Rating: Summary: Surprisingly Good! Review:
"The Salmon of Doubt" is a book that both excited and surprised me. Published posthumously following the unexpected death of Douglas Adams I and presumably many others expected it to be another instalment of "The Hitchhikers Guide To the Galaxy". This, the longest trilogy in the history of the Universe, is the work he remains famous for Worldwide. Unfortunately, within these pages you will not find Marvin the paranoid android; neither will you find Arthur Dent. Certainly this is a masterstroke and a little devious by the publishers to advertise the book with the sub-title "Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time" and at first you may feel cheated.
However, do not discount this book as a cash-in on a great mans name. You may not find what you were expecting but what you will find is an eclectic mix of Adams writings, many of which have never been published before. You will find musings and notes, interviews and snippets and the Holy Grail itself. A short story revolving round a young Zaphod Beeblebrox the two headed alien infamous in the Hitchhiker's series.
The whole collection reads like a tribute to the man's genius and is presented in an almost autobiographical style. For every story or anecdote there is an interview or letter to his publisher. This book is as good as it gets to getting inside the mind of the mad genius himself. His frustration at the "constipation" in his attempts to get Hitchhikers made into a Hollywood film are plain to see in letters to Disney and colleagues as to the lack of progress being made. There are several interviews regarding his proclaimed atheism and it is fascinating to hear the background to his beliefs from a strict religious upbringing to the staunch non-believer he eventually became.
However, all of this is merely the tip of the iceberg. In summary, this book is as eclectic a collection as the late great man was himself. Click to purchase this one. Along with this book, let me introduce another wonderful novel (if you haven't heard of it) called "The Losers' Club" by Richard Perez, not science fiction at all but highly amusing, truly entertaining and loads of fun -- a terrific book, a "used" copy of which I picked up off Amazon. With Adams gone, we need to get our jollies where we can.
Rating: Summary: Part of me hated this book Review: ...but only because it was a sad reminder that one of the greatest minds in literature, and one of my own greatest influences, is gone. I've been an avid fan of Adam's ever since I was a kid. I remember laughing out loud at The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy and watching my parent's amazed expressions... "he's laughing at a book?" I also remember that, when sitting on an airplane, on my way to disney land, sticking the paperback in the seat-pocket in front of me and realizing with much delight that the "hitchhiking hand" on the cover looks a lot like a bum* when you turn it upside down and then cover up the bottom half.... but I digress. This book will appeal to two types of people. Those who are, like me, fans of Douglas Adams and are rabid to gain more of his wit, humor and insight will definitely enjoy getting this last bitter-sweet sample of his work. However, it will also appeal to anyone who enjoys a religious, socioeconomic or environmental debate. So much more real than the Hitchhiker books, Adam's various essays and articles apply his intellect (which is significant) and an almost frighteningly open mind to many important and delicate issues. Those who are looking for another complete Dirk Gently story will be sadly disappointed, unless they enjoy reading an incomplete, very early draft of the never-to-be-completed installment that is provided at the end of the book. Lucky for me, I did enjoy it. In fact, I loved it; It was a fantastic study of Adams' technique, although it was very hard to close the book afterwards. I'm still in denial that it is all over. Eric D. Knapp PS - If anyone cares to know, my own author-photo that I used on my first book was a sort of tribute to Douglas Adams. I remember his early books, that all had the same photo of Adams on the cover. It was oddly distorted by an early version MacDraw (or some such ancient Mac program), and I always said to myself "If I ever publish a book, I'm going to put a goofy picture of myself on the cover, too." Well, I did. And I did. Thanks, Doug. *EDIT: I can't put URLs on an amazon review, but I've posted the Hitchhiker-cover-to-bum-conversion experiment on my web site... I'm sure you can find it via Google if you try hard enough :-)
Rating: Summary: btw Review: c.s. lewis is another great author to read if you enjoy this book. take care aim - idioteque182 silveradio182@hotmail.com
Rating: Summary: btw Review: c.s. lewis is another great author to read if you enjoy this book. take care aim - idioteque182 silveradio182@hotmail.com
Rating: Summary: A Fine Tribute Review: Put together as a tribute to the man that was Douglas Adams, it is a three part book that includes Adams' everyday musings, his social/economic hardships and triumphs, his numerous articles on some of the most random topics for respectable magazines and newspapers - including a trip to K2 dressed as a rhino and an attempt to ride a manta ray -, his views on the argument of God and creationism versus Darwin and evolution, a couple humorous short stories, and the beginnings of a new novel we will never see completed. The book is separated into three sections, appropriately titled, respectively, Life, the Universe, and Everything. The first, Life, is made up primarily of newspaper and magazine articles - including one he wrote at the ripe old age of twelve - regarding his background and upbringing, his escapades paid for by various unsuspecting patrons, his love/hate relationship with Macintosh, and other ramblings on things such as unwritten rules of travel, the proper way to make tea, the social strategies of canines, and New Year hangovers. The second section, the Universe, is made up of half unpublished musings, half interviews with aethiests, and half speeches on our "artificial god" of money. As the title of this section would suggest, as well as my flawed arithmetic, everything discusses topics having to do with universal religion and/or ideas regarding the universe and multiple reality theories. The third secion, and Everything, is everything else. Starting off with an interview with The Onion, then going back in time to a short story about the personal life of Ghengis Khan, followed a few thousand years in the future by the short story many of us have read in The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, "Young Zaphod Plays it Safe," and back to the deceptively modern setting of Dirk Gently in Salmon of Doubt, the beginnings of a novel that will, hopefully, remain incomplete for eternity. Throughout the book things pick up and then fall down again, some things funny and some things insightful and, as was Adams' style, some things both at the same time, for an emotional roller-coaster ride that I would not have put down save for the persuasive calls of nature. I highly recommend this book, even moreso if you are intimately acquainted with his Hitchiker, Dirk Gently, and Liff novels.
Rating: Summary: literature at best Review: the best thing about a wonderful piece of literature sucha as this, it that it can be seen in many different lights and perspectives. it's a multi-dimensional work of art and i enjoyed it. although some of my beliefs are strongly grounded and don't necessarily coincide with his, his work grabs you and you appreciate every word. i recommend it. for any questions, feel free to email silverchair7983@yahoo.com
Rating: Summary: literature at best Review: the best thing about a wonderful piece of literature sucha as this, it that it can be seen in many different lights and perspectives. it's a multi-dimensional work of art and i enjoyed it. although some of my beliefs are strongly grounded and don't necessarily coincide with his, his work grabs you and you appreciate every word. i recommend it. for any questions, feel free to email silverchair7983@yahoo.com
Rating: Summary: A great read... Review: The first two thirds of the book can be enjoyed by all, but the final third is really for the fans who have enjoyed Dirk Gently and Hitchhikers. The only thing the book is missing is interconnectedness that only Douglas Adams himself could have provided... May his memory live on.
Rating: Summary: A Tribute Review: The wit of the late Douglas Adams shines through in this brief volume. It consists of mainly two parts. The first part consists of essays and interviews with Adams that have appeared in magazines and on the internet. Hitchhiker fans will especially love "Young Zaphod Plays it Safe." The second part is an unfinished novel by Adams. The first part is satisfying because you can see Adams' character shining through. In these writings, different facets of his personality sparkle for all to see. The second part is unsatisfactory though. It is patched together from a few early drafts, and it is unpolished. Second, it only consists of a few chapters, so the story stops midway through without any resolution, which is a little frustrating. Perhaps this volume would have been better if it had focused on the essays and letters of Adams and left the unfinished novel alone. If you're a big Adams fan, you'll want to pick this up for the first part and to see the second part to satisfy your curiousity. If you're not a big fan, you should skip this one, and try the Hitchhiker's series instead.
Rating: Summary: A Tribute Review: The wit of the late Douglas Adams shines through in this brief volume. It consists of mainly two parts. The first part consists of essays and interviews with Adams that have appeared in magazines and on the internet. Hitchhiker fans will especially love "Young Zaphod Plays it Safe." The second part is an unfinished novel by Adams. The first part is satisfying because you can see Adams' character shining through. In these writings, different facets of his personality sparkle for all to see. The second part is unsatisfactory though. It is patched together from a few early drafts, and it is unpolished. Second, it only consists of a few chapters, so the story stops midway through without any resolution, which is a little frustrating. Perhaps this volume would have been better if it had focused on the essays and letters of Adams and left the unfinished novel alone. If you're a big Adams fan, you'll want to pick this up for the first part and to see the second part to satisfy your curiousity. If you're not a big fan, you should skip this one, and try the Hitchhiker's series instead.
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