Since his death, Baker's reputation has steadily increased among critics and the reading public; and his works now have cult status in the literary community.Willis, Paul J. Testosterone.
Forward Magazine, November 2000. Retrieved on 2006-10-30.See Also: Publishers Weekly, September 11, 2000, Section: pwforecasts; Pg. 65 , first edition of
Adrenaline,
Boy Wonder,
Fuel-Injected Dreams and
Tim and Pete have become collector's items and command high prices at rare book stores.
See Also:
Robertson, now Baker's literary executor, was successful in having two additional novels published after Baker's death. One of those,
Testosterone, was filmed in 2003. Directed by David Moreton and starring Antonio Sabato Jr., the plot was significantly altered and the film was a critical and financial failure. Both
Boy Wonder and
Fuel-Injected Dreams have been optioned for the movies several times, most recently in 2004, though they were never produced. Baker's work has also been published in Germany, Sweden, Italy, Great Britain, Australia, Japan and Russia.
Though
Tim and Pete was his most controversial work,
Boy Wonder is generally considered his
magnum opus, and remains his most popular book. A black satire of the film industry, it is also a parody of the "oral biographies" popularized by George Plimpton with his books about Edie Sedgwick and Truman Capote, in that the protagonist's life is revealed in the form of interviews between the writer and the characters. Though it has been praised as "one of the few novels from the last couple of decades that could justifiably be called a classic", reviewers have also pointed out that it is probably unfilmable due to its bitter cynicism regarding the movie industry.
Baker's last published work,
Right Wing, as well as his posthumous novels
Testosterone and
Anarchy, represent a stylistic departure in that he inserts himself into the plot as either a secondary character or the protagonist. The latter two were edited, and in the case of
Anarchy, partially rewritten by his editor, Scott Brassart.
Testosterone needed only minor changes, while
Anarchy underwent an entire rewrite, with Brassart restructuring the plot and streamlining over 500 pages of prose and notes into a fast-paced, 250 page novel. For the reader, however, it is only Baker's voice as writer that is heard.
Three of Baker's books have thus far not been published. They are
White Devils,
Proto Punk, and
Crucifying Todd. Additionally, he wrote two screenplays which have not as yet been filmed:
Inez and
Desert Women.