I have just picked up "And Another Thing"

[semillama]

which is the 6th book in the Hitchhiker's Guide trilogy. It's written by Eoin Colfer, known for the Artemis Fowl series.

I haven't started reading it yet, so I'll revisit this post with some thoughts after I'm done.

According to Wikipedia:
" Prior to his death, Adams had felt the need to continue the story: "I suspect at some point in the future I will write a sixth Hitchhiker book...",<3> and "People have said, quite rightly, that Mostly Harmless is a very bleak book. And it was a bleak book. I would love to finish Hitchhiker on a slightly more upbeat note, so five seems to be a wrong kind of number; six is a better kind of number."<4><5>

In referring to the Dirk Gently book he was then working on, Adams said, "A lot of the stuff which was originally in The Salmon of Doubt really wasn't working." Before he died, Adams had planned on "salvaging some of the ideas that I couldn't make work in a Dirk Gently framework and putting them in a Hitchhiker framework... and for old time's sake I may call it The Salmon of Doubt." <6><7>"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_Another_Thing..._%28novel%29

[phantom power]

1. I have mixed feelings about this.

Mostly, my attitude is that authors should do their own thing. It is sad when authors die. Their works are uncompleted. But that's part of what it means to die.

On the other hand, Mostly Harmless was indeed a damned bleak book. I'm like a moth to the flame :-)

[Touchdown]

2. I like Colfer a lot, but never really cared for Adams.

I know, Blasphemy! But that's just me. I'm not picking it up.

[phantom power]

3. OK, so I went and read it :-)

I felt like Colfer treated the characters in a way that was slightly different than Adams would. I'm having a hard time articulating exactly what I mean, but I rather liked it.

I feel like it would be nice to just wrap HGG up. I don't feel as though that happened here :-)

[semillama]

5. I agree with you

It seemed like Colfer went for a neat and tidy ending and then decided at the last second to halt that trend with Arthur.

There were way too many Guide notes too, it really screwed with the narrative.

[JitterbugPerfume]

6. I agree

about the Guide notes .

It was ok but he is no Douglas Adams by a long shot.

[phantom power]

7. I get the impression that he was formalizing(?) something with Arthur...

making him an archetype for The Eternal Wanderer, or The Guy Who Never Quite Gets The Peace He's Looking For, or something.

In that respect, maybe this is his idea of an end to the series?

[JitterbugPerfume]

4. I just bought it too ,semillama

I hope it is even CLOSE to Douglas Adams' quality.