On one of my not infrequent trips to the ARC thrift, I happened across a book titled Storm Front, by Richard Castle. It's not bad. It's not the best piece of western fiction I have ever read, but its not bad.
So if you don't know... Richard Castle doesn't actually exist. I suppose he is as real an author as John H Watson M.D., and as real as people believe. But independent life...? He has none. Richard Castle is the title character on Castle, where he is a bestselling author who consults with New York's finest on their strangest cases.
The book is a media tie in, one of the books the fictional Castle wrote and published.
It makes me think of Spinal Tap, that famous nonexistent band, subject of a documentary and two successful albums. There are those who still believe Spinal Tap was a real band and not three actors well known for tongue in cheek humor.
It also makes me ponder how much our beliefs create reality. How real does something have to be to be believed in, and how much do we have to believe to make something real? a quick check on Google shows results between 20-50% of people who believe Sherlock Holmes was a real detective, and that historical figures such as Winston Churchill were fictional.
We are human- much of our intelligence, much of our culture is about believing in things you cannot prove. Little Surprise then, that the things we love, and that entertain us become more real than the things that have more historical meat. I'm going to out myself here, and admit freely that my relationships with fictional characters are often more real and rewarding than my relationships with actual breathing humans. Just turned out that way, I'm afraid.
So I am gonna read this book, and look forward to Castles next bestseller
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