And Another Thing... by Eoin Colfer
Published by: Hyperion
Publication Date: October 13th, 2009
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Arthur Dent's accidental association with that wholly remarkable book, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, has not been entirely without incident.
Arthur has traveled the length, breadth, and depth of known, and unknown, space. He has stumbled forward and backward through time. He has been blown up, reassembled, cruelly imprisoned, horribly released, and colorfully insulted more than is strictly necessary. And of course Arthur Dent has comprehensively failed to grasp the meaning of life, the universe, and everything.
Arthur has finally made it home to Earth, but that does not mean he has escaped his fate.
Arthur's chances of getting his hands on a decent cuppa have evaporated rapidly, along with all the world's oceans. For no sooner has he touched down on the planet Earth than he finds out that it is about to be blown up . . . again.
And Another Thing . . . is the rather unexpected, but very welcome, sixth installment of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. It features a pantheon of unemployed gods, everyone's favorite renegade Galactic President, a lovestruck green alien, an irritating computer, and at least one very large slab of cheese. "
Today it has been exactly 30 years since
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was first published. Since then the trilogy has expanded to include 5 books, as well as countless radio, audio and visual adaptations. Oh, and the author has died. In a very Adams' roundabout way of logic this has in no way impeded the franchise in any way. There's even a new book coming out today. This, in my humble opinion, is a risky gambit. Taking one of the most loved book series, that has a devote following, and having the temerity to say that another author can take over for Douglas Adams. It's truly a form of blasphemy. I mean look how rabid the fans get if you dare say you like the film versus the miniseries. Really I dare you! You risk hours of "this was not his intention" and a truly great hatred of Sam Rockwell, never mind the fact that Douglas Adams had final say on the script that was filmed to be filmed before he died and he knew the films direction and approved of it...well I'm sure you'll probably get a taste of the fans feelings in the comments below just from me opening my mouth. But that's not what we're here to discuss, we're here to discuss the hiring of Eoin Colfer.
Eoin Colfer, best known as the author of the Artemis Fowl book series, has been hired to write the sixth book. I have many whys. Why him? Why another book? The why now is kind of answered by the whole 30 years thing...Was there more unfinished material not contained in
The Salmon of Doubt that indicated that a new book was almost finished? Did he have unprecedented access to Adam's Mac files? Did he channel the ghost of Douglas Adams while praying in front of a treadmill? I really want to know who thought this up and why a man known only for kids books about fairies? I mean, I'm definitely going to give it a go, and I'm going to one of Eoin Colfer's events...but still, if perplexes me beyond belief. It has fully captivated my attention and I'm going to learn as much as I can about it...at least they've made a
decent website...
As Colfer has said about this endeavor:
“I have decided to embark on a very different project. Something unique that I hope will interest you as much as it does me. I have written the official 6th book in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Series. Most of you have probably already read Douglas Adams’ insanely brilliant space series. If you haven’t then you don’t know funny. Take it from me, the Hitchhiker books are bar none the funniest sci-fi books ever written. People have laughed so much reading Hitchhikers that they have had to have organs removed. One guy in France popped an eyeball. I kid you not.
So, what’s it all about, this Hitchhikers, I hear you cry. Actually I don’t hear you, if I did I would be sitting outside in your driveway, which would be a bit freaky and show how few friends I have. What’s it all about, this Hitchhikers, I imagine you cry. It’s about Arthur Dent, one of the last humans left alive after the Earth has been destroyed by the remorseless Vogons. Arthur manages to hitch a ride on a spaceship and go planet hopping with his friends Ford Prefect, the Betelgeusean journalist. Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two headed president of the galaxy, pirate and worst dressed man in the universe. And Marvin, the paranoid andriod.
All this hitching and adventuring went on for five books and then Douglas Adams passed away before he could write book six. Hitchhiker has been heard on radio, seen on tv and enjoyed on the cinema screen, there was even a musical version. But the story could never end, until now. I am going to continue on where Douglas left off. Unfortunately for me, he left off on rather a large cliffhanger. Everyone was dead. Which means I have rather a large challenge ahead of me, but it is one I am looking forward to.
The book will be out later this year. It will be called And Another Thing. And I really hope you will board the spaceship with me so we can travel through Douglas Adams’ hilarious galaxy together, which will save me having to hang around in your driveway.
See you at Barnard’s Star.”
Whichever way you look at it, we have a new Hitchhiker's book. Now it's up to the fans. It will be interesting to see if they will embrace it or claim it as non cannon. I'll be going to check out the event nearest me. Perhaps I'll see you there...but wait! There's more...a competition coming after the dates!
October 19th in PhiladelphiaFree Library of Philadelphia 5:30PM
October 20th New YorkBarnes & Noble, Union Square 7:00PM
October 21st Chicago Area (Downer's Grove)Anderson's Bookshop at the Tivoli 6:00PM
October 23rd St. LouisLeft Bank Books 5:00 PM
October 24th DenverTattered Cover Bookstore 5:00PM
October 25th San DiegoMysterious Galaxy Books 10:00AM
October 26th Los AngelesBorders 5:00PM
October 27th Salt Lake City Davis County Library 5:00PM
October 28th San FranciscoThe Apple Store 12:00PM (Very appropriate due to Adams' life long association with Apple)
October 28th San FranciscoKepler's 5:30PM
October 29th PortlandPowell's Books, Cedar Hills 5:00PM
October 30th SeattleBarnes & Noble 5:00PM
I feel another competition coming on! Yes, clammy, irritable, the desire to win...no doubt about it, it's a competition! So what could you win you cry!?!
THIS COMPETITION NOW CLOSED
Prize:The Complete Hitchhiker's Trilogy Box Set (All 5 paperback books in a swanky slipcase)
Question:Who is your favorite character in
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? (note: doesn't have to be human)
The Rules:1. Open to EVERYONE (worldwide), and just because you haven't been following me all along doesn't mean you don't matter.
2. Please make sure I have a way to contact you if your name is drawn, either your blogger profile or a link to your website/blog or you could even include your email address with your comment(s).
3. Contest ends Saturday, October 31st at 11:59AM CST
4. How to enter: Just post below
5. And for those addicted to getting extra entries:
+1 for answering the question above
+2 for becoming a follower
+5 if you are already a follower
+10 for each time you advertise this contest - blog post, sidebar, twitter (please @MzLizard), etc. (but you only get credit for the first post at each site, so tweet all you like, and I thank you for it, but you'll only get the +10 once). Also please leave a link!
And as always, a goal...if I reach 150 followers. Something extra cool.
This post is going to be a little rant-centric. So I was supposed to go to the Eoin Colfer talk in Downer's Grove yesterday...was being the key word there. The event was apparently plagued and beleaguered by indecision and lack of interest, none of which I might add had to do with the bookshop. Originally it was to be an epic event at the Tivoli Theater, with a talk and a signing and then a showing of the movie. Well, first the signing was out, only "presigned" books would be available. Then due to lack of interest the movie was out. Then as of Monday it looked like Eoin Colfer wouldn't come at all because the event was now "too small." Finally as of late yesterday the plan was to have a small talk and then people could purchase presigned books. There would be no inscriptions, no interaction with the author, he would be there only 20 to 40 minutes tops. WTF people! I wasn't going to drive 3 hours for that, it was the whole event I was looking forward too, even cracking open Artemis Fowl to get in the mood.
