Likely the most prominent component of the sudden surge in attacks against The Hanso Foundation and its partners is the publication of Bad Twin, the late Gary Troup's final novel.

Using the form of a detective story, Troup proceeds to paint an unflattering picture of the Widmore Corporation, a major partner of The Hanso Foundation. What's more, Troup makes some rather inflammatory comments about the character of the esteemed Dr. Thomas Mittelwerk, President and Chief Technologist of The Hanso Foundation.

In the beginning, The Hanso Foundation attempted to counter the libelous book in the court of public opinion, taking out a newspaper advertisement (gif) in publications across the United States.

Throughout the pages of Bad Twin, readers have found numerous passages featuring misinformation about The Hanso Foundation and its partners. The Hanso Foundation strongly objects to the book Bad Twin, and encourages readers to make up their own minds.

In this ad, Hugh McIntyre, the tireless Director of Communucations of The Hanso Foundation, invited anyone interested in the truth to visit The Hanso Foundation website.

It seems, unfortunately, that this attempt to pressure Hyperion Books by exposing their publication of lies and slander against The Hanso Foundation and its partners, such as the Widmore Corporation, might have fallen upon deaf ears.

Several days ago, The Hanso Foundation sent a letter (pdf) to Robert Miller, President of Hyperion Books, demanding that the publisher immediately cease selling Bad Twin or face potential legal action.

While we are loathe to speak ill of the dead, we find it frustrating that Gary Troup himself (who died in the tragic crash of Oceanic Airlines Flight 815) has escaped having to be held to account for his falsehoods about The Hanso Foundation and its partners.

We strongly encourage Hyperion to agree to The Hanso Foundation's demands to stop selling Bad Twin, and to take all possible steps to recall existing unsold copies from the shelves, both real and virtual.