Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Alex Cross

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was redirect to Alex Cross (novel series). This doesn't disallow the possibility of an article existing in the future when there is adequate sources available to support a stand-alone article. Liz ^{Read! Talk!} 05:44, 20 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Alex Cross

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Unsourced fictography. Most of this info is contained in other related pages. Just Another Cringy Username (talk) 21:48, 7 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This discussion has been included in the deletion sorting lists for the following topics: Fictional elements and Literature. Just Another Cringy Username (talk) 21:48, 7 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Keep and clean up. Two books (James Patterson: A Critical Companion, Joan Kotker, ISBN 9780313320859, and James Patterson: All About the Author, Susan Nichols, ISBN 9781499462746), two scholarly articles (Friedman, S.H., Cerny, C.A. From Hannibal Lecter to Alex Cross: Forensic Mental Health Experts in Popular Fiction. Acad Psychiatry 37, 345–351 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ap.12090157 and Hart WB. The Case of the Missing Interracial Romance: An Ideological Critique of Kiss the Girls. North Carolina Literary Review. 2012;(21):59-76.) and an NPR review. GNG is met, article can (and probably should) be cleaned up. Deleting the article of one of the most prominent fictional African-American detectives? Not an encyclopedic move. Jclemens (talk) 23:22, 7 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Cleanup was my first thought, but...how? Maybe something like what happened w/ the fictography of Deadpool (see that AfD discussion here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Fictional_history_of_Deadpool)? Decision there was to merge one section, but in this case, I'm willing to bet everything in this article is duplicated somewhere else. If we tried that approach here, there'd be nothing left to merge. Just Another Cringy Username (talk) 01:33, 8 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Honestly, if considering how to fix an article without deletion (aside from citing essays like WP:TNT) isn't part of WP:BEFORE, then it really should be. In other words: you nominated it, you consequently own figuring out how to fix it, up to and including a bottom-up rewrite. Jclemens (talk) 16:03, 8 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Well, frankly, if it was up to me, I'd blank and redirect this whole thing over to Alex Cross (novel series). Tends to tick people off when I do that, however... Just Another Cringy Username (talk) 21:07, 8 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Redirect to Alex Cross (novel series). Given the article is a total WP:FANCRUFT, with no analysis/reception, just a very lenghty plot summary, WP:TNT applies. Maybe, as User:Jclemens notes, this is a notable topic - I am not sure, as my BEFORE came up with next to nothing, an his books are mainly about the author, not the character (and the Alex_Cross_(novel_series)#Critical_reception section is unreferenced, too). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ap.12090157, despite including Cross in its title, has little to say about him - one sentece of analysis, really, that he may be one of the most famous "fictional forensic experts". I am afraid that's too little per WP:SIGCOV, although I'd encourage adding this tidbit to an article somewhere. If someone does find a reliable source that confirms that he was indeed "one of the most prominent fictional African-American detectives", as Jclemens notes, and preferably one that offers a more in-depth analysis of the character, do ping me, but for now this is not an encyclopedic treatment of material. --_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 09:31, 8 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]
- The books are indeed about the author. They are also independent, reliable secondary sources that appear to cover the character in non-trivial depth. Those are not mutually exclusive statements. Jclemens (talk) 16:04, 8 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  But it is your responsibility to show us that they do, indeed, "cover the character in non-trivial depth". The one I looked at does no appear to do so, since a single sentence fails SIGCOV. As such, I question whether any of the other sources you found are any better. _{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 10:18, 9 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Redirect to Alex Cross (novel series)#Characters - While it might be possible for an article with actual analysis or real world criticism on the fictional character to be written, as it stands now it is just a completely unsourced, extremely long, in-universe plot summary, which goes against the Manual of Style and WP:PLOT. So, it really should not remain in the mainspace in its current form. Fortunately, as a much more succinct character description already exists on the series' main page, redirecting there would allow readers to still be directed to the appropriate information during searches, and would also preserve the current article's history in case it was needed as the basis for a rewrite. Rorshacma (talk) 14:08, 13 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Natg 19 (talk) 23:19, 14 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I'm the one who filed the AfD, but I'll go along w/ Redirect if it helps. Just Another Cringy Username (talk) 03:34, 18 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.