Colin and I had had this running joke for years. We said, as soon as an author dies, you would expect a deluge of 'new' books bearing his name in huge bold fonts and some minor writer in small print. This had proven to be a winning formula in the publishing world apparently and we didn't expect anything less.
In the case of Robert Ludlum, since his death, at least new twelve books were released! The New York Times in an article titled 'The Ludlum Conundrum: A Dead Novelist Provides New Thrills' and the Independent in an article titled 'The Ludlum identity: How a bestselling author was Bourne again' examined this phenomena which had been around for over the last decade and a half at least. Since then, Eric Van Lustbader, a bestselling thriller and fantasy writer in his own right, best known for the huge hit 'The Ninja', had been contracted and had written two more of the Bourne books.
Meanwhile, bestselling fantasy writer David Gemmell had died lately, only completing two books in his Trojan War trilogy. This should not be too difficult for a ghost writer as the Trojan War was well-known. I would be expecting new volumes from David Gemmell to come out soon. Books on the Drenai world and more! A deluge!
There had been so many new novels on Asimov's Foundation and Marion Zimmer Bradley's myriad creations since their deaths too.
Of course there were also the sons and daughters who continued their parents' legacy in extending those original works . The works of J.R.R. Tolkien and Frank Herbert came to mind immediately.
Publishers and the estate of the late writer milking the devoted fanbase? You bet!
2 comments:
I also recall the "Isaac Asimov's Robot City" series, written long _before_ the man himself passed away.
Yes, I remember those. I liked their stylised covers.
Still, Asimov was a horrible SF writer to begin with.
I prefer his 'science' books though. Like 'The Exploding Suns'.
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