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So I've made it about halfway through the sixth Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book by Eoin Colfer, and I have to say, everyone who worried about Doug Adams's legacy being tarnished has absolutely nothing to worry about. Colfer did a pretty great job at mimicking Adams's distinctive style, albeit he's considerably more structured (he marks the beginning and end of the Guide's digressions, for instance), and the chapters are much longer and frequently switch between different locations: Zaphod in Asgard trying to get in touch with Thor, and the rest of the gang on Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged's ship. Wowbagger has a pretty big role this time around, considering he'd only been a bit player before. The only characters who aren't back, at least so far, are Marvin and Eddie the Shipboard Computer.
Five stars all around. I really hope Colfer is granted permission to keep writing Hitchhiker books; I'd really like to see what else he can contribute to their universe.
I've been daydreaming about writing one of them myself, personally... but in the exceedingly improbable (even by H2G2 standards) case of that actually happening, it'll be pretty freaking long into the future.
Discuss and debate the sixth book here.
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Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die. -Mel Brooks
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/28/2009 09:50PM by Planet Cool.
To quote Arthur (on the Vogon ship in HHGG):
"I quite liked it."
Have to wait for my daughter to finish re-reading it before I can do the same; perhaps I'll see things differently then - perhaps not.
I waslistening to the radio version while reading the book and I didn't like that too much either.
The thing that annoyed me most was the way some of the Guide bits interrupted the story - the longer ones could easily have been footnoted.
I honestly don't understand what the big deal is about the "Guide Notes". They're like the Guide's digressions in Adams's books, the only difference being that this time they tell you when they start and when they end as opposed to being worked into the narrative (or given individual chapters). They haven't bothered me at all so far, and if you don't like them, you can always skip them and go back to them later.