Back in the saddle with something simple. Pardon the hiatus; life got crazy, and continues to be so.
Recently, an author I like published a book that’s a tie-in novel for a video game series. I’d known he was going to (I sometimes poke my nose onto various authors’ blogs), but then I actually saw it on a bookstore shelf.
I’m not sure if I want to read it or not. I played partway through one game in the series and enjoyed it. I’ve very much enjoyed everything else I’ve read by this author.* But I’m still uncertain. I’ve read a couple tie-in novels before, which ranged from mediocre to so painfully bad I put it down within two chapters. And everyone has encountered works that attempt to transfer a story from one medium to another that simply don’t work.
On the other hand, sometimes they do. Plus, tie-in novels aren’t meant to be direct transfers of stories; they simply take place in the same world. Now that I think about it, they’re a bit like fanfic – just officially sanctioned and published fanfic that takes care not to alter the continuity of the original world. And I have read a (small) variety of fanfic and enjoyed it.**
So maybe I’ll give this book a shot. Time to go see if it’s available at my beloved local library.
* Jim C. Hines. I’ve read all of his Magic Ex Libris series, own two of them, and am still willing to squee about various aspects of them to friends whenever they come up. I haven’t read any of his other works, though, because the first books in the series aren’t available through my library. I’m very disappointed by this, because they sound right up my alley.
** Of course, a lot of my favorite fanfics do alter continuity in radical ways, but that’s a whole other post.
Lectitare 