Wow, I didn’t know that. I used to be a devoted EQ fan, but I gave it up at some point, and maybe should go back for some re-reads. (My problem is that, like the famous Agatha Christie, once you know the puzzler solution/twist, I’m not sure how much fun it would be.)
I’m not a big fan of neverending genre series to begin with. In fact, I personally feel that 1500 pages is about as far as any storyline or set of characters should ever get. I haven’t seen anyone fill up a shelf with top-notch work that way. For example, I was done with Wheel of Time by book 5… an author switch was the least of its problems.
The authors I like are people like Stephen R Donaldson who gives us a few novels in a particular setting and moves on. His Covenant books are now up book 10… while I’m still enjoying number 8 right now, I can’t help but feel that each book is a step down from the book before it. His Gap series, too. At a certain point in book 3, I wondered if we could get an editor in there to whip those five books down to 1500 pages.
So, anyway, as to switching authors mid-stream: Usually, I read a particular author because of specific elements about their writing style that I like. I read Stephen King because I like Stephen King. I’m not going to read something just because it’s a Star Wars book; I’ll read Michael Stackpole’s Star Wars books because I like him as an author. Jenifer Roberson’s one short story in a Star Wars anthology was enough to get me to read two of her other non-SW series. (Which, frankly, both suffered from being much longer than 1500 pages.)
If there’s going to be a successful author switch for me, it either has to be a new author who can emulate the writing style of the previous one, or it has to be a new author that I genuinely like. I won’t keep reading just because I’m enthralled with some never-ending soap opera because I’d really just as soon have them end it and move on.
To be fair, I think that’s more a criticism of Kevin J Anderson in general. He has an enviable career and I hate to say anything bad about him… but his writing does absolutely nothing for me.
What do you do when a genre author you like is still alive but stopped writing the series. . .?
On day in the late 1990s a guy walked into my town’s Visitors Center, where I work, and started asking questions about the town. He said he was working on a book. Now lots of people have come into my office with stories of writing books, but the more I talked with this guy, the more it seemed as though he was a “real” author who had been published before.
“Might I have read any of you work?” I asked him.
“My name is Rick Boyer. I write books about Doc Adams.”
Holy. Crap. I had read all of his previous books and was thrilled to be able to help him with local locations and information about my town. When the book came out it had details that Boyer and I had discussed and I was thanked in the acknowledgements. It turns out “The Man Who Whispered” was Boyer’s last Doc Adams book. (Because that one was published direct to paperback, he sent me an autographed “Daisy Ducks” hardcover as a thank you.)
I miss Doc Adams and I’ve always wished Boyer would revisit him.
I miss the original Spenser, too, and won’t read the newer ones. William Tapply is gone as well, but no one has continued the Brady Coyne series.
I read all of Charlotte MacLeod’s series and was saddened by her death. No one could possibly pick up where she left off.
I’ll give a very limited “yes”. If the new author is working off of the original author’s notes, and if the original author specifically picked the new author before he died, then I’ll read them. Otherwise, why bother? Even if the new author is someone I like, I’d rather read their own creations, than their interpretations of someone else’s.
I gave up on the WoT books at around book six, when i heard Sanderson was picking up the series i finished them. It was well worth it, the series was horrible in the middle but the beginning by Jordan and the end by Sanderson were incredible.
I was really pissed by Benford’s contribution. It looked like he took some other book entirely, something sitting on his rejects shelf, and changed the name of the protagonist to “Hari Seldon.” The book (Seldon uses mental projection to live for a while in the body of an alien in a wilderness preserve) had nothing to do with the Foundation/Empire world. It was entirely about some other idea entirely that Benford wanted to write. (Had probably already written and just modified.)
At least Brin and Bear had the decency to write “Foundation” novels. Benford was wrapped up in his own private agenda.
O.M.G. Can I kiss your ring? Bear your children? That is SO cool.
You mean like if you were to fall into a volcano, and Dex or Elendil’s Heir took over writing hypotheticals? 
You’re in for a treat. How about a Gaiman story that’s a Conan Doyle/Lovecraft mashup, with a helluva twist?: http://www.neilgaiman.com/mediafiles/exclusive/shortstories/emerald.pdf
Get thee behind me, Tom Tildrum!
Thanks for letting me know she has a fourth one out; I just ordered it.
She’s not Sayers, but she’s not bad. The first three books were each in at least some sense grounded in Sayers’ material*, so some of the original flavor is there. In the first novel, you can hear Sayers clearly in the first couple of chapters; the rest is sub-par, but she really got the style down in the subsequent books.
( * The first book was based on an unfinished outline, the second on the wartime “Wimsey Papers”, and the third on musings in her letters and also on her collaboration with Scott-Giles, The Wimsey Family.)
I agree that Atkins’ attempts are pale beside the real thing… but I don’t agree with your last sentence. First, it’s Candy Sloan. Secondly, Spenser of all people would realize that people need to confront some things themselves. He would recognize that need in Maddie as an echo of his own philosophy.
Yep. This is absolutely true.
I’d probably at least give it a try. But then, I read fanfiction too.
I did try And Another Thing… (I like Colfer’s Artemis series), but… yeah, no. Too much of the Hitchhiker series’ appeal is wrapped up in Adams’ very particular writing style and sense of humor.
I do, however, read Holmes pastiches, and I think of them as fanfiction (which they are).
Thanks for reminding me about that book. I’d managed to suppress the memory of that awful, awful, book.
I read the sequel to Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and it wasn’t bad but there was something missing. I think that sums up my problem with a lot of the substitute author series. It’s never the same, and some spark is always missing.
It may have been DeCamp’s Conan stories that ruined me for continuations by other authors. I’ve TRIED a couple of books written by other authors, they just never are as good. This may be because I’ve only tried it with my favorite authors and storylines, authors whose work I really like. A more mediocre series, it might not make so much difference who writes it. Then again, I don’t bother reading mediocre books any more: why should I bother when there is the Internet?
I haven’t read anything else he’s written, and maybe he’s OK in his own creations, but his writing style was totally wrong for Dune. He took this large, mystical, unexplained universe and turned it into a cheap amusement park (literally). That plus the fact they still keep pumping out novels, now set in between Herbert’s original novels, makes it obvious they’re just cash grabbing whores, “discovered secret outline” or not.
I’m also happy to hear of a new Wimsey book by Walsh. I’m now in queue to check it out from the library.
I haven’t read any of the Spenser novels since Parker died. Although maybe some decent fanfic would bring the characters out of the torpor of the last few books.
StG
Generally I won’t. Either I’m not attached enough to the series to care if it goes on, or I’m quite attached to it and I don’t want to see some slob muck it up!
I’ve thought of one exception: Brad Strickland has continued to write children’s books with John Bellairs’ Lewis Barnavelt character, and they’re decent. That’s a cozy little world I’m happy to revisit.
Well said.
Swamp Adder, I hope you’ll try June Thomson’s early Holmes pastiches. Start here: The Secret Files of Sherlock Holmes: Thomson, June: 9781883402365: Amazon.com: Books
Thanks, I will.
I liked Conan by DeCamp…but disliked Conan by Andrew J. Offutt. Offutt’s Conan was light-years too smart. He’d concoct really complicated conspiracies. He came across even smarter than Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser (combined!)
Howard’s Conan was canny, but not intrigue-level intelligent. “The Tower of the Elephant” is as smart as he gets.
Another Conan author (I do not remember his name) overcompensated in the other direction, and depicted Conan as stupid as a bag of Brythunians. Just doltish stupid. He sees a statue of a giant spider in a temple…and doesn’t realize it’s going to come to life. Yeah? Even after he’s seen half a dozen other statues come to life?
That ain’t Conan; that’s Baby Huey.