Clive Cussler, who refers to himself as an entertainer rather than a writer, certainly entertains the reader in The Chase. I attended an event a few years ago where Clive Cussler was a guest and. as expected, he is quite a character. His knowledge of engineering and details of working parts always intrigues me and his detailed descriptions of both places and characters set you in the scene.The Chase is a fast paced, intriguing novel which begins with the raising of a steam locomotive from a Montana Lake then the story takes us back to the early 1900s where a detective, Isaac Bell, follows the exploits of the infamous Butcher Bandit who escapes after each bank robbery by train. I was a big fan of Clive Cussler for years, but after reading a disappointing book of his before noticing that it was co-authored, I haven't gone back to reading his novels. I was excited to find a book (the first in a series) written by him, but on looking at subsequent novels in this series found that the others were co-authored. Book Collaborating has become a trend with popular authors and so far I haven't found any that live up to the original author's work. Janet Evanovich is another author who after having success with the Stephanie Plum series went on to collaborate with other authors. James Patterson who puts out more books than any other author, also collaborates with other writers. Robert Ludlum's books have been written and published by other authors long after his death under the trademark "Robert Ludlum."
What are your thoughts on novels that are either co-authored or written solely by others using a popular author's name?
