Douglas Adams Harmony Books Nonfiction, Essays/General Nonfiction *****
Description
Douglas Adams, best known for his popular Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy sci-fi comedy series, died suddenly in the spring of 2001. He left
behind a wife, a child, legions of stunned fans and colleagues, and a number of articles, interviews, and items salvaged from his computers by a longtime
friend. This compilation gathers various writings, published and unpublished, by the late and still lamented author, plus interviews, a few letters, and
other notes. Also included are chapters from the last book he was actively working on, a Dirk Gently novel that seemed, according to his last interviews,
to have elements that wanted to be in a sixth Hitchhiker book instead.
Review
As this book eloquently points out, there was a lot more to Douglas Adams than sci-fi. He was quite learned in a number of subjects from music to
computers, an educated atheist who saw both the profoundness and absurdity of human nature, and an active voice for environmental issues. He was also a
legendary procrastinator and energetic, witty person, one of those truly original personalities whose place will never be filled. I found this compilation
quite enjoyable, if somewhat sad, as it always is learning about such people after they've gone. That's the peculiar magic of books; when you read them,
the voices of the dead come back to life. I haven't read his Dirk Gently books, so I can't say much about the unfinished chapters except to say that they
seemed like typical Adams fare, full of peculiar characters and peculiar humor. This book confirms a suspicion of mine that the last Hitchhiker book
was written during a dark period of his life. I suppose it could be considered a final joke on the part of Fate that Adams, the ultimate procrastinator, died
in his prime before he could write the many books waiting in queue, let alone a more upbeat conclusion for the series about Life, the Universe, and Everything
which he will forever be associated with. In any event, as I read this right after finishing The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide (having been depressed for
a full day after the sucker-punch downer of an ending), I may have subconsciously given this the extra star that Ultimate lost by a coin toss. Maybe it
was because this had the odd effect of cheering me up a bit, ridiculous as that sounds. Even then, it's an entertaining, informative, and diverse collection of
writings by an author who didn't get to write nearly as many things as he should have. Dang it...
On an insignificant planet in an insignificant corner of the Galaxy lives Arthur Dent, a decent sort of fellow who, like most other decent fellows on Earth
and especially in England, is less concerned with the possibility of alien life and the deeper meaning of the Universe and more concerned with local matters,
such as the bypass slated to go through his house. His impending homelessness seems laughably trivial when he discovers that a longtime friend is really a
hitchhiking alien, and Earth itself is about to be demolished by the sluglike Vogons for a hyperspace expressway.
Ford Prefect, originally from a planet near Betelgeuse, came to Earth as part of his job as researcher for the Galaxy's most widely-read reference book, "The
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," only to be stranded for 15 years because outbound flying saucers have been very difficult to come by. When he finally gets
a lift on one of the Vogon ships that destroys Earth, he takes his still-stunned human friend Arthur along with him. Together, they endure Vogon poetry and
ejection into outer space, are improbably rescued by the Galaxy's first Infinite Improbability Drive-powered starship, meet the two-headed fugitive President
of the Galaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox and his human girlfriend Trillian (an English astrophysicist he picked up at a party), deal with the depressed moods of Marvin
the Paranoid Android, discover a mythical planet and the secret of the Earth's origins, ponder the long-sought Question to the perplexing Answer to Everything,
travel to the ends of time, save the Universe a time or two, and generally keep themselves relatively sane (or insane, as circumstances demand) amid the endless
flood of large and small incidents that make the Galaxy go 'round.
This was originally published as five books: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Arthur and Ford escape Earth's destruction and learn of the planet's unusual origins while traveling with
Zaphod and Trillian aboard the prototype Infinite Improbability ship Heart of Gold. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Traveling to various ends of time, Arthur, Ford, Zaphod, and Trillian continue their improbable adventures
and seek the Question to Everything and the mysterious Ruler of the Universe. Life, the Universe, and Everything: An ancient evil is poised to be released upon the Galaxy, as the xenophobic residents of the exiled planet Krikkit seek to
escape into normal time again. Somehow, Arthur and company must help stop them from achieving their dream of obliterating the rest of the Universe. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish: Earth, or a version of it, somehow has reappeared. Arthur tries to go back to his old life, but questions remain: Where
did this Earth come from? What happened to the old one? And where are all the dolphins? Mostly Harmless: After long searching and much disappointment, Arthur has at last found a place in the Galaxy as a revered Sandwich Maker on a backwater
planet... until a rebellious teenaged daughter he never knew he had is dropped on his doorstep.
Also included is the bonus short story Young Zaphod Plays It Safe, about one of Zaphod's early salvage missions.
Review
I've been meaning to read the Hitchhiker series for a long time, and the recent movie release prompted me to finally do it; this collection seemed the
best (and most economical) way to read the whole thing at once. To be fair, I once saw the BBC TV series which covered the first two books, so I had a rough idea
of what to expect. It started out funny in that way oddly unique, in my experience, to British writers, simultaneously absurd and insightful, the characters having
just enough integrity to hold their molecules together in the inherently insane Universe they were written to inhabit. I quite enjoyed the early journeys of Dent,
Ford, and company. By the fourth book (So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish), the silly tangents started to wear a little thin, as did the listless plotlines
and the overall quality, but the humor carried things along well enough. By the end of the last book (Mostly Harmless), I wondered if the late Adams had grown
sick of the whole thing, from characters to concept to the writing game in general, delivering the punchline to the ultimate joke of the series in a way that felt as
if he had reached out of the story and slapped me across the face. One thing I cannot abide from any author is betrayal. To define, "betrayal" as used here isn't a
beloved character dying or a not-entirely-happy ending. Betrayal means tripping the plot up with spiteful events that destroy its rhythm and throw the preceding story
(and the reader's emotional investment in said story) into the trash, existing because the author felt like jerking the reader around and/or just plain no longer gave
a rat's rear about the book.
Yes, I know it was just a silly series when all is said and done, the ending a final dismissive shrug on the part of the Universe which was, in retrospect, foreshadowed
from the first book. Yes, I know it's ridiculous to be upset about occurrences in a book of any kind, that attaching any sense of realism to fictional creations is the
result of having an excesively impressionable imagination. And, yes, I know Adams may have been planning a sixth book before his untimely death, so it's possible that
that last book wasn't really how he wanted to end things but was just a victim of cruelly indifferent Fate, much like Adams himself. (I also know this review may be
deemed tacky, speaking ill of the dead and all.) I still don't like being betrayed by a story. It depresses me. Entering a state of palpable depression is not why I
read any book, let alone a humorous series.
Considering how the last book tainted my perception of the preceding material, and how I'm sitting here still saddened by that sucker punch of a last chapter, I don't
know if I can give The Ultimate Hitchhiker an accurate rating - that is, a rating equivalent to what I would've given the series had I read the books individually.
Perhaps it was, as I initially felt, a rather witty series, well deserving its reputation as one of sci-fi's most beloved works, and it was only writer burnout or other
factors that made the last parts so disappointing. Then again, perhaps that smack-in-the-face finale (if finale it was, and sadly we'll never know for certain) really was
the intention all along, turning most of the preceding material into so much rotten red herring. In deference to the fatalistic and irreverent nature of the
Hitchhiker series, I ultimately flipped a coin to determine the rating. (Tails, for the curious. Heads would've been 4 stars. Not that it means anything.) UPDATE - How times have changed... Evidently, I wasn't the only one completely dismayed at the way this series ended. Bestselling author Eoin Colfer (Artemis
Fowl series, among others) has been commissioned to write the official sixth book in the "trilogy," slated for release in late 2009. Yes, I've read it. Read my review
here.
