George Stark (1949-1960; 1988) was a pseudonym used by author Thaddeus Beaumont to write hard-boiled crime fiction starring Alexis Machine. Created when Beaumont was having trouble writing his own fiction, the publishing company span an elaborate background for George Stark, treating him as a real person rather than a pseudonym.
However, after Beaumont attempted to 'kill' Stark when a young law student attempted to blackmail Beaumont with the knowledge that both writers were the same person, Stark somehow manifested an independent existence, 'digging' his way out of his grave, killing those responsible for his 'death', and trying to force Beaumont to write a new Alexis Machine novel before he could 'die' again (Stark having tried and failed to write on his own as he was unable to write anything but his own name).
During the investigation, it is revealed that Stark is essentially the spirit of Beaumont's unborn twin brother, who was absorbed in the womb; the physical remnants of Beaumont's twin were extracted when they began to manifest as an apparent tumour when he was eleven, but Stark regained his strength when Beaumont wrote as him.
Stark was eventually taken back to the afterlife when Beaumont took command of the 'psychopomps' that had witnessed his initial rebirth and were stalking him.
George was portrayed by Timothy Hutton in the film.
Trivia[]
Stark is an analogue to Richard Bachman; the dynamic between Beaumont and Stark is a dramatization of the dynamic between Bachman and his own alter-ego Stephen King.
Bibliography[]
- Machine's Way
- Oxford Blues
- Riding to Babylon
- Sharkmeat Pie
- Steel Machine
- "I’m back...I’m back from the dead and you don’t seem glad to see me at all, you ungrateful son of a bitch.|
A line from Riding to Babylon