edtking@uw-june (Ewan David Tempero) (12/27/84)
I've heard a rumour that Douglas Adams has a new book in the "Hitchhikers Guide" theme. If so what are the details ( title, publisher, paperback? author...) and what's it like? Sorry if this has been done already but I'm new here ( excuse #42 :-). Thanx in advance Ewan Tempero ...!uw-beaver!uw-june!edtking edtking@washington
rl@ucsfcgl.UUCP (Robert Langridge%CGL) (12/28/84)
<--- There is indeed a new Douglas Adams book, the "*Fourth* Book in the Hitchhikers Trilogy", entitled "So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish". (Harmony Books, a division of Crown Publishers, NY, 1985. Price? I don't know, mine was a present and the price was deleted). In summary, I was disappointed. Perhaps it is difficult to keep up the frenetic zaniness of the earlier books, and although I would never accuse Adams of writing clear and unambiguous prose, this volume is particularly unfocussed. Even the celebrated non sequitors and incongruities are in short supply. Ford Prefect is present (though in a diminished role), and there is a major new character, an attractive lady named Fenchurch, and a major new minor character, Wonko the Sane, who lives in a house whose roof "...folded back on itself like something that M.C.Escher, had he been given to hard nights on the town, which it is no part of this narrative's purpose to suggest was the case, though it is sometimes hard, looking at his pictures, particularly the one with all the awkward steps, not to wonder, might have dreamed up after having been on one,..." Advice? Wait for the paperback, then buy it to occupy a short plane trip. Bob Langridge (UUCP: [...]!ucbvax!ucsfcgl!rl) Computer Graphics Laboratory (ARPA: rl@ucbvax 926 Medical Sciences or University of California langridge@sumex-aim) San Francisco CA 94143
ed@mtxinu.UUCP (Ed Gould) (12/28/84)
I saw a published comment on the forthcoming fourth book in
the Hitchhiker's trilogy. The thing I noted about it was
that the collection is *still* (explicitly by the author)
a trilogy!
--
Ed Gould
{ucbvax,decvax}!mtxinu!edag5@pucc-k (Basket Case) (12/29/84)
<<>>
It's true ... Doug Adams has a new book out (*So Long, and Thanks
for all the fish*, $10.95, hardcover, same-publisher-as-the-last-ones).
My personal opinion: it's ok. It isn't OK, it's just ok.
It's as funny as the first three, and has new characters and new people
(you see, Dent and his life on earth *after* the Vogons blew it up is
the topic for this new book ... I won't tell you how the earth got put
back together ... and it wasn't Humpty Dumpty, either), but it seems to
lack something <perhaps credibility? I don't know for sure> that the
other books had <in varying degrees..>
Of course, HHGTTG *is* a hard act to follow...
--
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Henry C. Mensch | User Confuser | Purdue University User Services
{ihnp4|decvax|ucbvax|seismo|purdue|cbosgd|harpo}!pur-ee!pucc-i!ag5
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"Never eat more than you can lift!"
-- Miss Piggydavid@ukma.UUCP (David Herron, NPR Lover) (12/29/84)
Yeah....It's been done already, but here goes anyway.....
The new book is titled "Good bye, and Thanks For All The Fish".
It concerns the life of Arthur Dent after he has saved the universe
multiple times, and is tired of being a galactic wanderer, and goes
back to Earth. Yes, it is still there. I won't tell any more, but
will include the obligatory quote that the other reviewer had.
THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, in a moment of reasoned
lucidity which is almost unique among its current tally of five
million, nine hundred and seventy-three thousand, five hundred
and nine pages, says of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation
products that 'it is very easy to be blinded to the essential
uselessness of them by the sense of achievement you get from
getting them to work at all.
'In other words -- and this is the rock-solid principle on
which the whole of the Corporation's Galaxywide success is
founded -- their fundamental design flaws are completely hidden
by their superficial design flaws.'
He also meets a girl, falls in love at first sight, and spends many chapters
trying to meet up with her again. These scenes go like some scenes in
_The Lonely Guy_...... It's a good read. Not sure though if his intent
was simply to finish up some loose ends or to start a new storyline.
--:--:--:--:--:--:--:--:--:--:--:--:--:--:--:--:--:--:--:--:--:--:--:--:-
David Herron; ARPA-> "ukma!david"@ANL-MCS
(Try the arpa address w/ and w/o the quotes, I have had much trouble with both.)
UUCP -:--:--:--:--:--:--:--:--:- (follow one of these routes)
{ucbvax,unmvax,boulder,research} ! {anlams,anl-mcs} -----\ vvvvvvvvvvv
>-!ukma!david
{cbosgd!hasmed,mcvax!qtlon,vax135,mddc} ! qusavx -----/ ^^^^^^^^^^^spector@acf4.UUCP (12/30/84)
Indeed, Mr. Adams has brought out a new one, and I think the title is: "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish" Dave Spector NYU/acf Systems Group
ag5@pucc-k (Henry Mensch) (01/02/85)
<<>>
An interesting note here: Adams' book was copyrighted 1985 ...
This sounds OK now, but they were selling this book as early as November
of 1984...
Does this mean that his book was public domain before yesterday?
--
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Henry C. Mensch | User Confuser | Purdue University User Services
{ihnp4|decvax|ucbvax|purdue|uiucdcs|cbosgd|harpo}!pur-ee!pucc-i!ag5
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"Never eat more than you can lift!"
-- Miss Piggyjpj@mss.UUCP (J. P. Jenal) (01/03/85)
I was gifted with this novel for Christmas and I would definitely agree that it is a good (and fast) read - assuming that you enjoy the Adams style. However, I think that this story has more of a moral character than the earlier novels - which seemed to be nothing more than fun and fluff. I won't prejudice anyone by giving my views on the intent of the Epilogue but I would be interested in hearing what others thought Adams was trying to say. Cheers... Jim Jenal (aka ...!scgvaxd!mss!jpj) Mayfield Senior School ( " ...!ihnp4!mss!jpj)
dee@cca.UUCP (Donald Eastlake) (01/05/85)
Under the new US Copyright law, a copyright notice is not defective if
it gives a year one year in the future from the actual year of
publication. However, the term of the copyright runs from the actual
year of publication. There is also no problem if the year is correct or
is earlier than the actual year of publication. If the year given is
more than one year after the actual year of publication, it is as if no
notice were put on the book. However, there are number of circumstances
under which omission of notice is not fatal so you still can't tell if
its completely in the public domain.
--
+ Donald E. Eastlake, III
ARPA: dee@CCA-UNIX usenet: {decvax,linus}!cca!deecrm@duke.UUCP (Charlie Martin) (01/07/85)
It is true, there is a fourth book in the Hitchiker`s trilogy (and that's exactly what it says, don't blame me). In it, Lester Dent (no that's Arthur, isn't it; a truly savage error) anyway, Arthur is back on the reconstructed earth, trying to a) get laid b) figure out where the dolphins went, and c) try to explain why he looks eight years older than he did ``yesterday''. I liked it a lot. Charlie Martin -- Opinions stated here are my own and are unrelated. Charlie Martin (...mcnc!duke!crm)