Just a few words first about the controversy between fans. Some of them really want to read this book and there are others who won't read it even if their life was at stake and depended on it.
Douglas Adams, the original author of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (H2G2) died in 2001. The last installment of H2G2 ("Mostly Harmless") was published in 1994 and surprised and shocked a lot of fans because the end of the book was utterly dark. But those who understand Hitchhiker know that H2G2 was not founded on an optimistic and innocent kind of humour. A story which begins with the destruction of the Earth to make way for a bypass can hardly be called harmless. A few times, Douglas Adams expressed regrets for such a dark ending to his famous trilogy in five parts. He had a love/hate relationship with "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" which made him so famous, and felt trapped just like a rockstar who would be famous for just one song (or five). But he also was very protective regarding his work (as Howard Zimmerman explains in a foreword to the DC comics adaptation, "Essentially, Douglas wanted no changes to his original prose whatsoever.... The single, major concession I got from Douglas Adams was to allow us to Americanize the British spellings. And this was a hard won battle").
The five Hitchhiker's books are all very different and it is not at all an homogeneous set. The first one is the closest to the original radio series (which for me remains the canon). The second book ("The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" has a lot of new stuff but remains very close to the spirit of the radio series and the first book (the reason why many fans think it is the best). The third one, "Life, the Universe and Everything" is based on a script Douglas wrote for “Doctor Who”. So it's quite different from the two first books and has a plot! But it is also more classical stuff and lacks the sheer originality of the two first books. The fourth book ("So Long and Thanks For All the Fish") is a love story on Earth! A lot of fans don't like this book for this reason but it has always been a favourite of mine. And finally, the fifth book, ("Mostly Harmless") is the darker book in the series and its end seemed to wipe out a possibility for a sixth book.
So, everyone was quite taken aback when Penguin one year ago announced that there will be a sixth book of Hitchhiker and that it will be written by Eoin Colfer, an Irish writer well known for his best selling series for teenagers, "Artemis Fowl". And quite a number of fans decided straight away that it was a terrible idea and that they won't read a Hitchhiker book not written by Douglas.
I feel myself uncomfortable with the concept, as Douglas Adams’ unique style of writing (including his penchant for run-on sentences) and sheer original ideas are quite an important factor in the pleasure you get from reading H2G2. But I love the characters so much that I couldn't help but feel excited at the idea of having them back in new adventures. And I'm still happy when there are opportunities for a few headlines about Hitchhiker and Douglas Adams. I really hope that he and his work will be even more famous in 20 years than they are now.
So I was quite happy to get last week a proof copy of this much awaited book. But now I have finished reading half of the book, which are my feelings on the subject?
Well let's get it straight, it's not Douglas Adams. Eoin Colfer has his own sense of humour, and way of telling stories.
Regarding our heroes. Well they are back (he resisted the temptation to get Marvin resurrected - in the first half at least) but of course sometimes they act and think differently than in Douglas' books. So it can be disturbing the few times it happens. But mainly, I think he got it right. Eoin Colfer also brought back some of the excellent secondary characters you get in the Hitchhiker's series. And he didn't make bad choices.
The plot. Hmm, I would say that the plot is also here very, very thin and to be straightforward not very interesting. There is a kind of plot but more like in the movie and less than in "Life, the Universe and Everything". It's more an excuse of for a plot. And Colfer is very Adamsy when he breaks the continuity of the story with a lot of extra stuff; guide notes, and so on...
Is it funny? If you read Hitchhiker to have a good laugh, maybe you're going to be disappointed. I didn't find it very funny. There are some good funny moments (mainly at the beginning) but Colfer's ideas being less original than Douglas’, you are less surprised. And he has not the same grip on comic timing than Douglas had.
There are also some dialogues which are not Douglasy at all, like most of the stuff around Random's teenage problems and the kind of love story between Trillian and °°°° (a legendary character of the Hitchhiker series, even if it's the first time that we see him that much!). And some speeches are anyway a bit long. I didn't find any great conversations like the ones between Prosser-Arthur, Marvin-Frogstar Robot or even Shooty-Bang Bang-Zaphod.
I don't want to give the feeling that it is a bad book. It is not. But maybe I was expecting too much. And let's keep in mind the fact that it is just the first half of the book with all the transitional bits that were needed (this book has been written in a way that you could read it without reading the other books first - there's a resumé of the previous book at the beginning - but I really, really hope that new readers will read the other books first, or at least afterwards). I don't feel in anyway that it's a shame, or an insult to Douglas Adams' memory; it's a nice fan fiction. Take it or leave it, but if you like Hitchhiker, give it a chance.
EDIT (the 23th august 2009) : I've been quoted on several websites saying that "The new Hitchhiker book is not very funny". I feel a bit taken out of context (and most of these websites don't even put a link back to my website so that people can read the entire review). Maybe some other people will find it very funny (I'm not the judge of what's funny and what's not) and it's annyway not the main quality of the Hitchhiker's series from my point of view. "So long..." and "Mostly harmless" are not funny books, there is a dark and sceptical tone in Douglas'writing that I love. And of course you can't find exactly the same thing in Colfin's writing.
Now that Penguin sent the first eight chapters to some lucky bast°°°s who won a copy of the proof, the first reviews (for these eight chapters) begin to appear on the web.
Here is an extract posted by my friend Kevin Davies who chose it because it sounds a lot like douglas adams :
"From "And Another Thing..." by Eoin Colfer, Chapter One:
...Ford Prefect found himself deposited in a room composed of blue sky.
A familiar figure sat in the opposite corner.
'Ah,' said Ford, remembering.
Guide Note: Remembering is generally a two-stage process involving dialogue between the conscious and subconscious parts of the brain. The subconscious opens proceedings by throwing up the relevant memory, an act which releases a spurt of self-congratulatory endorphins.
'Well done, matey,' says the consciousness. 'That memory is really useful right now, and I couldn't remember where I'd put it."
'You and me pal,' says the subconscious, delighted to have its contribution acknowledged for once. 'We're in this together.'
Then the conscious reviews the memory in its in-tray and sends a message down to the sphincter telling it to prepare for the worst.
'Why did you remind me of this?' it rails against the subconscious. 'This is awful. Terrible. I didn't want to remember this. Why the zark do you think I shoved it to the back of my brain?'
'That's the last time I help you out,' mutters the subconscious and retreats to the darker sections of itself where nasty thoughts are housed. 'I don't need you,' it tells itself. 'I can make myself another personality out of these things you've discarded.' And so the seeds of schizophrenia are sown with kernels of childhood bullying, neglect, low self-esteem and prejudice.
Luckily, Betelgeuseans don't have much of a subconscious, so that's all right then.
---"
An here is the first intelligent review posted by a guy called Roger Plunkett (Humanracer) on several forums and blogs :
"The book is very good but not excellent. I don’t think this will win converts among those who have decided that without Adams, the book will disappoint. The book is written in such a way that it follows on from Dirk Maggs radio adaptation of book 5, as well as book 5 itself.
Firstly the negatives. The guide sections are generally well written but prefaced only by “guide note”, whereas Adams wrote “The Hitchhikers Guide has a lot to say on the subject of..”. The guide sections in Adams books had a much stronger character. 6 of 3 also suffers from too much sentimentality. We hear about Trillian’s guilt about leaving Random, Arthur’s love for his daughter, Random’s sadness about not having a home etc. Of course this may have been in an Adams novel since he was happily married with a daughter at the time of his death but Hitchhikers works best when it is farcical and even romantic moments in earlier books were played out in a humorous fashion. I would have liked this novel to have been written in the spirit of the first two books, with sentimentality swapped for humour. This is something that was also partly missing from the 5th book. Nearly every paragraph in the first two books was coated with Adams humour and read like a real comedy. Here Colfer spends too much time stating what is happening (Arthur did this, Trillian felt like this etc). Adams kept such explanations to minimum, and when it was used, it was always an excuse for Adams to get another gag in. Of course there should be a reconciliation between Trillian and Random but I think Adams would have made it funny rather than twee. Another criticism is that some of the characters dialogue is a little off. I don’t think Arthur would call someone “mate”, and he wouldn’t use the word “arsehole”. In fact there is a lot of semi swearing in this book. The plot moves along slowly, having finished half the book, the characters are still trying to get out of the same situation they found themselves in after the first few chapters. The book is shaping up to be the longest of the series. Finally, referencing Doctor Who seems a bit far fetched.
The positives?. It’s very well written and while the book is not a laugh out loud novel, the book is a pleasant read and less depressing than book 5. Everything depends on the second half though, the book set up some great concepts which could lead to a great conclusion. There are hints that Arthur still has feelings for Trillian and perhaps this should be explored more in the second half, though hopefully with a lot of humour. A lot of major and minor characters are back, which would please Hitchhiker fans. I actually think the dialogue would be more suited to a radio show since a lot of it would sound far funnier if read out in a humorous manner.
So overall a very good effort which could have been better. The book will please some fans and disappoint others. I may reassess my view after reading the second half.
I have been a big supporter of this project, but it has always been my intention to give a honest and fair review.
Let me know what your other half thinks!"
Being deprived of internet access for now three weeks, I publish the news 20 days after it was revealed on Eoin Colfer's website.
Well anyway here is the cover for those who still haven't seen it :
The publication of Hitchhiker's sixth book will be also the opportunity for new editions of the previous titles :
"And Another Thing… by Eoin Colfer is published in hardback from Michael Joseph on 12th October 2009 ISBN 9780718155148, £20
New anniversary editions of Douglas Adams’ original titles will be available in paperback at £7.99 from Pan with new introductions from notable people in the Hitchhiker world, including Russell T Davies, Dirk Maggs and Terry Jones and with an afterword from Simon Brett, the original commissioner of the radio series on 4th September 2009"
Well I wouldn't say that Russel T Davies is part of the Hitchhiker world but never mind. It will be interesting to read these introductions and Simon Brett's afterword.
Very far away from Douglas Adams well known craft for missing deadlines, it seems that irish writer Eoin Colfer will finish Hitchhiker' guide to the galaxy sixth part in time. "And another thing" should be finished at the begining of february and published as expected in october. In his hoopy new year video message, Eoin Colfer speaks mostly about Hitchhikers. He shows his christmas present to the camera, a nice little towel with the "penguin logo" (the new Hitchhikers publisher) and the phrase "a hoopy frood always knows where his towel is".
He seems a bit worried about the "controversial" sixth Hitchhikers book. "Some people are going to burn it in their fireplace", he says, "but you know there's not much I can do about that. All I can do is write the best book that I know how to write, that is in equal parts reverential towards the brilliance genius of Douglas Adams but also an other part of it will be just me. So I'm going to bring my own brand of humour and fast pacing and adventure to it... But in these books there are no rules. Everything can happen, absolutely everything... So I've been working on that for the last six monts and I hope to finish it by the begining of februrary I hope. And I jsut gonna have to sit back nervously and see what everybody thinks. So if I can convert 80% of the people, you know that's not going too bad...".
It is interesting to read this text written by Eoin Coffer, the writer of the sixth installment of the Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy :
"From Penguin Press:
I first read the Hitchhiker’s Guide in my late teens when Ted Roche, a libertine friend of mine, pressed it into my sweaty palms and hissed at me with fanatical intensity that I must read it or be ridiculed forever by the school literati. Relax, dude, I remember saying with eighties’ insouciance. Ridicule is nothing to be scared of.
But I was scared. Petrified in fact. If one was not a sportsman, the only other circle to belong to was the readers’ circle. Places were limited and expulsions were swift and ruthless. If one had not read the livre du jour then one would not be offered book swapsies on Friday. If this happened, then a person might be forced to turn to his own siblings for conversation.
So, in this spirit of quasi-persecution I scuttled home after double chemistry and found a quiet bathroom where I could settle down and read what I was certain would be a thinly veiled version of Star Wars. Vogons destroy the Earth and a single hero survives. Please. I could almost write the rest myself.
Never have I been so happy to be proven wrong.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was like nothing I had read before, or since for that matter. If you have read it then you know exactly what I am talking about. If you haven’t then read it now, moron. The problem is the hyperbole puts people off. If it’s so popular then it must be middle of the road, brimming with clichés and easily digested on the sands of Ibiza.
All false assumptions. The Guide is a slice of satirical genius. A marvel of quantum tomfoolery. A dissection of the absurdities of our human condition. A space odyssey that forces us to face ourselves and collapse in hysterics. Imagine if Messrs. Hawking and Fry were locked in a room with the entire cast of Monty Python and forced to write a book which would subsequently be edited by Pink Floyd, then the result would need a lot of work before it could be cut from Douglas Adams’ first draft.
For the next couple of decades I followed the exploits of Arthur Dent and his intergalactic troupe as they stumbled through space and time befuddled and bereft, drinking tea in the face of impossible odds and generally failing to find enlightenment at every turn. It’s like a quest for the holy grail where the grail is neither holy nor grail-shaped. I travelled with Arthur Dent as he lost his planet, learned to fly, found love, made sandwiches, got to know his daughter, found his planet again briefly and finally got blown to atoms.
Blown to atoms! Surely not, but no need to panic, Douglas Adams would surely reassemble Arthur somehow in the next book.
But as we all know, the next book never came and the legions of Hitchhiker fans were left with their hearts beating a little too quickly for all eternity.
It became a whimsy of mine to finish the story, just for my own peace of mind. I often wondered how Douglas Adams would have resurrected his beloved characters. And now, almost quarter of a century after first reading Hitchhiker, I have been given the incredible opportunity of writing the next chapter in the saga myself. In an actual book rather than in my head.
My first reaction was semi-outrage that anyone should be allowed to tamper with this incredible series. But on reflection I realised that this is a wonderful opportunity to work with characters I have loved since childhood and give them something of my own voice while holding onto the spirit of Douglas Adams and not laying a single finger on his five books.
Once again I am terrified by a Hitchhiker book and this time it is my own. I feel more pressure to perform now than I ever have with my own books, and that is why I am bloody determined that this will be the best thing I have ever written. And if it isn’t then I will make sure that the cover is extremely pretty.
For the first time in decades I feel the uncertainty that I last felt in my teenage years. There are people out there that really want to like this book. Ted Roche is one. I will track him down in eight months time, with a proof copy in my sweaty grip, press it into his hands and tell him with fanatical intensity that he really has to read this book. Then I will sit on the corner of his sofa until he is finished and await the verdict.
©Eoin Colfer Wexford, September 2008"
I was of course quite taken aback when I learnt the news. British publiser Penguin has commissionned Eoin Colfer, author of the Artemis Fowl series, to write a sixth instalment of the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy series.
According to The Press Association, the irish writer said he was "terrified" by the prospect of creating a new Hitchhiker book almost a quarter of a century after being introduced to what he described as a "slice of satirical genius" in his late teens.
He said: "My first reaction was semi-outrage that anyone should be allowed to tamper with this incredible series. But on reflection I realised that this is a wonderful opportunity to work with characters I have loved since childhood and give them something of my own voice while holding on to the spirit of Douglas Adams".
He added: "I feel more pressure to perform now than I ever have with my own books, and that is why I am bloody determined that this will be the best thing I have ever written. Being given the chance to write this book is like suddenly being offered the superpower of your choice. For years I have been finishing this incredible story in my head and now I have the opportunity to do it in the real world. It is a gift from the gods."
More news on the BBC : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7619828.stm
You can also listen to the anouncement on Penguin's website (it's a sound clip where Simon Jones plays Arthur Dent) : http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/today/index.html
It's an incredible news and I won't say I'm very pleased by the news. But, hell, nobody asked.
