Other Characters

There are two circumstances in which an author writes about a character that he himself has not created.

(i) Poul Anderson:

wrote a novel about Conan and a short story about Isaac Asimov's US Robots troubleshooters;

cameo'ed Sherlock Holmes in "Time Patrol";

featured historical figures in the Old Phoenix;

retold Hrolf Kraki's Saga.

In all these cases, Anderson had to write authentically about already existing characters.

(ii) Poul And Karen Anderson adapted the legendary King Grallon of Ys. Here the authors were free to create a new character.

Anderson's placing of Prince Rupert of the Rhine on a fantastic alternative Earth may have been an intermediate case.