Monday, January 18, 2021

Something About Dr. Nesheim

Can't you see we're searching, searching.

If you're stuck at home and looking for something new to read then I have an assignment for you. Find as many books as you can to feature Dr. Nesheim. Allow me to explain.

In The Wrath of the Grinning Ghost (1999), after Harrison Dixon suffers from an unknown illness in Colorado, he is returned to Duston Heights for further tests. Professor Childermass doesn't want his old nemesis, Dr. Schermerhorn, to have anything to do with Harrison Dixon's health. Instead a "younger, very serious specialist" named Nesheim begins his watch.

A years-old note in the archives from Brad Strickland at the CompleatBellairs reveals one crossover element from his own "Bellairs books" and his non-Bellairs books:
"Nesheim is the name of a real doctor, and a friend of the family, that a bunch of Southern writers arbitrarily decided to make famous by putting him into things they write when they need a minor medico character."
So here’s your assignment. There's an unknown number of unrelated books out there written by an unknown number of Southern writers, all featuring someone in the medical profession with the name Nesheim. Let us know as you find these references and we'll document them here. Happy reading!

For the record, three people are thanked on the copyright page of The Drum, the Doll, and the Zombie (1994), the ninth book in the Johnny Dixon series, including the similarly-named Steve Nesheim. Any connection?

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