And Another Thing...

For some, the very idea of this book is a sacrilege. Somebody other than the late, great Douglas Adams writing a novel in his most loved series. And by someone who to this point is only known for his writing for younger readers. But I don't think Adams himself would really object. He reveled in the inconsistency among the many iterations and adaptations of his story, and was himself responsible for most of the new ideas that the same doubters probably thought ruined the long-delayed film version. Eoin Colfer turn at the helm isn't exactly great, but it doesn't ruin the series either. It just sort of exists there alongside the first five books, and at the least we should be grateful that it erases Adams' greatest mistake - killing off all the main characters at the end of Mostly Harmless.

There are a few weird decisions here and there. Colfer is more of a fantasy guy than a science fiction guy, and that's sort of reflected in the story. A lot, and I mean a lot, of time is spent dealing with gods, both smaller insignificant ones and the big guys like Thor. The story actually seems handcuffed a bit, only covering a few major events over its brief page count. Arthur and Ford hardly get to do anything, and Colfer makes a rather odd choice for Trillian's new love interest. Zaphod's definitely the star of the show, having the most to do and getting a lot of the best lines. I don't think it really stands up to the other books in the trilogy, especially the first three from what I remember. But it's a pleasant, inoffensive read, respectful enough to Adams' work while putting Colfer's own stamp on it. I don't know if he intends to continue with further books, and I think I'd be okay either way. There is a bit of a cliffhanger that leaves someone in a precarious position, but the important thing was fixing the universe, and he did that well enough. Not bad.

The Salmon of Doubt

I was surprised to realize I haven't talked about this book yet, having read it during the summer. Douglas Adams, sci-fi humorist extraordinaire, was writing a third Dirk Gently novel when he passed much too young of a heart attack. It wasn't working quite right, and he was thinking that the ideas would work better in the context of a sixth Hitchhiker's Guide book instead. He never got to finish the story, and we'll never know quite what was going on then. The Salmon of Doubt was the working title of the incomplete work, and it was used to name this, a collection of various writings of his, including the best possible version of the new story edited together using the various parts they found. There's a couple other short stories as well as essays he did for magazines or just letters he wrote of interest.

Everything in the book is an interesting read. Some of it is enlightening self-deprecation, some is humorous stories on stuff he doesn't usually discuss, and all of it is well-written. He's not an overly verbose man, but his descriptions are always perfect and it moves right along. Some highlights are a story based off a sketch he wrote with Graham Chapman about the odd private life of Genghis Kahn and the Salmon of Doubt itself. There was definitely something there, although there was obvious work to be done. All in all, it's a nice read punctuated by the bittersweet knowledge that this is the work of someone who wasn't even close to running out of ideas, but did make an impact while he was here.

The Deeper Meaning of Liff

This is the second edition of a book by the premiere British Science Fiction Humorist and the producer of Blackadder. It's basically a dictionary that takes a bunch of names of places in England and around the world and reuses them as definitions for things that don't have words yet. Some of them are just silly, others are references to things that might be familiar to you and funny for that reason. Oftentimes several words, because of similar roots or just because, will all have interrelated meanings that build on each other. The best words are ones that actually sound like the kind of thing they're describing.

There's also a bunch of maps showing where all the names came from and a funny, extremely thorough index. There's even a funny little appendix. The Deeper Meaning of Liff is pretty short and doesn't have much important to say, but it is a funny little book to thumb through when you're bored.

The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

Tea-Time is the sequel to Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, and while funny, it doesn't quite live up to the standard set by that book. The only returning characters are Dirk, obviously, the still hilarious Sergeant Gilks, and a deceptively brief appearance by Janice, who has finally quit as Dirk's secretary and now works at the airport. The main new character is Kate Schecter, an American annoyed by the lack of delivery pizza in England. She's a well developed, strong character, and her growing annoyance at the strangeness happening around her is palpable. Dirk is still a great personality, although his tale is quite different from the first time around. His role is more central, and while he seemed mostly in control of things in the first novel, this time around he's constantly getting battered and toyed with, and he seems more and more helpless as things go on before he figures out what's happening.

The first book was about various sci-fi ideas like time travel and ghosts. This focuses on the idea of gods, specifically Norse ones, actually living on a slightly altered plane of existence and able to travel between there and our world. There is an interesting mystery involving them and a sequence of coincidences that actually aren't involving lots of rich people in entertainment industries. The characterization of Thor and Odin is definitely interesting, and Adams does some cool stuff exploring the idea. I wasn't in love with the overall writing though, as it went on it seemed to spend too much time with extraneous descriptions and events that weren't all too provocative or funny, and for all of the buildup to the final confrontation it's all ended quite abruptly and unsatisfactorily. About every strange occurrence that is hinted at is explained, and seemingly unimportant things from earlier are revealed to be more than they seem, and that's all interesting and works with the continuing theme of the fundamental interconnectedness of all things. But the actual characters just sort of go on with their lives, Kate seemingly completely ignored. I think Adams might have rushed to finish it, which is a shame because I know he can write a bit better than this. It's still an entertaining book, though.

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

Adams is much better known for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and its sequels, but to be honest I prefer this. Hitchhiker's Guide is a cornerstone of science-fiction humor, but Dirk Gently's a little less random and more interesting as a story.

The character of Dirk Gently is a detective who attempts to solve mysteries by looking at the "fundamental interconnectedness of all things", which he mostly uses an excuse to bill his clients for extravagant expenses, but it's really what the book is all about. At first, the different chapters jump wildly between seemingly disparate characters and events, but as the story goes on, things start falling into place as connections form where they didn't exist previously, and before it ends it all comes together in a single, cohesive, intelligent plot. What seemed strange and meaningless before is all explained or can be inferred, and it's so clever that it's hard not to smile while reading it. It really helps to know certain things about Samuel Coleridge's work to understand the resolution, but that information isn't hard to find.

It's really an interesting story that seems grounded despite dealing with time travel, aliens, ghosts, and alien ghosts. It's led along by a really good cast of characters. Dirk himself is a unique but strong semi-protagonist, as he does most of the mystery solving, but the narrative is from the perspective of his old classmate Richard the most often. Richard is intelligent but absent-minded, and a sympathetic guy. Susan and Janice are good female characters, especially Janice who's angry rapport with her employer, Gently, is quite funny. Sergeant Gilks, the only person who isn't befuddled by Dirk's wit, is also a standout. Gordon's struggle with his newfound form of existence is definitely quite compelling, and Reg, the old professor, is likable.

It took me some time to get into the book, since I was busy with school when I started, but before long it got rolling and I finished it up pretty quickly. It isn't the deepest of thought-provoking novels, but it's an enjoyable read throughout.