The Pitchforker's Pride is a Fallacy

At 1:30am on Sunday morning, while I was doing some homework (I know), I happened to discover that there was a new Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book coming out. The next day. In London, at an event called Hitchcon '09. The book, since Douglas Adams had died in 2001 (one of the saddest days of my life), had been written by Eoin Colfer, with the approval of Adams' widow and publisher. H2G2 was a serious influence on my life, and I knew that I had to go to London the next morning to get the next book. Unfortunately, because I am a lazy bastard (well, technically just lazy), I missed the one panel discussion I really wanted to see, which was a discussion about Douglas by people who had known him. So my day wound up being me buying the new novel, wandering around looking at the various paraphernalia they had laid out, watching a bit of the BBC H2G2 tv show they had running on a loop, going out to get some lunch, and then coming back to have my book signed by Colfer before I returned to Oxford. Altogether an amazing day.

I finished reading the book (And Another Thing...) Monday afternoon, and I can tell you it's good. Unfortunately for all of us, Adams was fantastic. Superb. Amazing. Whatever term you want to use to describe him, he was a step (or several) above good. Colfer has done a fine job with the characters, with the universe, and with the plot (in true Adams' fashion, it makes little or no sense). What Colfer cannot sustain is Adams' brilliance of phrasing, of putting things in such a way that is both unexpected yet perfect. This is not Colfer's fault-he actually achieves this at least a couple of points in the book, but can't sustain it like Adams.

That said, this book is worth the read. Especially if, like me (and Adams, as quoted in The Salmon of Doubt), you've always felt that Mostly Harmless is an uncharacteristically and undeservedly bleak end to the H2G2 series. The characters all return (except Marvin, who's death makes the end of So Long, and Thanks... the best of all the H2G2 novels), and Colfer does an excellent job of name dropping that dedicated fans will enjoy. Things are decidedly more upbeat, and even certain death is faced with the knowledge that things will turn out ok.

I was thrilled to learn about the book, and very happy to meet the author and get it signed. It's just that (without offense to Eoin Colfer), I wish it had been Adams doing the signing.