# Book series that are still good after a change in authors **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 14, 2010, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-are-still-good-after-a-change-in-authors/546716 "2010-07-14T21:19:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Strassia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@Strassia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strassia)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-are-still-good-after-a-change-in-authors/546716/1 "2010-07-14T21:19:50Z")
Do you know of any case when a series that is not an anthology maintains its quality when someone new takes over the writing. I am not referring to “sandbox” stories or anthologies where different writers take on the world created by someone else, but where a series continues with a new author doing the majority of the writing. This was inspired by a question I asked [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=570795) about books written by Robert Asprin and then continued, mostly written by others and no where near as good. The closest I know is the last book of the [Raj Whitehall](http://www.webscription.net/c-38-raj-whitehall-series-by-david-drake-and-s-m-stirling.aspx) books. The first were written by David Drake and S. M. Stirling. but the last was written by David Drake and Eric Flint. From what David Drake wrote in his author notes, he does the overall plotting, and his co-writers do mos of the actual writing. The last book seems to be just as good to me, but I also read it first and then went back to read the others. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-are-still-good-after-a-change-in-authors/546716/2 "2010-07-14T21:34:44Z")
The first dozen or so Oz books were written by L Frank Baum, the original creator (and “Royal Historian of Oz”). After he died, Ruth Plumly Thompson took over and wrote a dozen or so more, which I think were pretty much as good as the Baum books. After she stopped writing them, a bunch of other people wrote additional Oz books, which are generally considered to be less good. How could you not want to read books in which (quoting Wikipedia): Typically in each of Thompson’s Oz novels, a child (usually from America) and a supernatural companion (usually a talking animal), while traveling through Oz or one of the neighboring regions, find themselves in an obscure community where the inhabitants engage in a single activity. The inhabitants of this community then capture the travelers, and force them to participate in this same activity. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-are-still-good-after-a-change-in-authors/546716/3 "2010-07-15T00:16:42Z")
I will say that the authoress who took over the Oz franchise after Baum died had an utterly different voice. It’s been long enough I don’t remember for certain, but her pacing & plotting may have been slower as well. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-are-still-good-after-a-change-in-authors/546716/4 "2010-07-15T04:44:38Z")
The various series of books by John Bellairs continued by Brad Strickland are surprisingly consistent. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-are-still-good-after-a-change-in-authors/546716/5 "2010-07-15T06:04:43Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > The first dozen or so Oz books were written by L Frank Baum, the original creator (and “Royal Historian of Oz”). After he died, Ruth Plumly Thompson took over and wrote a dozen or so more, which I think were pretty much as good as the Baum books. After she stopped writing them, a bunch of other people wrote additional Oz books, which are generally considered to be less good. Who was responsible for the one where the hero undergoes gender reassignment at the end? I was _not_ ready for that little twist when I read it. **The Life and Adventures of Gargantua and Pantagruel** by Rabelais began as a sequel to the anonymously published **The Great Chronicles of the Great and Enormous Giant Gargantua**. Does that count? No? Then I got nothing. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-are-still-good-after-a-change-in-authors/546716/6 "2010-07-15T06:15:49Z")
Dick Francis’ son Felix has taken over his mystery series. He trained him well. Felix did research for the books in the 1990’s. Then his dad came out of retirement and he cowrote a couple books with Felix. The last book IIRC Felix name came first on the book jacket. I got the impression his dad was mainly a consultant on the last one. Time will tell. Felix has the training. I hope he learned enough. His dad, Dick Francis died early this year. Interview with Dick and Felix nice picture of them together > **[Dick Francis interview](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/authorinterviews/6121481/Dick-Francis-interview.html)** > > In his final interview, Dick Francis talks about writing novels with his son ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-are-still-good-after-a-change-in-authors/546716/7 "2010-07-15T06:44:22Z")
While Clarke was still peripherally involved, I quite enjoyed the sequels to Rendezvous with Rama even though Gentry Lee practically took over. Of course, while the quality did not suffer (I know there are those who had the polar opposite reaction) and maybe even was better than the original, there was a clear change in theme and style. I’m curious: Does the publisher always make it obvious that the author has changed? Could they potentially get permission from the estate to use a ghost writer and still list the original author on the cover? Has anyone read “And Another Thing…” - the new Hitchhikers Guide book written by Eoin Colfer? How did it fare? There are some novels which are based on only partially completed material by the author before their death that is then completed by their spouse, offspring, or publisher. How do these fare? I think The Salmon of Doubt, some of the Dune books, possibly some Roddenbery material, and one or two things by Philip K Dick all fall into this category… ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-are-still-good-after-a-change-in-authors/546716/8 "2010-07-15T07:24:19Z")
SAnderson did a great job with the last Wheel of Time book after the death of Robert Jordan. Not too long till the next one now… ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-are-still-good-after-a-change-in-authors/546716/9 "2010-07-15T07:36:11Z")
Brett Halliday is a pseudonym. Mike Shayne is a hard boiled detective character. Similar to Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer. There’s over 60 Mike Shayne books and there’s a dozen movies. Davis Dresser was the original author that used the pen name Brett Halliday. There were several ghost writers after Dresser retired in the late 1950’s. I prefer Dresser’s books and they are the ones I’ve collected and read. all the books were written under the pen name Brett Halliday > **[Brett Halliday](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brett_Halliday)** > > Brett Halliday (July 31, 1904 – February 4, 1977) is the primary pen name of Davis Dresser, an American mystery and western writer. Halliday is best known for the long-lived series of Michael Shayne mysteries he wrote, and later commissioned others to continue. Dresser also wrote westerns, non-series mysteries, and romances under the names Asa Baker, Matthew Blood, Kathryn Culver, Don Davis, Hal Debrett, Anthony Scott, Peter Field, and Anderson Wayne. > Dresser was born in Chicago, Illinois, b... > [@](#): > > Dresser retired virtually from writing in the late 1950s, and used ghostwriters, among others Robert Terrall, Wallace Ryerson Johnson, Dennis Lynds. James Reasoner continued the work after Dresser’s death. Bill Pronzini also ghost-wrote some stories about Mike Shayne. [http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/bhallida.htm](http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/bhallida.htm) > **[Brett Halliday](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brett_Halliday)** > > Brett Halliday (July 31, 1904 – February 4, 1977) is the primary pen name of Davis Dresser, an American mystery and western writer. Halliday is best known for the long-lived series of Michael Shayne mysteries he wrote, and later commissioned others to continue. Dresser also wrote westerns, non-series mysteries, and romances under the names Asa Baker, Matthew Blood, Kathryn Culver, Don Davis, Hal Debrett, Anthony Scott, Peter Field, and Anderson Wayne. > Dresser was born in Chicago, Illinois, b... The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew were written under pen names. There’s a bunch of people that wrote those books. The publisher contracted out to whoever had a good idea. > **[Franklin W. Dixon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_W._Dixon)** > > Franklin W. Dixon is the pen name used by a variety of different authors who were part of a team that wrote The Hardy Boys novels for the Stratemeyer Syndicate (now owned by Simon & Schuster). Dixon was also the writer attributed for the Ted Scott Flying Stories series, published by Grosset & Dunlap. > Canadian author Charles Leslie McFarlane is believed to have written the first sixteen Hardy Boys books, but worked to a detailed plot and character outline for each story. The outlines are believe... > **[Carolyn Keene](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolyn_Keene)** > > Carolyn Keene is the pseudonym of the authors of the Nancy Drew mystery stories and The Dana Girls mystery stories, both produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate. In addition, the Keene pen name is credited with the Nancy Drew spin-off, River Heights, and the Nancy Drew Notebooks. > Edward Stratemeyer, the founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, hired writers, beginning with Mildred Wirt (later Mildred Benson), to write the manuscripts for the Nancy Drew books. The writers were paid $125 for each book ... ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-are-still-good-after-a-change-in-authors/546716/10 "2010-07-15T08:04:18Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The last book IIRC Felix name came first on the book jacket. I got the impression his dad was mainly a consultant on the last one. > > Time will tell. Felix has the training. I hope he learned enough. Felix Francis has always been listed second. What I assume is Dick Francis’ last book, Crossfire, will be released in August. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-are-still-good-after-a-change-in-authors/546716/11 "2010-07-15T08:26:23Z")
Still, as a life long Dick Francis reader I hope Felix will be as good as his dad. A few years ago I picked up the newest Dick Francis at Barnes & Noble. I went into the store coffee bar. I glanced at the book while drinking my latte. Next thing I knew 4 hours went by. I couldn’t pull myself out of that chair until the book was finished. Usually I make it home first. But I don’t care what else is scheduled. I’m reading that Francis book that very day. I started reading his book when I was 14. I’ll give Felix every possible chance. I want him to succeed. ---
**Author:** ![Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrobey_Mavromihalis)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-are-still-good-after-a-change-in-authors/546716/12 "2010-07-15T11:33:12Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Still, as a life long Dick Francis reader I hope Felix will be as good as his dad. You might be better off hoping he’ll be as good as his mum . . . ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-are-still-good-after-a-change-in-authors/546716/13 "2010-07-15T11:45:45Z")
jackdavinci, everything published under the name Philip K. Dick is indeed by Dick. Some of it is manuscripts that he couldn’t get published at some point or just wrote for himself, but it’s all by him. One may argue whether it should have been published, but that’s a different matter. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-series-that-are-still-good-after-a-change-in-authors/546716/14 "2010-07-15T12:26:07Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > Who was responsible for the one where the hero undergoes gender reassignment at the end? I was _not_ ready for that little twist when I read it. You may be thinking of[The [Marvelous] Land of Oz](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Marvelous_Land_of_Oz), which was the second Oz book Baum wrote (after _The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_).