Veronica Mars is the rare existential heroine... that very first episode was so awesome because they stripped her of everything and left her facing the world broken and alone...

So true. Not coincidentally, the VM premiere is also my all-time favourite pilot. Pilots are so often awkward and full of exposition, but with the VM pilot, everything just *clicked*.

And no, I haven't read it, but it sounds very interesting. As soon as my MBA workload eases up (like when this month from hell is done), I'll check them out.