Neptune Noir

Neptune Noir is a collection of essays on the television drama Veronica Mars. It is an unauthorized volume: CW, the show's creators and producers, and anyone else tied to the series had no part in approving it. Rob Thomas, the show's creator and executive producer, is credited as editor.

The subject is a teen detective series that mixes a high school setting with layered mysteries, quick and cutting dialogue, and a noir sensibility. Murder turns up now and then. The essays look at the class divisions running through the show and at its love stories.

Each contributor takes up a separate question. One asks whether Veronica is a modern-day vigilante. Another asks why a series that deals with rape, possible incest and a teenage girl outwitting the local authorities draws such a following among America's conservative viewers. A third asks why the relationship between Veronica and Logan drives the story more than anything else in the series.

This is commentary and criticism, not fiction, and it is written for viewers who want to think harder about the series. Readers who know the show will get the most from it, since the essays assume familiarity with its characters and plots.