Book Review: And Another Thing... - Not for a fan of the original series

I'm the kind of person that is a big-ish fan of the Douglas Adams' outrageously funny 5 part series Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. So it was with a lot of excitement that I held in my hands a copy of the 6th installment 'And Another Thing...' written by Eoin Colfer as Douglas Adams.

Maybe it was because I expected too much of it or maybe it was because I wasn't able to digest the fact that another author has tried to replace DNA. Whatever the reason, the book was a huge disappointment, on so many different levels. I had to try so hard not to sleep after every 3 pages. It took me a whole of 2 weeks to read the book, in small parts sleeping off when it tested my will beyond limits and completing two other books in the duration.

The story in itself is not too bad. Actually speaking, it's quite alright. Speaking with respect to just the story, it was perhaps better than Mostly Harmless, the 5th book of the trilogy and the last one to be written by Douglas Adams. But even though the story is as good, Eoin Colfer fails in terms of the story telling and adopted method of writing. His method of writing closely (perhaps too closely) resembles that of Douglas Adams. At first it is mildly amusing but later on it tends to be a harmful irritant hiding the nice story to the reader.

Bottom-line is that this book is not for the religious Hitchhiker's fan. If you are not as big a fan of the DNA series, you may probably like this book. All said and done, this book can be read for the hell of it.

Arthi

Douglas Noel Adams

Four years ago, my brother gifted me a Five Novels in One Outrageous Volume of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The whole five part trilogy of science fiction genius, satire and awesomeness that it is. Once I finished reading all 5 novels, I had for myself two favorite authors- P.G. Wodehouse and Douglas Noel Adams.

Douglas Adams is the guy that combined science fiction, that I wasn't a huge fan of, and satire, that I was a huge fan of, and gave me something almost but not entirely quite unlike something I absolutely love. He let me know I wasn't alone with my Thursday issues. I remember when I first read this extract from the first of his five part trilogy I was blown out of my mind, finally I belonged in a book I read

"This must be a Thursday" said Arthur to himself, sinking low on his beer "I never could get the hang of Thursdays"

And then he holds this high position in my heart as being the creator of Marvin, the Paranoid Android. It was like someone took the depressed part of me, called him Marvin and put him on paper. Life, don't talk to me about life.

And my almost irrational obsession with towels and the number 42. There is more than one person on Earth who could almost kill me (or read me Vogon poetry, whichever they find easier) because of my obsession with that number and\or my sudden enquiries about the location of their towels. May 25th is going to be an interesting day for me and them.

I will soon find myself copies of Dirk Gently and Salmon of Doubt. Until then, hold tight. We'll take in a quick bite at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

Douglas Adams, Section ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha greatly misses you. May your soul rest in peace.
Arthi

Things To Do Before I Die

Yes. I'm finally putting the list I always knew about, that always existed in the whatever-adjective-you-want that is my brain as a blog. Here goes nothin' (Ah yes, the accent and stuff :P )
# Eat non-vegetarian (*)
# Go to a cricket match in Chepauk
# Watch at least one of my favorite rock musicians live
# Meet at least one of my favorite rock musicians
# Own poster(s) of rock bands I like
# Get drunk (Yes I want to get drunk. But no, that doesn't make me a bad person, merely curious)
# Break some rule of your institution or organisation (*)
# Get PhD in something
# Author an outrageously funny book
# Have that book made into a movie and/or TV series
# Travel around the world
# Own some kick-ass phone and create jealousy among few others :D (*)
# Own a moderately big house
# Try to be selfless at least once a day
# Become a philanthropist
# Improve spelling
# Join a rock band
# Be the founding member of some other rock band
# Learn to play the guitar
# Learn to play the bass
# Keep my room clean for more than 2 weeks
# Learn random languages
# Become a critic - books, movies, music, whatever
# Befriend a Britisher
# Get super-power(s) and do absolutely nothing with it
# Be the reason someone started following some band
# Do stand-up comedy
# Live in New York, be sarcastic and make a show about life there (Seinfeld-ish)
# Make people I've been to school and/or college with think "Hey, I used to go to school (and/or college) with her" when they see me on TV being all famous and cool while all they did was waste theirs

Maybe I'm being over ambitious but I don't care. I've so much to do with my life. Got to get going to live the life that I want to live as opposed to waste it cribbing about how I badly want to live life that way. Over and out.
Arthi Appathurai.

P.S.: (*) means I've already accomplished it.