Could this have to do with the different versions of The Tomb as well? Did Paul put a more detailed version into the rewrites? I'll ask him.

Most definitely in The Tomb. He hangs out on the overpass and tosses snowballs before meeting the guy who eventually leads Jack to his car...

I do believe it gets described in detail on another occasion but that is where the memory gets faulty but it is definitely in The Tomb.

Perhaps in Gateways as part of his backstory with his father? It's all kind of blurring together for me as well, so I can't really be sure about where I read the most detailed account.

Hmm, yes, it was certainly touched on there when Jack was learning about his fathers past as a sniper and so on. But I can't remember how much detail they went into. May have to look it up now.

FINE! I have learned that when a British person says something it may not be true, but it seems that way because of the cute accent. Unless you are from Leeds, that accent is horrendous.

Hahah Cute? Surely not!

And if you think the Leeds accent is bad try and find someone born and bred in Newcastle. I can guarantee you'll only understand about one word in every three!

Hahah Cute? Surely not!

And if you think the Leeds accent is bad try and find someone born and bred in Newcastle. I can guarantee you'll only understand about one word in every three!

"Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels" had a character who was a Brit but they had to subtitle him. Where was he from?

Could this have to do with the different versions of The Tomb as well? Did Paul put a more detailed version into the rewrites? I'll ask him.

I don't think so. The orignal one I read back in the late 80's had the "detailed" recollection of that event. It happened when he was driving back from New Jersey after playing a tennis tournament with his dad (where he slipped in spoiled milk) because Gia had called him at his dad's house to tell him Nellie had just dissapeared too. He almost told his dad about the incedent then while they were drinking whiskey, but didn't.

As he drives under "that" underpass on the ride back ( could have been a tunnel) it all comes back to him. In detail.

He even speeds a little, setting his cruise control at four over the speed limit, on the ride back to Gia.

The next time he really get's into that moment is in Gateways, when he finaly does tell his dad what he did.

Why is this book called "The Tomb?" There's no tomb in it!

Why is this book called "The Tomb?" There's no tomb in it!

Hello Sam. There should have been a tomb, but the fpw forgot to mention it in the text. The publishers reminded hom in the title.

"Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels" had a character who was a Brit but they had to subtitle him. Where was he from?

Too my shame I've never seen it. But I bet he was from Newcastle! It's less of an accent and more of a language up there!

Why is this book called "The Tomb?" There's no tomb in it!

Here's the answer I just sent Samantha in email:

The publisher had a problem with my original title, Rakoshi. After going through the editing, the copyediting, the page proofs, I got a call from the publisher herself, Rena Wolner. Permit me to approximate the conversation:


RW: Paul, we need to change the title.
Me: What’s wrong with Rakoshi?
RW: It’s too foreign a word. It will put people off.
Me: As I recall, Trevanian’s Shibumi didn’t put people off.
RW: That’s different. Rakoshi won’t work.
(To her credit, Rena could have said, “I know Trevanian and you’re no Trevanian,” but spared me.)
Me: I assume you have something in mind.
RW: We need a cover and a title that will echo The Keep: The Something. I’m thinking The Tomb.
Me: (stunned silence)
RW: We can use an Indian temple on the cover with the same perspective as on The Keep.
Me: But-but there’s no tomb in the novel.
RW: No one will care.
Me: Man, I don’t know . . .
RW: The sales department thinks this is important. They figure we can ship an extra quarter-million copies with a name change.
(Confession: Right here I’m doing some quick math...my percentage of the cover price times 250,000...yow.)
Still...
Me: But how do we get around having no tomb in the novel?
RW: No one will notice, and if they do, they won’t care. Trust me on this.


Bottom line: I agreed. Part of it was selling out, I suppose. But intimidation had a lot to do with it. I was getting the hard sell from the publisher herself. I caved.


Looking back, Rena was right. The name change helped propel the novel onto bestseller lists all over the country. And yes, even though I’ve had many readers (like Sam) question me as to the lack of a tomb, they’re a drop in the bucket, a minuscule percentage of the million-plus people who’ve read the novel during the (nearing 40!) years since its publication.


So Rena was right. People don’t care.