Yesterday I posted about some of the articles and tributes pouring in for recent birthday-girl PD James, a sprightly young 88. Ian Rankin is only about half that age, but his Inspector Rebus novels have already been around for a couple of decades. Just as James has allegedly written her valedictory Inspector Dalgliesh novel, Rankin has allegedy written his valedictory Inspector Rebus novel, Exit Music. Of course, you can never "say never" as long as authors are still alive (and sometimes afterward, thanks to estates bringing on ringers aboard). The publication of Rankin's Exit Music and his upcoming Doors Open has occasioned articles to match those of James's, including recent bits in The New York Times, The Independent, The Yorkshire Evening Post, and the Manchester Evening News, among others.
Janet Maslin of the Times wondered if Rebus is over the hill, but hopes he's not quite done yet and adds, "Just for the record, Mr. Rankin’s August online newsletter says of Rebus that 'there’s no way he’s going gentle into that dark retirement,' adding, 'and I still like to spend time with him.' So Exit Music, which culminates in a startling cliffhanger, should be read more as a bookend to the series than a calamity for the world of crime fiction."
The Independent chimed in, wondering is Rebus will haunt his maker as Sherlock Holmes did in an earlier Edinburgh bestseller, to which Rankin replied, "I don't think there's anything I can do about it, so I'll wait to see what happens. So far, so good. The next couple of years will be crucial, because it's going to depend on readers liking the non-Rebus stuff I produce." (So, if you want Rebus back, don't buy Rankin's other books, perhaps?)
Fortunately he didn't follow through on his original idea which he imparted to the Manchester Evening News, "I did toy with the idea of killing him off but I was too fond of him and I'd already made a television documentary about the Reichenbach Falls with a friend of mine, James Mavor."
For the moment, Rankin is happy with his life and career and with Doors Open, which began as a screenplay, but when asked by the New York Times to write a serialized story for their Sunday magazine, he decided to take his "Ocean's Eleven" art-heist film project and adapt it. Then his publisher asked him to spin it into a full-length novel, and he couldn't resist, although "It just naturally grew darker—maybe that's just me; maybe I just couldn't sustain it as a light novel." It will probably do well, as have his other books, but you certainly could understand if a few Rebus fans might be pulling against it.
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