The Book Thread: September 26th, 2026 [MP4]

Good morning, ‘rons and ‘ronettes. It’s time once again for the monthly MP4-hosted Sunday Book Thread. Dress for men, as always, is country club casual. Women, however, are encouraged to cater to my own particular tastes:

So ask the barman for a cocktail, covfefe or tea and let’s get started!

‘ghost in the machine’

In the world of comics, there is a thing known as a ‘ghost strip.’ That is, a strip that goes on after the original artist’s death under various hands. Nancy and Popeye are two that spring to mind. A variant of the ‘ghost strip’ is one where it’s taken over by a hand selected by the original artist; in this case, the Mort Walker strips Beetle Bailey and Hi and Lois.

The same thing happens in fiction, too. Clive Cussler’s ‘Dirk Pitt’ series continues to go on, 26 years after his death. ‘Tom Clancy’ novels still fill the shelves, and do I even have to mention the innumerable Sherlock Holmes pastiches that turn up every month? In a way, this sort of thing is a gift for a cartoonist or a writer. The hard work of coming up with a world and its inhabitants has already been done and the lives and personalities of the characters have already been limned. All you have to do is create a situation.

The hard part, however, is tone. A cartoonist can copy the Popeye art of Segar, but not his satiric blend of whimsy and seriousness. Almost anyone can write a Holmes story, but very few, IMO, capture the true style of Conan Doyle.* Most attempts are more concerned with a fiendishly twisted plot than with the characters of Holmes and Watson themselves. Which, again, can be a gift – you, as a writer, presume that whoever is buying your book has already internalized the Holmesian world (gasogene, hansom cabs, fog-shrouded streets), so you don’t need to concern yourself with richness of detail. Likewise with the heirs of Bushmiller, Segar, Cussler or Clancy: the hard work has been done and you’re only gilding the lily.

And this isn’t even mentioning books that re-imagine characters or provide (that dreaded word) ‘backstory.’ Gregory Maguire has made an entire career and buckets of money plundering the Land of Oz. Abraham Lincoln hunts vampires. Jane Austen deals with zombies.

How do you feel about ‘continuations,’ ‘re-boots’ or ‘pastiches?’ For readers, do you welcome them as more time to spend with characters you love? For writers, do you look on them as opportunities to try on a different ‘voice?’ Or do you despise the whole genre?

*The only ones I can think of are Adrian Conan Doyle and John Dickson Carr.

posted by Open Blogger at 09:00 AM

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