Re: New HItch-Hikers Book

On Sep 18, 1:19 am, Peter J Ross <p...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
In rec.arts.drwho on Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:07:16 +0100, Soze



<I...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Anyone heard of this bloke? Not sure if this is an interesting idea or
gross blasphemy....

  An Irish author has been commissioned to write a new instalment of
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", the cult science fiction comedy
which became a worldwide hit, publishers said Wednesday.

Children's author Eoin Colfer will pen a sixth book in the series with
the blessing of Jane Belson, widow of original author Douglas Adams who
died in 2001, nine years after his last instalment, "Mostly Harmless".

The new volume, to be called "And Another Thing...", will relate the
continuing adventures of Arthur Dent, a hapless human touring the cosmos
with an electronic guidebook labelled "Don't Panic!" in big letters.

Colfer, 43, best known for "Artemis Fowl", a series about a teenage
criminal mastermind, said he was "terrified" when publisher Penguin
suggested the project, calling the original books a "slice of satirical
genius."

"My first reaction was semi-outrage that anyone should be allowed to
tamper with this incredible series," he said.

"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."

Adams wrote the original series for BBC radio in the late 1970s, with a
cast of characters including guide contributor Ford Prefect, the
twin-headed Zaphod Beeblebrox, and Marvin the Paranoid Android, a
depressed robot.

But it gradually snowballed into a multi-media phenomenon including the
books -- "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", "The Restaurant at the
End of the Universe", "Life, the Universe and Everything", "So Long And
Thanks for all the Fish", and "Mostly Harmless" -- a stage show and 2004
movie.

Around 16 million copies of the books have been sold around the world,
translated into 35 languages.

Adams's widow said she was "delighted" Colfer had agreed to continue the
series.

"I love his books and could not think of a better person to transport
Arthur, Zaphod and Marvin to pastures new," she said.

"The project has my full support."

Colfer 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."

Helen Fraser, Penguin managing director, said she believed the Irish
writer was up to the job.

"Douglas Adams was an extraordinary writer, with an ability to come at
the reader from the most unexpected angles, knock them off balance and
make them laugh at the same time," she said.

"Eoin Colfer is an inspired choice as Douglas's successor... He is a
huge talent and a fantastically funny writer, and this new book will
bring as many new young readers to Douglas Adams's work as it will
introduce adults to the brilliance of Eoin Colfer."

"And Another Thing..." is scheduled for publication in October 2009.

My rule of thumb is that if it ain't got Peter Jones in it, it ain't
the real thing.

THGTTG consists of twelve wonderful radio episodes, and a bunch of
spin-offs that aren't quite as good - some of them written by DA. Why
watch or listen to spin-offs when you can immerse yourself repeatedly
in the incomparable genius of the real thing?

Variation?
.

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