[leebase]

For at least the last decade or so, popular authors have been extending their brand via collaborations with other authors. Not as equals...but under the brand of the main author.

In general I've been fine with this. Tom Clancy with Mark Greaney comes to mind. I figure the "name brand" author takes responsibility for the final quality so it's a good risk.

And then there is the book I just read that I thought was by Orson Scott Card, "Lovelock". It's a book about an enhanced Capuchin monkey who serves as a "witness" to a gailogist on earth's first foray to another planet. The entire book is told from the perspective of the monkey.

What I love about OSC is his ability to make me care about his characters. All manner of characters...human, alien, animal...I'm like a tuning fork resonating with Card's characters.

But not with Lovelock. I was surprised as I'd never had an OSC book that I just didn't resonate with. After I finished, THEN I noticed "with Kathryn H. Kidd" and it made sense. OSC did not write this book.

Right after, I am reading "Lost and Found" by OSC and right from the get go, he has captured my attention and I'm totally vibing with the characters in the book.

But for me...this is the first time I've felt such a large difference between "Author as general contractor" and a book solely by the author.