The Novelizations

Published in April 1978, the Jaws 2 tie-in was obviously meant to publicize the upcoming film in the same manner as the paperback release of Jaws a few months before the film's 1975 release. The book, written by Hank Searls, was nowhere near as successful as Peter Benchley's original. As with the original, the book is similar to the movie in terms of overall story but features numerous characters and sequences not seen on film. Supposedly, the book is based more on the original screenplay by Howard Sackler and Dorothy Tristan than on the revised draft by Carl Gottlieb (the Joseph Mascolo character, Len Peterson, has a major part in the novel but is practically a bit player in the movie). No disrespect to the author, but this is one case where the movie surpasses the book. The movie is action-packed if nothing else, while the book comes across as a bit overlong and resemble a soap opera in its various characters and subplots. It's worth a read, especially because of the number of attacks (much higher than that in the movie).

It wouldn't be until 1987 that another novelization was produced (for some reason, they didn't have a paperback for Jaws 3-D). Hank Searls, author of Jaws 2, also wrote Jaws: The Revenge. The reverse of Jaws 2, this one is much much better than the movie (of course, that's not saying much). The shark has a much bigger part in the book, where he ups the kill total by a few (he eats a gunned down drug dealer, a preppy windsurfer, and an evil drug lord). This being the 80's, the mafia of Jaws 2 is shoved aside in favor of a Miami Vice style drug running subplot (in which the Michael Caine character works for the DEA). There is also a voodoo element, in which Mike Brody pisses off local warlock Papa Jacques. The little man gets revenge by calling the shark to come after Mike and Thea. There are some generally suspenseful moments, something which can't be said for the movie. I recommend it.

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