Fake or Fortune?

I write books. I also read them. Sometimes I write reviews of what I read, and publish them, so that I can share my feelings with others. One such book was DESERT GOD by Wilbur Smith. Let me say immediately that I am a fan of Wilbur. I’ve read a lot of his stories and, believe me, he’s one of the best writers I know. But in publishing DESERT GOD he crossed a line, and I still refuse to read anything produced in his name since that date. Why? Because I felt cheated. And that is a terrible thing for an author to do to his readers. I’m not alone in feeling this way.

The date was September 2014. I remember it well because I was just about to go on holiday to Turkey for two weeks. There was a special promo on Wilbur’s new book just before I flew, and it was the latest instalment of his Egyptian series that had enthralled me for years. So, I bought a copy and soon got engrossed. For those who don’t know it, this is an adventure series set in ancient Egypt that cleverly weaves historical fact with the intervention of a fictitious character whose influence is far-reaching. Smith has (or had) a style of writing that seems to flow effortlessly, capturing vivid images of place and time, and so rich in description that his characters live and breathe with the reader. This is how it was for the first few chapters of DESERT GOD, but then… Oh dear! The plot took some fanciful turns. The descriptions were sketchy and the characters became two-dimensional. Wilbur Smith had evidently left the room.

I was bitterly disappointed, and although I did finish the book, curious to see how it would end (badly), I honestly felt cheated. How could this wonderful writer have lost his talent in such spectacular form? The answer can only be that Wilbur did NOT write it! I believe he started it off and then handed the whole thing over to a ghost-writer. Only he knows why. But his name is still there as author and creator. My review, published on Goodreads, was scathing.

I still receive messages today (almost six years later) from people who have read both the book and my review, and who agree with me. I’ve not received any taking the opposite view.

I would be mortified if I cheated my readership. I make special efforts to bring my drafts to a level I feel my readers will find “satisfactory” or better. I may never reach the heights of writing a blockbuster, but I do believe that is something to which I should aspire. In one sense, it is helpful to me that even the best get it wrong sometimes – and maybe I can learn from their mistakes.

At the time of writing this I am about two weeks off finishing the first draft of my second novel – a long-awaited sequel to The Murder Tree. Then follows a period of edits and re-writes that will be demanding, but ultimately satisfying. Two adjectives that describe my objective, but in my book, you can only be satisfied, if you make the demands on yourself.
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Sadly, Wilbur did not.

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