"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams [Review]

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

You know that old question, what book would you take with you if you were trapped on a desert island? Well, my first pick would be a book on survival training. But my second pick would be "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." I know I could spend the rest of my life reading this book, because I've already read it more times than I could count, and I'm never tired of it.

Happy Towel Day 2014!

Today is Towel Day, a day to celebrate Douglas Adams and his work. I'm one of Adams' biggest fans, so here's a roundup of some of my Adams-related posts.

10 Best Quotes by Douglas Adams
My Hitchhikers Guide Novel: "Really Wild Things"
10 Surprising Facts About "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy"

[Via Days of the Year]

"And Another Thing" by Eoin Colfer [Review]

And Another Thing... by Eoin Colfer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've been both avoiding and wanting to read And Another Thing ever since they announced it. A new Hitchhiker's Guide novel? Without Douglas Adams? Impossible. Blasphemy. But then again, Mostly Harmless left such a bad taste in the mouths of Adams' fans that I really did want one more. Also, I wrote my own Hitchhiker's Guide novel and I think it turned out pretty well. So the idea of an officially sanctioned sequel held appeal. I finally bit the bullet and bought Another, and was mostly happy with it. Is it the novel I would have written? No. Is it the novel Adams would have written? No. Then again, even Mostly Harmless felt like an imitation of Adams, so even the great one had lost it. Colfer manages to imitate the style of Adams while putting his own spin on it. For the most part, I was able to suspend my skepticism and imagine I was reading a true novel by Adams.

Q&A: What Author Would You Bring Back For One More Book?

I don't know about you, but I've had the experience of hearing about an author's death, and thinking it was tragic and sad as any death. But I also think, "No! I'll never get another novel!"

Source: stock.xchng

For me, the author that comes to mind is Douglas Adams. Even though his last Hitchhiker's Guide novel ended with the deaths of all the main characters, I never felt the series was really complete. I wanted one more to wrap it more nicely. He was working on one, Salmon of Doubt, but it was incomplete. I'd love to have him back for one more.

That's the topic of this week's Q&A. How about you? What author would you bring back to life to write one more book? It can be any author who's passed away, from the near or distant past. William Shakespeare? Kurt Vonnegut? Let me know in the comments.

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What Three Writers Most Influenced You?

Can you name three authors who most influenced your reading and/or writing? When I thought about it, and wrote down a list of names, I realized very few straight sci-fi authors made the cut. It's not that I don't like straight science fiction (Asimov and Bradbury are at the top of my list), but three unconventional science fiction authors have to be my top three. Here they are:

1. Douglas Adams - As I said before, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is one of my all time favorite novels. But I read almost every book he ever wrote. Not only was he funny, but he also tackled real science such as quantum physics with ease. His fusion of comedy and science fiction seemed so much fun that it made me think about writing. His novels also led directly to my most recent work such as Flying Saucers and Toons.

2. Michael Crichton - Much like Adams, Crichton changed my perception of science fiction. His work is frequently found on mainstream shelves next to romance and straight thrillers. That, I think, is his greatest legacy. He wrote scifi in our contemporary world based on existing technology and science to such an extent that it didn't feel like scifi. Someone who would never touch a Ray Bradbury novel would eagerly grab a copy of Jurassic Park, and that's what made him unique. He's what I aimed for when I wrote Dead Links.

3. Dean Koontz - Another author who's often not identified as science fiction, Koontz often gets lumped together with Stephen King. However, his early work mixed horror with science fiction such as genetic engineering in Watchers and even nanotechnology in Midnight. His later work drifted into the paranormal, but I liked how he could creep you out without resorting to ghosts and goblins. I wrote some horror/scifi novels, but don't know if I'll publish them. They need a lot of work.


How about you? Can you name three authors who influenced your writing or reading habits? Who are they and why? Let me know in the comments.

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10 Surprising Facts About "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

Happy towel day! Every May 25 is Towel Day, the day fans celebrate the classic sci-fi comedy The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. In honor of the occasion, here are ten weird but true facts about the novel and the series it spawned.

My Hitchhiker's Guide Novel, "Really Wild Things"

My original Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy novel, Really Wild Things. is something I'm very proud of, the culmination of my lifelong devotion to the Guide series. It's been available since 2007 at fanfiction.net, where it's gotten great reviews, but I decided to release it in a more distributed and readable format. Here's what some readers have said about it:

"A very good and froody article of fan fiction. The only complaint I have is that it had to end so soon."
-Somebody Nobody and Evrybody 

"This story is great! I was going to do something on the order of 'what happened if fenchurch *didn't* disappear after all' also! I can't imagine why Douglas Adams thought that she would get in the way of the story. This and "The Lost Chapters of the Hitchhiker's Guide are set in an alternate universe where the sad events of Mostly Harmless never take place! Thanks so much for writing this happy alternative!"
- cool-n-froody 

"I read this in one sitting. I loved this tale. Of all the stories I found in the H2G2 section of, Really Wild Things was the only one which resembled an actual Hitchhiker's book. You've really done your research."
- Katrover Swatroad 11/10/08 

"Thoroughly hoopy and quite froodish. You really managed to capture Adams' style and there really isn't a better compliment than that."
- memnarch 6/20/08

"This story is awesome beyond words, for your words are far beyond awesome. A creative and intriguing plot paired with the many beloved characters and slightly sprinkled with the quirks and conundrums that made me read Hitchhiker's Guide several times over. It's like the sixth book in the trilogy! :) Great read!"
- Kryptonfox 1/3/08

"This is, without a doubt, the greatest HHGttG fic I have ever read. My hat is off to you and I lay my towel at your feet."
-  Doctor Madwoman 12/15/07

"Wow. Just... wow. Were you Douglas Adams in a previous life? Are you Douglas Adams now? Is Douglas Adams your pseudonym? I'll stop asking questions, since I could go on quite a while, but you get the idea. This fic was absolutely incredible; it is so like his writing style that it's spooky (even the bits that aren't taken from the books ;) ) I loved your description of the dentists and Sirius Cybernetics Corporation, and the fact that it had 42 chapters, and all of the little jokes about paperclips and things. Magic."
- Jamesite 12/9/07

"Awesome. That's about all. Best of all was this lack of being able to shake off the feeling that I was reading Hitchhiker Canon. Trust me, you've got a talent."
- 1angelette

The best part is that it's absolutely free. Really Wild Things is in EPUB format (also on Dropbox and Mediafire), MOBI format, and PDF format, as well as Wattpad. Stay tuned, enjoy, and don't panic.

(UPDATE: Please note, I know the formatting is screwed up in the MOBI version. I'm sorry. I honestly don't know how to fix it. So until I fix it, if it's too distracting, you can try the PDF, or Wattpad.)

My Favorite Childhood Book: "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

I read a lot of books growing up, but I have to say my favorite childhood book was The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. When I was a kid, the world Douglas Adams created was so real that I actually believed it was what outer space was like. I used to stand in my backyard at night and look up at the stars, and dream of a spaceship picking up and taking me off to Magrathea or Milliways. I even made an electronic thumb with some wire and a D-battery...or what I thought was an electronic thumb, but just a wire that turned really hot. I packed a bag, just in case, and I always knew where my towel was. The very idea of creating worlds so rich and detailed, and writing books as funny as Douglas Adams was a large part of what led me to create my own novels.

Do you love Douglas Adams? What was your favorite book as a child?

Cover Art: "Really Wild Things"

I created a cover for my Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Novel, Really Wild Things. You have to read the book to understand the paper clip reference.

What do you think?

Available for free in ePub (backup link) and PDF format.

Related Posts:
Cover Update: "Dead Links"
New Release: "Really Wild Things"

10 Best Quotes by Douglas Adams

With the recent Google Doodle on scifi comedy author Douglas Adams, I'm reminded of the wit, humor, and intelligence of this truly hilarious and influential comedian. Of course, he's best known for the radio play/novel/TV series/movie, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Here are ten things Adams said, either in person or print, that are his best quotes.

1. "I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by."

2. "Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job."

3. "It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on Earth has ever produced the expression 'As pretty as an airport.'"

4. "Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so."

5. "Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?"

6. "Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so."

7. "In the beginning, the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."

8. "A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools."

9. "Flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss."

10. "Don't panic."

References:
The Huffington Post
Wikiquote.org
About.com

How much do I love the Hitchhiker's series? I wrote my own. My original Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy novel, Really Wild Things, is available in epub format and PDF format, but I'll be releasing it on other formats very soon. Stay tuned, enjoy, and don't panic.

If you'd like to sign up to my mailing list to be the first to hear of my new book releases, go here. Your email will never be shared, and you will only receive messages about new releases.

Google Honors Douglas Adams With Doodle

Today, Google made all of us Douglas Adams fans happy by dedicating one of their doodles to him. Not only does it feature the usual Adams paraphernalia (a towel, tea, Eddie the shipboard computer), but it features an interactive copy of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy that shows little animations from the Guide when you click on it. Awesome.

UPDATE: If you missed it, Google has archived the doodle at http://www.google.com/doodles/douglas-adams-61st-birthday

You can also check out Really Wild Things, my Hitchhiker's Guide fanfiction. The best part is that it's absolutely free. For now, Really Wild Things is available only in epub format (also here) and PDF format, but I'll be releasing it on other formats very soon. Stay tuned, enjoy, and don't panic.