Comments on: Wednesday, August 12: Tune It Or Die!

By: Dave Zeltserman

Dave Zeltserman — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 16:00:23 +0000

Rob, you’re right–that and the relationship between Wolfe and Archie, and of course, Stout’s terrific writing, was what made the series so much fun. Goldborough had an impossible task continuing the series as it was. The only way to keep Wolfe alive would’ve been to shake things up and do something completely different. If I were continuing the series (as I at times fantasized) I would’ve had Archie dead and Wolfe dedicated to solve his murder, which would take the complete length of the new series.

By: Rob Lopresti

Rob Lopresti — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 15:30:54 +0000

Glad to have you on board,Dave. I enjoyed your story much more than I ever enjoyed Goldborough.

THe problem with having it from Wolfe’s point of view is that we would presumably know the solution as soon as he did. Keeping the audience in ignorance (say that three times fast) si one benefit of the Watson/Archie system.

By: Dave Zeltserman

Dave Zeltserman — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 02:46:00 +0000

Well, the motivation for my pastiche Julius Katz (although I like to think of it more as a tribute to Rex Stout) was Alfred Hitchcock’s Black Orchid contest, although I probably wouldn’t have been interested in participating if I wasn’t a huge fan of Rex Stout and Nero Wolfe–I read them all, many of them several times.

Btw. I always thought that if the Nero Wolfe series was going to continue past Rex Stout it needed to be done from Wolfe’s perspective instead of Archie’s. No matter how good a writer Robert Goldsborough might’ve been, Stout’s voice was too unique and strong for any writer to have continued the series in the same vein.

By: Steve Steinbock

Steve Steinbock — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 04:34:54 +0000

Following up on Dale’s comment, his EQ pastiche, “The Mad Hatter’s Riddle,” is one that Danney and Lee would have appreciated. It features an actor named Rand Canyon, mention of Stout and Wodehouse, and more than passing reference to Lewis Carroll. Who can ask for more?

By: Jeff Baker

Jeff Baker — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 01:27:27 +0000

Hmmmm….this got me thinking. H.P. Lovecraft and Dr. Seuss have a style that’s easy to imitate, to be recognisable in. But to replicate GOOD Chandler, or Bradbury or Seuss or Lovecraft, therein lies the trick. Many times a pastiche makes us smile with fond memory (as in Mr. Andrews’, thanks!!!) But really copying another writer’s style, his* rhythms, his FEEL is not easy. “There is a difference,” Ben Franklin wrote, “between imitating a man and counterfieting him…”

footnote: or her.

By: Dale Andrews

Dale Andrews — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:47:54 +0000

Drawing on Jon’s posting, my favorite definition of “pastiche” is also that offered by Dannay, who wrote that “a pastiche is a serious and sincere imitation in the exact manner of the original author.”

There also have been a number of Ellery Queen pastiches over the years (modesty forbids me from mentioning a particularly recent one, although — oh, what the heck — it is in the September/October issue of EQMM), but I would commend to all Mike Nevins’ 1982 classic short story “Open Letter to Survivors,” which, consistent with the observation from the beginning of Rob’s article, is a story that refers back to an earlier EQ work (Ten Days’ Wonder)and, in fact, never specifically names Ellery as the detective protagonist.

By: Jon L. Breen

Jon L. Breen — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:43:46 +0000

Several writers have tried to duplicate Gardner’s Perry Mason formula, but none of them apart from Parnell Hall (including even Thomas Chastain, who became the authorized continuer of the series) have succeeded. Fred Dannay used to characterize stories in imitation, including some of mind, as parody-pastiches, I think to indicate that parodies are not necessarily pure ridicule but serious if humorous homages to an admired author. I think “The Drowning Icecube,” my Ross Macdonald parody, is one of my best stories. Trying to imitate Macdonald’s style, even for comic purposes, caused me to write better than I’m normally capable of.