Related Sections: Books Interviews News
Inside the Hitchhiker book Douglas Adams didn't write
The next book in Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy just came out, which makes a lot of loyal readers nervous, given that Adams died before it was written. Of course, Adams' widow gave Artemis Fowl author Eoin Colfer her blessing to write And Another Thing ..., which Colfer describes as "an appendix" to Adams' beloved five-book series.
The books Adams did write featured Arthur Dent's space travels with Ford Prefect, Zaphod Beeblebrox and Trillian after the destruction of Earth. Colfer told us how he carried on Adams' legacy:
This is just an appendix. Colfer's said his sequel is actually just an addendum to Adams' adventures, so if you don't like it, it doesn't soil the other five, but if you do, it's a bonus. "It's kind of a little side story or a tribute story, done in the spirit of fandom," Colfer said. "So, yeah, it's not an attempt to try and take over Hitchhiker's or to say I'm the new Douglas Adams. It's just another thing, a little appendix."
The book includes a "previously on ..." catch-up for new or forgetful readers. Colfer did include a helpful recap. "The idea there is to catch them up in a way that is not too dense," Colfer said. "So you have to write a catch-up that is funny in its own right but also just takes what I need for my story."
It's an ensemble. In Arthur Dent's previous five adventures, the search for a cup of tea was the central motivation. The new book gives equal love to Ford, Trillian and Zaphod. "There are five or six people, and they all have equal space on the page," Colfer said. "This is because mainly it's pretty accepted that Arthur was Douglas Adams himself. Arthur got upset about many of the things that Douglas got upset about. I didn't move him to the side a bit, but he certainly doesn't have as much to do. He's not as worried about his tea anymore, his cup of tea. He's a lot more worried about his daughter, Random, who's turned into a very troublesome teenager. She's causing a lot of trouble for everybody, so he's a lot more worried about that. So a lot of his time is just spent keeping her safe and trying to reach her."
Colfer created—gasp!—new characters. Colfer contributed his own new addition to the Hitchhiker's Guide clan. "A new guy, Hillman Hunter, he's an Irish property developer/evangelist," Colfer said. "Hillman, I suppose, is the closest to me. He's the Irish one, although I did find myself identifying a lot with Arthur, because he's always been Everyman. Now, where Arthur was very clipped and British, now he's ... a little bit warmer and a little bit more three-dimensional, I suppose."
The Internet lives. Adams' last book was published during the days of the local BBS and 2400-baud modems. Colfer came up with the Hitchhiker's Guide Web equivalent, which includes a site called uBid. "Yeah, uBid is eBay, really," Colfer said. "I was just trying to think of a catchy term that was very close to eBay. Then, of course, Douglas had already coined the term sub-ether for Internet, so I continued on with that one. The sub-ether network."
Colfer doesn't try to be the new Adams. Trying to mimic Adams' style would have been a losing proposition for Colfer. "You're never sure whether or not you've succeeded," Colfer said. "You just try to make it the best of your own brand of funny that you can, and you hope that the Hitchhiker readers will accept that as being enough, because there is no way to channel, I think, successfully the genius of Douglas Adams' books. Either jokes are funny enough or they won't be."
By Mike at 10:06 AM ON 11/03/09
SCI FI Wire, you've got a stray bold tag in there somewhere around the "new characters" paragraph.
By spaceage whizkid at 10:35 AM ON 11/03/09
By tj9000 at 11:10 AM ON 11/03/09
I just finished this book, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's funny and fast paced. The characters are cared for in the most loving way. Arthur does mature a little bit, and Zaphod actually immatures a little if that's possible, and it totally works. I would have like a bit more Ford, and the Vogon scenes made me anxious to get back to the regular cast, but all in all I totally loved it. I would read as many Hitchiker books as Mr. Colfer would care to write, and I plan to check out some of his previous work now as well.
By Meezer at 11:40 AM ON 11/03/09
this book was big ass
By JoshP at 12:05 PM ON 11/03/09
I got this as a audiobook and hated it. The narrator had a voice that bored me, the jokes were flat, and there was an editing error that caused at least a couple pages to be skipped entirely. Definitely poor production value.
By Alverant at 12:15 PM ON 11/03/09
@JoshP I hear you about audio books. I don't get audio books for comedy. I made that mistake with "How to Survive a Robot Uprising". The narrator had a very sterile voice that ruined any humor in the book. IMHO If you're going to get an audio book with humor make sure the narrator will act right. Ideally the author of the book itself (Lewis Black, George Carlin, etc).
By MrKaine at 12:26 PM ON 11/03/09
I HATE THIS BOOK BECAUSE IT IS OF AN UNFAMILIAR AUTHOR AND THEREFORE I KNOW IT IS BAD!
By divephotog at 1:06 PM ON 11/03/09
At least the SyFy writer read the book, not playing critic without as much as an attempt (unlike the last post). And guess reading is still preferable to the 'radio' version... Many will be waiting for the 'TV' version now to show their ignorance. Personally, I will start my read this weekend.
By Another bad syfy review at 1:32 PM ON 11/03/09
"In Arthur Dent's previous five adventures, the search for a cup of tea was the central motivation. "
Really? Really? Which inaccurate review did you steal that from?
And thanks for posting this in timely fashion, weeks after the book was released instead of when it might have been helpful.
By tj9000 at 2:19 PM ON 11/03/09
What's with all the hate? It's taboo to post a review a couple weeks after a book comes out? Maybe the writer is like me, and has other work and family and other responsibilities to juggle. and is lucky to find 30 minutes a day to read a good book. It took me a couple of weeks to read it.
As long as I'm asking, is it such a horrible thing for another writer to enter someone elses universe. Is this any different from a star wars or star trek novel?
I'm sure Douglas Adams is smiling from heaven knowing that his most beloved creation lives on.
Show some love people. there is enough hate in the world.
By Another bad syfy review at 3:06 PM ON 11/03/09
@tj9000
If you were a professional writer who reviewed books, you'd ensure your reviews came out in a timely manner. Clearly, professionalism is beyond this website.
By MrKaine at 5:40 PM ON 11/03/09
I didn't think I would have to make it so obvious but I guess I should have put note sarcasm on the post... I thought it would be funny to post as the typical fanboi with the whole "Change=BAD!!!" mindset.
By tj9000 at 5:55 PM ON 11/03/09
MrKaine,
HA!!! The funny thing is that it was so believable!
By ugh at 6:04 PM ON 11/03/09
I didn't go into this expecting much, but as far as sequels go - it makes Galactica 1980 look good.
By JimmyD at 9:11 PM ON 11/03/09
I guess JoshP is new to H2G2. The audio is read by Arthur Dent himself, Simon Jones. And it's quite wonderful.
By TheFiend at 1:29 AM ON 11/04/09
I'm personally dreading the new book - Douglas' last boko in the series was very poor, his style had changed so much after going off to do the "Dirk Gently" series and "Last Chance To See", that the last book even raised a wry smile from me. I will however hold off final judgement (which it seems other posters arn't willing to do) until I have actually read the book, but I must say that I will be going in with some trepidation.
As for the reviewer and Arthur's attempt to find a "Cup of Tea", yes that is in the other books, it's hardly a central theme, and I would have certainly put another theme idea across of "Arthurs attempt to come to grips with a universe gone mad, or a mad Arthur in a normal universe" you pick!
As far as the audio book versions go - you can't go past the original recordings and the newer versions of the books are quite average - even when read by cast members.
My only hope is that this book will not destroy the already cracked and partly shattered universe that Douglas created.
And finally - I think it's fine for other author's to carry on a story if/when the author dies. I'm only hoping that the universe supplies someone as equally as brilliant as Terry Pratchett when he can no longer write (Terry has alzheimers from what I've been told).
Visit mobile.syfy.com/wire on your mobile device.
TheFiend:
I'm personally dreading the new book - Douglas' last boko in the series was very poor, his style had changed so muc...More »