# A genre author you love dies; another is hired to take up the series. Do you continue reading? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 7, 2014, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genre-author-you-love-dies-another-is-hired-to-take-up-the-series-do-you-continue-reading/692559 "2014-07-07T18:47:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genre-author-you-love-dies-another-is-hired-to-take-up-the-series-do-you-continue-reading/692559/81 "2014-07-10T01:37:55Z")
I was most impressed by “Jeeves and the Wedding Bells” by Sebastian Faulks, and I certainly hope he writes more. I was very apprehensive about reading it. I’ve read three or four of Ace Atkins’ non-fiction books and got heartily sick of him, so whatever he’s doing now, I’m out. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genre-author-you-love-dies-another-is-hired-to-take-up-the-series-do-you-continue-reading/692559/82 "2014-07-10T02:32:19Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Um… Yeah, that’d be me. Not because I think Fleming is much good, but because Gardner was so awful! Those books were skunk-ass terrible! Gardner struck me as the worst spy-thriller author ever! > > (Wouldn’t it have been cool if Frederick Forsyth had written a Bond novel?) 1.) You must not have read Christopher Wood’s Bond novelizations. 2.) Gardner’s third Bond Novel, **Icebreaker** , is clearly his worst. But some of them are pretty good. 3.) It probably didn’t help that Gardner didn’t really care for Bond, had started his thriller career writing about a character – Boysie Oakes – who is consciously the _anti_-Bond (“he was of course a complete piss-take of J. Bond” Gardner later said), and initially turned down writing to Bond books. 4.) A Forsyth Bond might be good, if it was in keeping with most of his books. But, the way things work, it would probably turn out the way Forsyth’s other sequel to a previously published book by another author did – the abysmal _The Phantom of Manhattan_ that transplants the Phantom of the Opera across the Atlantic. Another perfect example for this thread. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genre-author-you-love-dies-another-is-hired-to-take-up-the-series-do-you-continue-reading/692559/83 "2014-07-10T06:51:03Z")
I’m alternately looking forward to and dreading someone carrying on the Flashman series. Frazer mentioned numerous bases for further stories about our hero, but I can’t quite see anyone speaking in Frazer’s voice or having his grip on the history of Flashy’s world. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genre-author-you-love-dies-another-is-hired-to-take-up-the-series-do-you-continue-reading/692559/84 "2014-07-10T08:00:35Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > Looks like Martin a [short message for us](http://gawker.com/george-r-r-martin-fuck-you-if-you-think-i-wont-finish-1602308837). Ha. You can take the boy out of Jersey, but you can’t take the Jersey out of the boy. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genre-author-you-love-dies-another-is-hired-to-take-up-the-series-do-you-continue-reading/692559/85 "2014-07-10T13:47:10Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Don’t know of any official other Barsoom books, but Fritz Leiber wrote an official Tarzan book (based on a movie, I believe) got a number in the Ballantine Tarzan series. **Under the Moons of Mars** is an anthology of stories set on Barsoom that came out two years ago, in celebration of the centenary of the first Barsoom book. As far as I know, it’s the only “official” book of Barsoom stories allowed by the Burroughs estate. [http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/under-the-moons-of-mars-john-joseph-adams/1104326370?ean=9781442420298](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/under-the-moons-of-mars-john-joseph-adams/1104326370?ean=9781442420298) As for Tarzan, the Fritz Leiber authorized book was a tie-in with a just-released Tarzan movie. Back in 1995 the Burroughs estate authorized the release of **Tarzan: The Lost Adventure** , which is based on an uncompleted manuscript Burroughs left. It was completed by Jon R. Lansdale. A lot of people weren’t entirely happy with the result, which is charged with deliberately changing the course of the story as indicated by the story itself and the notes. I have to admit that I wasn’t happy myself with the martial-arts Tarzan, nor his “sparring partner” at the end. Since then, the Burropughs estate has authorized the publication of R.A. Salvatore’s **Tarzan: The Epic Adventures** in 1997 and Philip Jose Farmer’s **The Dark Heart of Time** in 1999. It must have been a thrill for Farmer, who has been a huge Tarzan fan, publishing not only an unauthorized biography of Tarzan – **Tarzan Alive!** and a Tarzan-meets-Sherlock Holmes pastiche, **The Adventure of the Peerless Peer** , but also close enough to avoid copyright infringement pieces like \*\*Lord Tyger, Mother was a Lovely Beast, A Feast Unknown, \*\* and **[Lord of the Trees**. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genre-author-you-love-dies-another-is-hired-to-take-up-the-series-do-you-continue-reading/692559/86 "2014-07-10T14:13:55Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > Going back a few years, I thought **Ruth Plumly Thompson** did a fine job of writing more Oz books after **L Frank Baum** died. Bleh. I hated Thompson’s Oz personally. Way too twee, way too cutsie. It’s like everything bad about the travelogue part of Emerald City of Oz was boiled down and distilled into Thompson’s writing. Of the “Famous Forty”, I liked most of Baum’s 14 and I loved the two by Jack Snow (2 1/2 if you count “Who’s Who in Oz”). YMVs of course. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genre-author-you-love-dies-another-is-hired-to-take-up-the-series-do-you-continue-reading/692559/87 "2014-07-10T15:32:05Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > Corry, Ckald, I hit the wrong key. Why do you say such things, when you know I will kill you for it? ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genre-author-you-love-dies-another-is-hired-to-take-up-the-series-do-you-continue-reading/692559/88 "2014-07-10T16:01:31Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > I never got into the \*\*Wheel of Time \*\*series, but I’ve heard positive things about Brandon Sanderson writing the last three. Of course the most positive thing said is always that he knows how to meet a deadline. I gave up on WoT 3 books before Robert Jordan died. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genre-author-you-love-dies-another-is-hired-to-take-up-the-series-do-you-continue-reading/692559/89 "2014-07-10T16:10:58Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > Looks like Martin a [short message for us](http://gawker.com/george-r-r-martin-fuck-you-if-you-think-i-wont-finish-1602308837). Why is he taking the time to be interviewed? _He should be wriiting!!!_ D&R ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genre-author-you-love-dies-another-is-hired-to-take-up-the-series-do-you-continue-reading/692559/90 "2014-07-10T16:27:26Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > I gave up on WoT 3 books before Robert Jordan died. So did I - 4 books, actually. Then, after the series was completed, I read their synopses on Wikipedia (spoiler: nothing happened) and jumped right to Sanderson. It was \*totally \*worth it. If only Jordan had died sooner. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genre-author-you-love-dies-another-is-hired-to-take-up-the-series-do-you-continue-reading/692559/91 "2014-07-10T17:58:01Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > **Under the Moons of Mars** is an anthology of stories set on Barsoom that came out two years ago, in celebration of the centenary of the first Barsoom book. As far as I know, it’s the only “official” book of Barsoom stories allowed by the Burroughs estate. > > [http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/under-the-moons-of-mars-john-joseph-adams/1104326370?ean=9781442420298](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/under-the-moons-of-mars-john-joseph-adams/1104326370?ean=9781442420298) > As for Tarzan, the Fritz Leiber authorized book was a tie-in with a just-released Tarzan movie. > > Back in 1995 the Burroughs estate authorized the release of **Tarzan: The Lost Adventure** , which is based on an uncompleted manuscript Burroughs left. It was completed by Jon R. Lansdale. A lot of people weren’t entirely happy with the result, which is charged with deliberately changing the course of the story as indicated by the story itself and the notes. I have to admit that I wasn’t happy myself with the martial-arts Tarzan, nor his “sparring partner” at the end. > > Since then, the Burropughs estate has authorized the publication of R.A. Salvatore’s **Tarzan: The Epic Adventures** in 1997 and Philip Jose Farmer’s **The Dark Heart of Time** in 1999. > > It must have been a thrill for Farmer, who has been a huge Tarzan fan, publishing not only an unauthorized biography of Tarzan – **Tarzan Alive!** and a Tarzan-meets-Sherlock Holmes pastiche, **The Adventure of the Peerless Peer** , but also close enough to avoid copyright infringement pieces like \*\*Lord Tyger, Mother was a Lovely Beast, A Feast Unknown, \*\* and **[Lord of the Trees**. Actually, the Tarzan novels and many of the Barsoom novels are out of copyright and SHOULD be available for any author to expand upon, as Sherlock Holmes is. But Burroughs’ greedy, talentless descendents have used the old ["trademark character names"](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarzan)dodge to keep the novels effectively IN copyright long after the actual copyright has expired. So, fuck 'em. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genre-author-you-love-dies-another-is-hired-to-take-up-the-series-do-you-continue-reading/692559/92 "2014-07-10T18:01:15Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Why do you say such things, when you know I will kill you for it? Eek. But didn’t someone say **Dex** or someone was taking over the hypotheticals for you… Oops. Wrong again. I guess, no pie for me. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genre-author-you-love-dies-another-is-hired-to-take-up-the-series-do-you-continue-reading/692559/93 "2014-07-10T18:20:40Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > When they announced that there’s yet another book to go my expected probability that Martin will finish _A Song of Ice and Fire_ dropped to zero. > > I will read whoever finishes it off though. But my personal rule now is to not start a series until the author has completed it. This, and it’s mostly due to Martin. I’ve sort of got a supplementary rule, call it The Butcher Addendum, that there have to be plans to complete it eventually. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genre-author-you-love-dies-another-is-hired-to-take-up-the-series-do-you-continue-reading/692559/94 "2014-07-10T18:23:13Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > Eek. But didn’t someone say **Dex** or someone was taking over the hypotheticals for you… > > Oops. Wrong again. I guess, no pie for me. Oh, I’d never deprive anyone of pie. It’s just that yours will be delivered by cannon. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genre-author-you-love-dies-another-is-hired-to-take-up-the-series-do-you-continue-reading/692559/95 "2014-07-10T22:47:54Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Evil Captor** : > > Actually, the Tarzan novels and many of the Barsoom novels are out of copyright and SHOULD be available for any author to expand upon, as Sherlock Holmes is. Copyright and trademark are two completely different things. The fact that _A Princess of Mars_ is out of copyright means anyone who wants to can make (and potentially sell) copies of _A Princess of Mars_. It does not mean that anyone can make new books about John Carter, nor does it mean that anyone _should_ be able to. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genre-author-you-love-dies-another-is-hired-to-take-up-the-series-do-you-continue-reading/692559/96 "2014-07-10T22:51:08Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It does not mean that anyone can make new books about John Carter, nor does it mean that anyone _should_ be able to. If DEFINITELY means that anyone SHOULD be able to. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genre-author-you-love-dies-another-is-hired-to-take-up-the-series-do-you-continue-reading/692559/97 "2014-07-10T22:55:31Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Actually, the Tarzan novels and many of the Barsoom novels are out of copyright and SHOULD be available for any author to expand upon, as Sherlock Holmes is. But Burroughs’ greedy, talentless descendents have used the old ["trademark character names"](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarzan)dodge to keep the novels effectively IN copyright long after the actual copyright has expired. So, fuck 'em. Here’s the problem with that. Alan Moore. (And others) He took the great hero Alan Quartermain and made him into a drug addict, and Alice, Dorothy and Wendy into kiddie porn. These characters belong to the ages, and should not be muck-raked or messed with by 3rd rate hacks and thieves. While I would be OK with another Tarzan tale, it shouldn’t be one where Tarzan has orgies with Cheeta. So while I don;t think the Burroghs family has any right to make huge piles of pelf from their ancestors work, they should be able to keep further works somewhat respectable. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genre-author-you-love-dies-another-is-hired-to-take-up-the-series-do-you-continue-reading/692559/98 "2014-07-10T23:12:32Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > **Under the Moons of Mars** is an anthology of stories set on Barsoom that came out two years ago, in celebration of the centenary of the first Barsoom book. As far as I know, it’s the only “official” book of Barsoom stories allowed by the Burroughs estate. . . . Cool! Didn’t know about that’n! Just nabbed it. Thanks! > [@DrDeth](#): > > . . . He took the great hero Alan Quartermain and made him into a drug addict, and Alice, Dorothy and Wendy into kiddie porn. > > These characters belong to the ages, and should not be muck-raked or messed with by 3rd rate hacks and thieves. . . . > > So while I don;t think the Burroghs family has any right to make huge piles of pelf from their ancestors work, they should be able to keep further works somewhat respectable. Alas, nope. Public Domain includes pornographic pastiche. (Hey, “Alice in Sexland” was actually pretty good.) Seriously, I understand the moral desire here, but it needs to be exercised by the boycott, not by regulation. The way that the characters belong to the ages is by being read in homes, by families, in school, and over and over again. By being quoted. The characters are not so weak as to need bodyguards. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genre-author-you-love-dies-another-is-hired-to-take-up-the-series-do-you-continue-reading/692559/99 "2014-07-10T23:44:33Z")
Normally I would say no to the question in the OP. I’ll make an exception for W.E.B Griffin. I find his books to be quite interesting\* and fun despite all being made in the very strict formula he came up with years ago. He is now 84 and his son William Butterworth IV has been coauthoring for years. Probably writing most of the books in recent years. There doesn’t seem to be much of a change in style or content since the collaboration started. And since I can usually blow through one of his books in a day I see no reason to stop getting them from the library. \*he’s had a very interesting life and uses his experience to have some unique historical back drops to his stories. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genre-author-you-love-dies-another-is-hired-to-take-up-the-series-do-you-continue-reading/692559/100 "2014-07-11T17:07:38Z")
Incidentally, _Return to the Willows_ is a quite good sequel to the beloved Children’s classic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genre-author-you-love-dies-another-is-hired-to-take-up-the-series-do-you-continue-reading/692559.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-genre-author-you-love-dies-another-is-hired-to-take-up-the-series-do-you-continue-reading/692559.md?page=6)