Posted by Dave Thewlis on November 07, 2009 at 14:38:25 user dthewlis.
In Reply to: Re: Coots in the North posted by Peter Ceresole on November 07, 2009 at 11:32:56:
It was published in the latest Mixed Moss. I enjoyed it but it reminded me of some other attempts to finish CH or to write a new S&A story, which gave the impression that the authors had done a checklist of all the things that happened in the books and then tried to use as many of them as possible. AR always had a (new) theme for each book that kept it a new adventure, not covering old ground, so even a revisit to a particular place or activity was in a new context. If this were to be developed into a full novel (and I agree that's not likely) I would suggest expanding on the archaeology as the theme, possibly with a different plot twist.
I certainly agree that having the boat owner turn out to be a famous children's author is sort of a deus ex machina, something else which AR generally avoided, not least because it can discount the efforts of the protagonists.