Ridley Pearson, prolific author of adult and children’s titles, (including Peter and the Starcatchers with Dave Barry), released number four in his Walt Fleming series, In Harm's Way this summer. In a cross-pollinating move (pretty) sure to please fans, Lou Boldt, the protagonist of his other popular series, has a supporting role to play in it. Ransom Notes guest blogger Karin Slaughter’s latest offering Broken is more; it’s a continuation of two ongoing series giving equal time to Sara Linton and Lena Adams instead of having one merely guest starring in one of the other’s titles.
I’m a fan of the idea of crossing the streams of fictional worlds, and while the payoff could be huge, (introducing readers to a new character by rooting them in another, already established preference), it hardly seems like a slam-dunk proposal for the creators. Granted, the worlds of Pearson’s and Slaughter’s characters are based in the same basic realities, but, as an author who’s carefully constructed a fictional universe, no matter how closely it resembles our own, there’s risk inherent any time you go monkeying with the laws and boundaries of that universe. Every book is charged with the task of establishing a sense of place and time, even if it’s the twentieth title in a series, and the slightest misstep or inconsistency can break down that painstakingly crafted fourth wall tainting the reading experience.
Another risk involved is the possibility that holding your works up beside each other can point out inequalities in one or both, or perhaps that they don’t differ enough. James Crumley wrote Bordersnakes a combined series novel alternating chapters between Milo and Sughrue, but frankly, their voices were so similar that the plot became difficult to follow.
Of course comics do this all the time and nobody seems to mind the contradictions, treating each new origin story or crossover like it’s merely a riff, an experiment, with a generally accepted set of character traits etc, but we’ll see how that goes over with the movie going public when The Avengers movie hits.
These sorts of recipes work best for me when they’re ingredients I’m not too invested in to begin with. As a kid I loved it when The Harlem Globetrotters guested on Scooby-Doo, but as a much more interested fan, had a hard time reconciling Batman and Robin’s doing the same. It didn’t make sense for the dynamic duo to be leaving Gotham City to run around in the woods with the gang.
So, I’m going to toss out a couple suggestions for possible team-ups that could pique my interest: James Bond & Jessica Fletcher, Mrs. Murphy & Dirk Pitt, Hannibal Lecter & Dexter Morgan.
Any other suggestions?
Jedidiah Ayres writes fiction and keeps the blog Hardboiled Wonderland
