The Price You Pay and pseudonyms

[yendi]

The Price You Pay by "Aidan Truhen" was fantastic, and is highly recommended for folks who like their thrillers full-bore ludicrous (think Duane Swierczynski's "The Blonde" or "Severance Package). I'm also fascinated by the whole "this author is actually another author using a pseudonym" thing, since I've never understood that marketing. I do understand an established author using a fake name to try something new, but that's not usually known at the time (Bachman, Galbraith, etc). Ditto for someone using multiple names to separate subgenres for their readers (Jayne Ann Krentz). But this feels similar to the KJ Parker/Tom Holt thing, which was just kind of BS.

Oh, and while I certainly don't disbelieve the theory -- put forth in the NYTimes review -- that the author is really Nick Harkaway, I'd love to know why folks seem to think that; I could see Harkway doing this, but I could also see Charlie Huston or Adam Sternbergh or a bunch of others doing it, too.

(Yes, I posted this to FB, but while no one may be around on LJ/DW anymore, at least posts still make it here in order and won't be buried by an algorithm if anyone shows up.)

Comments

[krait]

Interesting. I'm not into thrillers at all, but I share your bafflement at a thriller writeer deciding to start the same career all over again with a different name. Unless it's a case of the author doing something different - perhaps distinguishing between 'thriller with graphic sex scenes' and 'traditional thriller, everyone's too busy for that' or something.

[malinaldarose]

The book isn't something I'd read, probably (thrillers aren't really my thing), I just wanted to say that I'm far more likely to read something on DW than on FB, anyway. So, um, there.

[drwex]

while no one may be around on LJ/DW anymore, at least posts still make it here in order and won't be buried by an algorithm if anyone shows up.

Hobbesian choice, eh? FB is just too full-on evil for me to enjoy anything there.