a dad who could be considered as family. Kate's family circumstances has compelled her to be the cop she is. Eve on the other hand is more intense and aggressive and comes out as a more forceful character. She has no family to speak of and is a self-made cop. She is someone who underwent trauma at a very young age and is an orphan. But both the characters are amazing at what they do...

A depiction of what Eve and Roarke would look like....
The counterpart for Castle is Roarke. In the series, Kate and Castle work as a team. Though Castle is besotted with Kate and vice versa (the indications are there), their relationship hasn't yet moved into the next phase. In the book, Eve Dallas meets Roarke in the first book itself where he is a suspect. But as one book ends and the other begins, there is a huge change in the relationship between Eve and Roarke. Here, they both are in love and get married, though Eve is still uneasy about being so much under the spell of an other.

Kate and Castle
Being somebody who has seen the series and read the books, the similarity of the characters hits you strong. I don't know if Eve Dallas was inspired by Kate Beckett or vice-versa...


But for those who in love with Castle or Eve Dallas, do try out the other as well...You are in store for a Treat....


6 comments:

  1. I've been reading Nora Roberts since I was at least 15 (I'm 27 now), and I've read all of the In Death series to date.

    I am a huge fan of Firefly/Serenity, but due to my hectic schedule at college (attending class and working there) for the past 5 years, I didn't even hear about Castle until a couple years ago. I just filed the knowledge that Nathan Fillion has a show away, but wasn't sure if I could be happy watching him in something not Firefly related (us Sci Fi fans have weird hang ups like that sometimes).

    So, here I am, on a long break between switching from college to university and have nothing but free time. After listening to an old episode of Aisha Tyler's Girl on Guy podcast with Nathan Fillion (totally worth listening to!), I decided to watch Castle.

    Not only did Nathan Fillion not disappoint, but to my most pleasant surprise, I realized I was watching Eve Dallas! The details of the story don't necessarily matter - it's the FEEL of the character, how it makes you feel about them reading about them or watching them. I jumped on Google because I knew I couldn't be the only one feeling this way! (I'm not even past season 1 yet)

    Castle as Roarke....some similarities with the money and the charm and the suspect thing, etc...but..Roarke, I feel, is a lot darker than Castle (unless I'm proved wrong in the later seasons). Castle has his issues, but he doesn't have the dark, heartbreaking background Roarke has, and that's what makes Roarke Roarke, and drives how he relates to Dallas.

    Actually, I think Castle is better described as a cross between Roarke and Peabody. Castle brings the playfulness and more innocence to the table like Peabody normally does.

    The characters aside, some of the things in the series makes me question if the writes know of the In Death series. Some coincidences or nods are awesome, but I see a lot of themes...like the terrible coffee, or in one episode Castle is dealing with the soda machine for Beckett (and there's been other mention of soda)....enough that it makes me feel that I am watching a made-for-tv In Death miniseries. Which is fine. I'm just glad I'm not the only one noticing the similarities! I am so, so glad I decided to watch Castle, and the fact that it's kind of like the In Death series coming to life with an actor I adore and an actress that didn't take long to grow on me makes it even better.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I totally didn't get the connection about the coffee until you mentioned it. That scene in Roarke's limo where Eve has real coffee for the first time is hilarious 😆

      Delete
  2. Naked in Death came out in 1995. Castle premiered in 2009. The creators of Castle probably (whether they meant to or not) modelled Beckett on Dallas, and not the other way around.I love the in death series and have all the books that have come out to date. Castle is not like Rourke... Rourke has so much more depth (and darkness) to his character. Castle is too playful.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello, I'm a big fan of the In Death series since its beginning - well, to tell you the truth, the website from which you've taken the Eve & Roarke depiction above is a creation of mine ;-) - and so far I've read all the books. I'm just finishing "Concealed in death" in these days.
    And I am a big fan of "Castle" as well, from earlier days too.
    I must say that I've never found any similarities between the two. Well, sometimes I can find some similarities between Eve and Beckett, but only because they are two NYPD detectives, both successful and determinate women. I've never found similarities in their stories or in their relationships with their mate.
    May I ask you the small favour (since you used my image) to put a link on that image toward my website? http://landedicarta.altervista.org/everoarke/ Thank you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Roberta,

      Thanks for writing in. I have added the link as you requested.:)

      Delete
  4. I JUST started watching Castle and to my utter surprise, in walked LT Eve Dallas into my screen...I can actually SEE Eve in Kate..and the entire squad alongwith Morris within Esposito and Ryan and Laine..even Chief is there in Cap. Montgomery..yes, Castle is no Roarke..Roarke is darker, more intense and definitely not as much fun living as Castle is..tho I love Castle's dynamics with Alexis, currently I cannot imagine Roarke with a young child like that..
    But the premise and the characters seem to be picked right out of In Death for me..

    ReplyDelete