New from Douglas Adams (er, not exactly)
I know what the sign says. But I can't stop that little pit from forming in my stomach. Why, you ask. (You always ask that. Couldn't you try something more interesting, like: Why not have a chocolate chip cookie, Dave?)
Just heard that children's author Eoin Colfer has been hired to write a sixth installment of the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy series. The last Hitchhiker book was written by Douglas Adams 16 years ago. He died in 2001 at age 49.
Nothing against Colfer, whose Artemis Fowl series has been a great success. My nephew Matt, a sixth grader and big-time reader, loves the guy.
But can Colfer capture Adams' madcap comic genius? I've always avoided franchise-extenders such as the Civil War novels that followed Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels or the post-Frank Herbert Dune series. Am I missing out on some great books? Or do all followups pale when compared to the book that started a series?
Comments
In my opinion, you aren't missing much with the Dune extensions. However, there are other franchise-extenders that I think are excellent work. Timothy Zahn's Thrawn (Heir to the Empire) trilogy, set after the events of Return of the Jedi, is fine work and could be a panacea for anyone upset about the animated Clone Wars. I am personally hoping for someone to extend Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time franchise with a 12th and final volume, just so I can see whether Rand pulls it together.
In the case of Colfer... well, I read this press release he wrote for Penguin and he seems to have a great amount of respect for the series. I will read the book when it comes out, but I'll try to keep my expectations low.
Posted by: Thomas Bechtold | September 20, 2008 9:32 AM