# I want Author X resurrected so he can write story Y **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 20, 2008, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-author-x-resurrected-so-he-can-write-story-y/468772 "2008-10-20T19:02:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-author-x-resurrected-so-he-can-write-story-y/468772/41 "2008-10-21T13:37:38Z")
Either Hunter Thompson or Molly Ivans would give great political commentary in these times. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-author-x-resurrected-so-he-can-write-story-y/468772/42 "2008-10-21T13:43:52Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Patrick O’Brian, to finish his final Aubrey/Maturin novel. If he wants to make it 2500 pages long, that’s OK too. This and C.S. Forester too while we are at it. ---
**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:** [October 21, 2008, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-author-x-resurrected-so-he-can-write-story-y/468772/43 "2008-10-21T14:03:41Z")
> [@](#): > > This and C.S. Forester too while we are at it. Yeah - he needs to finish **Hornblower During the Crisis**. I want to know if C. Northcote Parkinson was correct about how it was going to end. And he can write **The Edge and the Point** while he’s at it. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-author-x-resurrected-so-he-can-write-story-y/468772/44 "2008-10-21T14:11:47Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > I’d like Roger Zelazny back, just so he can sort out _some_ resolution to the second Amber chronicles. This. He left a lot of hanging plot points, and now we’ll never know what happened or why. I’d also like to see a sequel to _Changeling_ and _Madwand_; he left things hanging with that wizard with robes that had a “Made In Taiwan” label. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-author-x-resurrected-so-he-can-write-story-y/468772/45 "2008-10-21T14:23:01Z")
I’m actually kind of glad that nobody’s stepped in to say they want John D. MacDonald back to write the final Travis McGee novel, or publish the one that was rumored to have been written (_The Black Border of Death_); I don’t believe he planned on having the Silver Rain novel be the last one, but it works pretty well that way. Tangentially-related, I’d like Eva Cassidy to come back and record another CD, now that music publishers understand what kind of talent she was. ---
**Author:** ![welby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@welby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/welby)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-author-x-resurrected-so-he-can-write-story-y/468772/46 "2008-10-21T14:43:54Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Patrick O’Brian, to finish his final Aubrey/Maturin novel. If he wants to make it 2500 pages long, that’s OK too. What muldoonthief said. But 2500 pages is too short. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-author-x-resurrected-so-he-can-write-story-y/468772/47 "2008-10-21T15:07:51Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > But even more, I’d like Frank Herbert back, so as to give his son the whipping he so richly deserves. _And_ to finish off his Dune ideas. I came here for the Frank Herbert. I picture him bursting through the door with a typewriter in arm, saying “I’ve come her to chew bubblegum and kick ass!” and then sending Brian Herbert to his room with no supper. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-author-x-resurrected-so-he-can-write-story-y/468772/48 "2008-10-21T15:20:59Z")
I’d bring back Lovecraft, retroactively, at least long enough for him to end up writing scripts for E.C. Comics and _Night Gallery_. ---
**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:** [October 21, 2008, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-author-x-resurrected-so-he-can-write-story-y/468772/49 "2008-10-21T15:35:51Z")
> [@](#): > > I’d bring back Lovecraft, retroactively, at least long enough for him to end up writing scripts for E.C. Comics and Night Gallery. Bringing Lovecraft back from the dead pretty much would be an art form in itself, and wouldn’t neeca story. But don’t put him on Night Gallery – that would e a Fate Worse than Death. They were bad enough to poor Rod Serling. And they _butchered_ Lovecraft every time they did him. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-author-x-resurrected-so-he-can-write-story-y/468772/50 "2008-10-21T15:47:45Z")
Octavia Butler ~ and ~ Jack Vance ---
**Author:** ![bauble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f6c823/32.png) [@bauble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bauble)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-author-x-resurrected-so-he-can-write-story-y/468772/51 "2008-10-21T16:56:53Z")
Another vote for Zelazny. And, in addition to wrapping up the loose ends in the Amber stories he wrote, I want him to write the story of Oberon that Betancourt did (which, to be fair, I enjoyed. But it wasn’t Zelazny.). And maybe another story like A Night in the Lonesome October. ---
**Author:** ![History\_Geek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b19c9b/32.png) [@History\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/History_Geek)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-author-x-resurrected-so-he-can-write-story-y/468772/52 "2008-10-21T16:59:59Z")
I agree with bringing back Heinlein for more juveniles. I’d like to get another Starship Troopers novel out of him too - more of the adventures of Lt. Juan Rico or perhaps some of Sgt. Zim’s exploits. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-author-x-resurrected-so-he-can-write-story-y/468772/53 "2008-10-21T17:31:39Z")
I don’t think he was capable of writing that sort of book in his later days. ---
**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:** [October 21, 2008, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-author-x-resurrected-so-he-can-write-story-y/468772/54 "2008-10-21T17:38:15Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > What you don’t know is that Jordan in fact died in 1990 but, as per the OP, was brought back from the dead for the purpose of finishing his Wheel of Time series. When this was explained to him, he replied, “Then this series is never going to end!” Whereupon his entire former fandom beat him to death. You’d all be in jail if Mrs. Rhymer & I hadn’t gone back and changed history again. ---
**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:** [October 21, 2008, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-author-x-resurrected-so-he-can-write-story-y/468772/55 "2008-10-21T17:39:37Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > I > I’m not sure that even with **Skald** ’s reverse switch and time limits you’d be able to convince Heinlein to write any thing he didn’t want to write. Like I’d let you guys bother the master. He’ll write what he wants, and you’ll LIKE it. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-author-x-resurrected-so-he-can-write-story-y/468772/56 "2008-10-21T17:45:23Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Like I’d let you guys bother the master. He’ll write what he wants, and you’ll LIKE it. ::hangs head:: It’s true, I would like it. I cannot think of a Heinlein book I did not enjoy. It seems like there should be one, but I cannot think of it. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-author-x-resurrected-so-he-can-write-story-y/468772/57 "2008-10-21T17:47:30Z")
C.M. Kornbluth. He wrote a couple of the best science fiction or fantasy short-shorts when he was all of 16, then WWII damaged his health and he dropped dead in his 30s, leaving a lot of great stories but also the potential for ever better work in his more mature years. ---
**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:** [October 21, 2008, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-author-x-resurrected-so-he-can-write-story-y/468772/58 "2008-10-21T17:51:36Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > ::hangs head:: It’s true, I would like it. I cannot think of a Heinlein book I did not enjoy. It seems like there should be one, but I cannot think of it. I didn’t LOVE _I Will Fear No Evil_; it was readable, just re-readable the way _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_ or _Stranger in a Strange Land_ are. And once I read it as an adult, I thought _The Number of the Beast_ was actively bad, but in a good way; that is, its badness is deliberate, as the novel is an elaborate joke. So those two (IWFNE & TNofB) are as close as he gets to unsatisfactory. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-author-x-resurrected-so-he-can-write-story-y/468772/59 "2008-10-21T17:59:46Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Bringing Lovecraft back from the dead pretty much would be an art form in itself, You’re going to a backup refrigeration system in case the main one breaks - or a whole lotta ice… ---
**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:** [October 21, 2008, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-author-x-resurrected-so-he-can-write-story-y/468772/60 "2008-10-21T18:04:20Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I didn’t LOVE _I Will Fear No Evil_; it was readable, just re-readable the way _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_ or _Stranger in a Strange Land_ are. And once I read it as an adult, I thought _The Number of the Beast_ was actively bad, but in a good way; that is, its badness is deliberate, as the novel is an elaborate joke. So those two (IWFNE & TNofB) are as close as he gets to unsatisfactory. The above should read “it was readable, just NOT re-readable.” Pallas is messing with my typing again, on account of me refusing to promise to leave my wife for her when she (Pallas) transitions from computer to flesh & blood. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-author-x-resurrected-so-he-can-write-story-y/468772.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-author-x-resurrected-so-he-can-write-story-y/468772.md?page=4)