Half a cat, a Thunder God and a Tornado! (The Salmon Of Doubt - Douglas Adams)

Member Name: dididave

Product:	The Salmon Of Doubt - Douglas Adams
Date:	18/01/05 (69 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A great tribute to a great man., An eclectic mix., Many articles previously uinpublished.

Disadvantages: Not what it first appears.

From the beginning with an enthusiastic note from the Editor you can see that the "Salmon of Doubt" is a book that has been collected by fans of Adams's work, for fans. I must admit to being sceptical of the foreword by Stephen Fry and was surprised to learn this intelligent, yet ultimately irritating Actor come Presenter was a close friend to Adams. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised that Fry writes a superb introduction and indeed tribute to Adams's work from his "Hotel room in Peru". His tribute is inspired and obviously sincere. Fry writes of a confident yet irritating man who required great patience to be around. He talks of his genius and progression from wannabe Monty Python star at Cambridge to the man of the "perfect metaphor". The foreword is both an insightful look into Adams's psyche and, in a tale of reverence provides almost a mini-eulogy to the man.

"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.
I could tell you a little bit about each part of this scrapbook of musings and writings but I have no doubt that would spoil the excitement when it came to reading it. What I will say is that this book is a must have for fans of Adams be it from any of the several forms of Hitchhikers (radio, computer game, book etc) or those who have come to him on the back of his "Dirk Gently" books.

Incidentally, the main reason many will buy this book will be because of the eight chapters of the, never to be completed Dirk Gently novel "Salmon of Doubt". Now I have never been a fan of the eccentric detective but I have to admit the explanation of the creative process to writing this novel is fascinating. The eight chapters included show a great deal of promise with flashes of wit, humour and even laugh out loud moments inconsistent in Adams's publishing’s since Hitchhikers was first created. Again I refuse to spoil your enjoyment of this; the final publishing of Adams's greatness but needless to say it involves half a cat, a God of Thunder and a Tornado Jet.

In summary, this book is as eclectic a collection as the late great man was himself. Let us be upstanding for Douglas Adams and his "Salmon of Doubt". Undoubtedly "Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time".


ISBN 0-330-32312-1

Available in paperback for £6.99

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