Hi all!

I don't know if Clive and Robert Ludlum were ever friends but I am currently reading Ludlum's latest release, Ambler Warning, where Ludlum writes the following:

It was hard to imagine he was even in the same profession as, say, Derek St. John, the swashbuckling hero of those Clive McCarthy novels Adrian treasured. Caston would give him a hard time if he ever found out, but Adrian actually had the latest paperback novel from the Derek St. John series in his backpack, had read most of a chapter over breakfast. It involved a nuclear warhead hidden in the wreckage of the Lusitania. Adrian had left off during an exciting sequence: Derek St. John, scuba-diving through the wreckage, had just narrowly avoided a harpoon grenade launcher by an enemy agent.

Whether they were friends or not I am sure they would have had a lot to talk about concering the butchering in the movies of their literary creations.

Just thought I'd share this with you.

Stevesveryown w:

That does sound very Cussleresque, and the author's name is "Clive." Hmm. det: :)

Didn't Robert Ludlum pass away recently?

Robert Ludlum has been dead for almost 5 years....his estate hired ghost writers—no pun intended—to continue his work.

I don't mind the Covert One series using Ludlum's name but the regular novels that are coming out using his name is unsettling. I know he had some novels outlined but it seem's that after five books with his name, it is time to stop.

They do the same with V.C. Andews books. I believe her daughter took over writing them which is a little easier to take.

Same thing happened with the Nancy Drew series. I have books that were new for my greatgrandmother, an entire series from my mom, and even some of the newer ones. They are all "written" by Carolyn Keene.

The first author of the Nancy Drew series, Mildred W. Benson passed away last year. She was from Toledo, Ohio.