AN ALTERNATIVE ALTERNATE:

'Bad Twin,' a Novel Inspired by 'Lost,' Makes the Best-Seller Lists (FELICIA R. LEE, 5/27/06, NY Times)

Whether "Bad Twin" is good fiction, good marketing for "Lost" or both is a judgment call.

The novel follows the private detective Paul Artisan, who is helping the scion of a wealthy family find his twin brother. Entertainment Weekly called the book "a chewy snack for Lost-philes, though its mythological value is T.B.D."

Margaret Maupin, a buyer for the Tattered Cover bookstore in Denver, said "Bad Twin" sold out quickly there. "I'm not sure that the people who are buying this are your general book buyers, but they love the TV show," she said. [...]

On Web sites devoted to "Lost," fans have been debating the meaning of the book and how it figures in the Chinese-box puzzle that is the "Lost" plot. On ABC's site devoted to the show, one post declared that the book was an "alternate reality" experience relayed to Troup. ("That's the only thing that makes sense.") Meanwhile, on the site The Lost Experience are lists of possible clues: the names of the characters, various literary references (including "The Great Gatsby," "Beowulf" and "King Lear") and even references to the color green.

To add to the layers of marketing and mystery, the book has been denounced by the Hanso Foundation of Copenhagen, which is also part of the "Lost" puzzle. The island where the "Lost" characters are stranded has bomb-shelter-type hatches, where they find videotapes made by Hanso that suggest the island was used for experiments or for scientific research. On its Web site, the fictional Hanso tells visitors not to read Troup's book. Hyperion, in return, has taken out real advertisements in real newspapers defending the book.

"It's about perpetuating the mystery and what's going on," Mr. Benson said. "Everyone knows Harry Potter doesn't exist, but it sure makes it more fun to believe that Harry Potter is somewhere out there, in a magical place."