New Narnia Novel in the offing?
From Scifi News Wire:
In the wake of the success of the Harry Potter series of children's novels, the estate of author C.S. Lewis is gearing up for a new effort to market his classic Chronicles of Narnia books, the New York Times reported. The seven Narnia books tell the story of Aslan, a lion who rules a fantasy kingdom, and the English schoolchildren who visit his world.
Micah's Comment: I'm beginning to think I should state specifically in my will whether my estate has the right to dabble in my universes in my absence, for the sake of profit.
The Lewis estate and its publishers have struck deals to license plush Narnia toys, and HarperCollins said it plans to commission new Narnia novels by unidentified authors--an idea that outrages some fans, the newspaper reported.
The Times also reported that an internal HarperCollins memo suggested that an effort should be made to downplay the novels' Christian imagery and theology--a suggestion that HarperCollins executives subsequently rejected, the Times reported.
So far, the publisher has repackaged nine Narnia books, posted two Web sites (for Lewis and Narnia), created an essay contest and asked contemporary authors to write new forewords, the Times reported. By the fall of 2003 the publisher expects to publish simpler picture books for younger children and a new Narnia novel, the newspaper reported.
David's Comment: A Narnia novel without CS Lewis and without its religious connotations....Erf. But I'll wait and see who they get to write it. Paul Kidd maybe?
Comments
New Marketing of Plush Toys, and books, is a GOOD THING (tm). However, Including in this campaign the selling of books OTHER then the original Author's, based in the same world, Is just disgusting. Especially if they market them as the equivilant of the originals. =-{
"Curiously enough, the dolphins had long known of the impending destruction of the planet Earth and had made many attempts to alert mankind to the danger; but most of their communications were misinterpreted as amusing attempts to punch footballs..."
... anything NEW in a Narnia universe that was not written by C.S. Lewis. If the universe was not created to be shared by multiple authors (Thieves World) then it should not be written by such! When the creator is dead, he/she is dead. One cannot write new Mozart tunes; stories are no different.
What _really_ galls me is all the excellent talent out there that can't get a break in the industry, and then publishers turn around and stand on the backs of dead people just to make a buck. I'd buy more books if there were more books worth buying, but the only stuff I see on the bookshelves are boring rehashes of the same old carp.
When I see Paul Kidd and Elizabeth McCoy novels, I'll snap them up at whatever price they are offered. But Harper will wait until the sun explodes before I'll buy a Narnia book not written by Lewis himself. The Nerve!!
Reality is not only stranger than we think, it's stranger than we CAN think!
Post new comment