Comments on: It’s Not That There’s No Author, Unless, Gasp, This Is One of Those Naked Came The Stranger Things

By: Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Lauren Baratz-Logsted — Mon, 08 Aug 2005 23:25:21 +0000

This news comes at an interesting time for me, having just finished reading the latest novel by another mysterious nonpromoter, Trevanian. Back when I was an independent bookseller, I loved Shibumi and The Summer of Katya, not only because I could sell the hell out of them but also because they were, for their time, smart and fun. Maybe the Twelve Hawks book is neither smart enough nor fun enough?

By: Alex

Alex — Mon, 08 Aug 2005 17:53:52 +0000

Whenever the press for a book is about the innovative marketing campaign and not about the book you're in trouble. I read a number of articles about Doubleday's marketing campaign, but nothing interesting about the book. By contrast - the historian emerged over a few short weeks and a few ads as the book to beat for the summer. I donâ€t think it was the anonymous author that was the problem though â€“ the book just didnâ€t deliver.

By: Booksquare

Booksquare — Mon, 08 Aug 2005 17:29:05 +0000

Kevin, unless you have a few hours on a plane, I will absolve you of any and all need to read The DaVinci Code (g). It is fast-paced and a somewhat interesting (if not terribly original) plot. However, it isn’t that well-written — though I will admit that I tend to read as a writer rather than a reader, which makes me more cognizant of the craft.

Primary Colors played on the insider’s scoop anonymity thing; this is just mysterious for the sake of being mysterious. Living off the grid, traditionally, doesn’t mean you don’t have access to things like computers and telephones; just that you don’t connect to the main, traditional power source. And it’s a weird concept for a dude who wrote a high tech thriller, if you know what I mean. Now if they were to market this as a guy who has to protect his identity because The Man is after him, well, then there’s a mystery that might intrigue me.

I do think the marketing campaign was silly — if only because it was so blatantly commercial. Viral marketing is a great concept, but this was a little too branded to achieve the goal. It truly bombed in New Haven, though now that I realize there will be a resurgence of fiction after Labor Day (does this have anything to do with wearing white shoes? One gets so confused about fashion these days).

By: David Thayer

David Thayer — Mon, 08 Aug 2005 16:12:31 +0000

The old Broadway saw is we bombed in New Haven. The branding of Twelve Hawks went awry, and the NYT says fiction is dead. It’s August. Fiction lives after Labor Day.

By: Kevin Holtsberry

Kevin Holtsberry — Mon, 08 Aug 2005 15:23:32 +0000

Marketing buzz can work if the book is especially tuned to the marketing in tone and style and/or the marketing hits at just the right moment. In this case the marketing was heavy handed and the book simply didn’t live up to the hype. I read the book and found it so-so. It wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t great either. By hyping the book so much, the book was given an artificially high standard. Plus, the silliness of it all turned off a lot of people.

Perhaps the Da Vinci Code, which I haven’t read, was just a fluke; a cultural epiphenomena that can’t be repeated.

By: jmfausti

jmfausti — Mon, 08 Aug 2005 15:17:24 +0000

Does no one remember “Primary Colors?” It was an anonymously written book and took the US by storm. All the press I read on this “off the grid” guy gives me the sense that he is intentionally trying to play mysterious for the attention. I, for one, am not impressed.