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Most often, they are books referenced in actual books, like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (the actual guide, not the novel where the guide is described), The Secret Goldfish (the book written by D.B. Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye), and The Necronomicon. In a lot of cases, these books are written as some kind of homage (such as David Means' short story collection, The Secret Goldfish, which is phenomenal). Other times, these books are written to cash in on the success of an earlier work, such as the countless Necronomicon knockoffs written since Lovecraft's death.

In any case, I came across a fictional book turned into an actual work, Heat Wave by Richard Castle. If you're not familiar, Richard Castle is the title character from the ABC Television Series Castle, a series about a famous crime novelist following a police detective on murder cases as research for a novel. In the show's second season, Heat Wave was released on the show, and a few weeks later I saw it in a local bookstore

Before I go any further, I need to make something clear: this book blows. The dialogue literally made me cringe on several occasions, it was terribly paced, and, for a mystery novel, the murder was completely arbitrary--taking away the joy of piecing together the clues by yourself. With that said, as a project, the book had some interesting aspects that are worth exploring.

1) Although the book was ghostwritten, the writer attempts to take on the persona of Richard Castle. The book's written from a third-person perspective, which usually puts the focus on the characters' thoughts and dialogue. However, the omniscient voice of this book is the most developed, which gets in the way of the story, but does give some insight into the writer's character.

2) The typical extras of a book take on a different meaning/effect. Heat Wave is dedicated to Kate Beckett, a character from the show, and the acknowledgment section makes references to false agents and publishers. Again, it gives some insight into the Castle character.

3) Although the book is poorly plotted, many of the books events obviously come from the "research" Castle was conducting on the show. For the die-hard fan, it's somewhat enjoyable to piece moments from the show into the book. Additionally, a sex scene in the book between the two main protagonists is meant to hint at some sexual tension from the television show between Castle and the detective he's shadowing.

In other words, the book fleshes out the world of the show. Although it doesn't make for the best fiction, on some level I appreciate the project: it uses the narrative voice--the writer persona--to convey a message independent from the actual book. At the very least, it opens up many possibilities for the third-person voice, and I'd love to see what the method could do in more capable hands.