HITCHHIKERS GUIDE Continues Without Douglas Adams
By: Jarrod SarafinDate: Friday, September 19, 2008Source: BBC
As fellow Maniac StarlightGuard wrote in his Mania blog, it seems we are going to be moving forward into new territory within the "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" universe. Seven years after author Douglas Adams passed away, the BBC is reporting that Eoin Colfer---best known for his best-selling "Artemis Fowl" novels---is being commissioned to write a sixth novel called "And Another Thing..."Colfer has already brought up his initial reactions to coming to a world with such a fandom. He said he was "terrified" by the prospect of creating a new Hitchhiker book almost a quarter of a century after being introduced to what he described as a "slice of satirical genius" in his late teens.
"I feel more pressure to perform now than I ever have with my own books," he said, adding that he was "determined that this will be the best thing I have ever written".
Jane Belson said: "I am delighted that Eoin Colfer has agreed to continue the Hitchhiker series.
"I love his books and could not think of a better person to transport Arthur, Zaphod and Marvin to pastures new. The project has my full support."
--My first reaction is to be pissed off by this. The Hitchhiker books effected me in so many ways, not the least of which was to inspire me to write my own first novel back in High School. Douglas Adams' work is timeless genius and will never be surpassed. Why mess with something THAT good?
On the other hand, he did create a very distinct, very original and VAST universe. Who's to say that another writer showing proper respect to the source material couldn't continue the adventures? Nobody's trying to rewrite the main books. For example, there are plenty of great books in the Star Wars universe. I think Timothy Zahn did such a good job with his series that picks up 5 years or so after Return of the Jedi that they should just be considered the third trilogy and leave it at that. Honestly, it sounds like this is being handled pretty well. The groundwork is set and as long as nobody tries to mess with that, there could be some interesting stories to tell.
I'll pick up the first book and hope it's good. If it isn't, I'm sure I won't be the only fan ready to slap those guys into a black on black on black spaceship and fly it into the sun.
