The Secret History of Twin Peaks: A Novel

Mark Frost

Oct 2016 · Sold by Flatiron Books

About this ebook

From the co-creator of the landmark series Twin Peaks, the story millions of fans have been waiting to get their hands on for more than 25 long years.

The Secret History of Twin Peaks by Mark Frost enlarges the world of the original series, placing the unexplained phenomena that unfolded there into a vastly layered, wide-ranging history, beginning with the journals of Lewis and Clark and ending with the shocking events that closed the finale. The perfect way to get in the mood for the Showtime series, Twin Peaks: The Return.

Ratings and reviews

Big fan of the series . This dossier style book ties in a lot of the grey area specifically for seasons 1 & 2. If you're a true fan of Twin Peaks you will dig this without a doubt if you're a tourist you probably won't. What I found intriguing was the true historical happenings and characters tied into the fictional characters and account of Twin Peaks which gave it more of a epic historical intrigue. Halloween Frost is dropping Twin Peaks the final Dossier can't wait! If you're a true Twin Peaks geek read this it's solid.

I'm not sure what I was expecting exactly from a Twin Peaks history book, but I can definitively state this wasn't it. There is actually two separate histories being presented and the Twin Peaks history only covers approximately 25% of the book. This could have been expanded upon with interesting stories of the characters we know or will meet in the third season. The majority of the story should have been titled the history of Project Blue Book. It could have been it's own book.

The Secret History of Twin Peaks is an accurate title. It reads like a history book, and at times is just as ponderous. Rather than fill in the gaps between the new series and old, Frost has decided to go further back, intertwining certain Peaks characters and locales with actual historical figures, such as Lewis and Clark. This at times can be fascinating, as Frost’s depictions are not too far from actual record, or what really happened. The basic premise is a recently discovered dossier, compiled by a mysterious archivist, is sent by Gordon Cole to an as yet unidentified FBI agent to go through and discover who wrote (or compiled) it and why. The agent’s notes are included throughout, along with many illustrations, newspaper clippings, excerpts from letters, etc. Stylistically, the book is beautiful and very creative. But the novelty of this eventually wears thin, as most of the book doesn’t even deal with Twin Peaks. It’s more like X-Files than anything else. Worst of all, when it actually does relate to TP, Frost has made significant changes to many character back stories, which directly contradict the series. As I found this disappointing in FIRE WALK WITH ME, it was simply maddening here. I frankly couldn’t understand why. Did he simply not review the series for comparison, which he could’ve paid any uber fan to do for him, or did he simply not care? Twin Peaks apologists are already offering up “alternative reality” theories to explain the discrepancies, but I don’t buy it. Worst of all, the changes were unnecessary. Frost is clearly an imaginative writer, so I can’t believe the already established canon was so stifling creatively that he had to abandon them completely. One of the more head scratching changes involves Norma Jennings, in that her mother dies in the 80’s. Not really a big deal, except for the fact that her mother appeared as a character on the series (M.T. Wentz), so she obviously wasn’t dead. Trust me, that’s only the beginning of the changes, or mistakes made. And as the only people who could possibly enjoy this book are fans like me (us), none of what Frost does here makes sense. And there’s the rub. I genuinely doubt this book would appeal to anyone who wasn’t already a fan, so why risk alienating them. And this isn’t nerdy Star Trek nitpicking either, Frost has made major substantive changes, and again, I want to know why. In fairness, we do get closure with some characters or events after the series, but it’s few and far between, and rarely satisfying (i.e. Hank Jennings, Catherine Martell). Would I read the book again? Nope, never. And worst of all, I’m really hesitant about the new series now. If Frost (and possibly Lynch) have so little regard for what they’ve established, the third season may be a huge disappointment. To sum up, I would only recommend this book to a fan, but then, I don’t see how a fan could like it.

About the author

Mark Frost is an American novelist, screenwriter, director and film producer, best known as a writer for the television series Hill Street Blues and as the co-creator of the television series Twin Peaks.