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Book remake

grind book and improve
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The number of the beast by Robert A. Heinlein, states, in its one good chapter, that the number of the beast actually means that there are six to the power of six to the power of six dimensions. And in some of those, evil people in black suits want to destroy others. There is a machine to travel from one dimension to the other and there the adventure begins.

An interesting premise.

Heinlein is not a bad writer by any standard but in this case he totally effed up the rest of the book. All the caracters do is bicker about who should be in charge next and what it means to be in charge and the many ways they can screw this up. Could have been an interesting philosphical work, could have been a thrilling scifi, should have been both. Sadly it is utter crap.

Some movies get a remake every other decade, the great stories of western mankind. Some movies are simply modernised in the remake. Some movies take a story and put it in a different setting. Some movies are remakes from another part of the world, translations.

In fact, most movies from hollywood/america are remakes in some from or other.

But never books. Some books are inspired by older works, some even have a copied storyline but no book is ever presented as a remake.

So for starters I propose that Robert J. Sawyer writes a remake of The number of the beast.

There is another train of thought that led me to this idea. I really don't think that if Edgar Allen Poe were alive today he could find a publisher. An agent would say his work is outdated and in archaic language. Yet he is still regarded as an all time best.

So I propose we find an agent who hasn't heard of some great writer and ask him to read a "manuscipt" and then expose to the world what a douche he is for not knowing James Joyce. But anyway, I'm getting of topic and starting to rant so I'll stop.

zeno, Jun 23 2012

book http://www.halfbake...y/Culture_3a_20Book
[Voice, Jun 23 2012]

All catagories spread-sheet http://www.halfbake...:t=All_20Categories
[2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jun 24 2012]

[link]






       Sorry, I really don't know how to find the right catagories.
zeno, Jun 23 2012
  

       Copy the idea and [big]'s link, go to the link I posted, and click "add" on the left. Paste and you're finished
Voice, Jun 23 2012
  

       //no book is ever presented as a remake// If I might pick a nit - William Goldman's "The Princess Bride" is presented as "the Good Parts version", an abridgement of a supposed earlier work by S. Morgenstern.
lurch, Jun 24 2012
  

       "NotB", with its ridiculous premise, set my teeth on edge when I read it first (when it first came out), but the next few times went smoothly: ya gotta have faith. More of a "romp" than a serious novel, but delivered in style. After that his novels (Friday, and a couple Lazarus Long sequels) loosened up a bit.   

       On the other hand Spider Robinson's treatment of Heinlein's notes for a book annoyed me even more, but I've only read it the once.   

       SR "does a pretty good Heinlein", but that doesn't make him so: I don't know if he's imitating the style or if it's one of his own... or what the difference would be between the two.
FlyingToaster, Jun 24 2012
  

       (+) I've often wondered how other halfbakers go about choosing their idea categories.
When I first found this site I would meticulously search each category. When I mentioned it was a pain [krelink] (I think) whipped up an All Categories view [link] which I saved to favorites.
Nowadays a decent category usually comes up in the hb search for prior art.
  

       The Da Vinci code was considerably better in the version beforehand, Foucault's Pendulum.
not_morrison_rm, Jun 24 2012
  

       The DaVinci Code was better in its prior version, Blank Sheets of Paper.
MechE, Jun 24 2012
  

       The idea of 're-imagining' a favorite classic or contmporary novel, cleverly re-telling the story without plagiarizing it, has occured to me, but I've been keeping it to myself, hoping to be the first or, failing that, at least not the worst.   

       Now everyone's going to be doing it.
Alterother, Jun 24 2012
  

       'Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote'.
nineteenthly, Jun 25 2012
  

       //The DaVinci Code was better in its prior version, Blank Sheets of Paper.   

       I have to agree, but it'd probably have been better just staying as a tree..
not_morrison_rm, Jun 26 2012
  

       And so begins the death by banality of original thought... this idea is as welcome as sampling.
Phrontistery, Jun 27 2012
  

       //banality of original thought// superfluous redundancy.
FlyingToaster, Jun 27 2012
  

       For awhile now I've wanted to throw the Lord of the Rings Trilogy together in a mashup with the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but it's a bit more than I'm wanting to chew on at the moment, (where moment = now +- 15 years).   

       'Blank Sheets of Paper.' I don't think I've bothered to read that; the premise seemed rather flat.
RayfordSteele, Jun 27 2012
  

       I think there are categories on Fanfic.net for mashups as described.
bungston, Jun 27 2012
  

       Debbie does Starfleet.
FlyingToaster, Jun 27 2012
  

       +1. I would like to see the Halo novels rewritten so they don't suck so bad. The premise is cool but why did they let a 10 year old write the books?
DIYMatt, Jun 27 2012
  

       I think that's a classic example of 'you get what you pay for'. The key demographic is people who like the game and want more of the backstory, so the book is as good as sold to that market; why waste money on somebody who knows how to write?
Alterother, Jun 27 2012
  

       Ok, here's a mission for the literary: please rewrite anything this person produces before it's published.   

       http://www.eljamesauthor.com/
Phrontistery, Jun 27 2012
  

       // why did they let a 10 year old write the books? //   

       Because the 8 year old was sick that day.
8th of 7, Jun 27 2012
  

       //Why did they let a 10 year old write the books?//   

       Well, maybe they were trying for an Axe Cop sort of thing.
Hive_Mind, Jun 30 2012
  
      
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