The end of originality…

When I saw the announcement of James Patterson’s new book Texas Ranger (co-author in small print, of course), my knee-jerk reaction was that this is an example of a current and endemic problem in the world of creative arts. The revival of My Fair Lady on Broadway is another. Disney’s regurgitation of the movie Frozen on Broadway (can’t we let go of that song “Let It Go”?) is yet another. Originality is getting killed, and it’s a slow, agonizing death.

I won’t read Patterson’s book. I haven’t...