Douglas Adams' Last Book

mixedbag writes "A BBC news article suggests that a sixth book in Douglas Adams's Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy series will be published next May. It will be unfinished from files found of his computer. The title is to be A Salmon of Doubt."

But... but...

[vslashg]

I was going to make the comment (like everyone else) that they shouldn't publish this. Except I can't -- I'm going to be one of the first to read it!

Salmon of Doubt .... or .. ?

[Wakkow]

A quick search on google came across this interview [ucsbdailynexus.com] from April... Here's a quote from it:

The new book is not a Hitchhiker's book - there are already five of those - or a Dirk Gently book, but "it will be recognizable in style to anyone who knows those books." It also won't be The Salmon of Doubt.

"I abandoned [The Salmon of Doubt] about halfway through because I just thought it was getting too dull," Adams said. "Since then, I've now got lots and lots of different story lines waiting for me to turn them into books. One of them I shall apply the title Salmon of Doubt to, but I don't know which one yet."

Anyone know if the one being published was the "dull" book he never finished or another one?

-Daniel

Please Leave the Writings Alone

[Chibi]

from the article:

"He would take it and then revise it repeatedly so there were many files.

"As soon as he wrote anything he would say, 'Oh, God that's terrible'. He was a very, very self-critical author and so had a lot of trouble writing. He was a perfectionist."

I would rather that they not publish these final stories unless there was any indication from Mr. Adams before his death that he felt the stories lived up to his standards. It's sad, but they don't even know if he had thought of a completely new way to present the story, but just never had the chance to write it down.

Maybe if they include something in the forward saying that he had never reached a final approval point with these writings, it would sit easier with me. One thing I am glad they are doing, though, is to at least publish it in a collection with other writings, rather than selling it as the final novel in the Hitchhiker's collection.

And I will admit some curiosity to see the same story written in different ways. It might provide some insight into his creative process.

Mixed feelings....

[The-Zaphod]

I have to say, I have mixed feelings on this. On the one hand, a devoted Adams fan, I look forward to reading anything that he wrote. Being that this is a "unfinished" peice of work, is a little insulting, (wrong word but cant think of what to use) and at the same time, seeing as i cried when I read that he had passed. I want to read it, to see a little bit of the raw material that he worked with, to help get a little closer to the man who agonised over every word to ensure that I the reader would love it like the last.

No matter what form, or shape this is in, I am sure it will be a enjoyable read and will earn its place in my libarary, not for the actual words on the paper, but for the dedication and commitment to his fans.

Zaphod
(since 1979)

Re:Reminds me of...

[FatOldGoth]

Don't most authors include something in their wills about not publishing unfinished materials?

Sometimes, but this isn't necessarily a good thing.

Franz Kafka went one step further and asked his executor of his will to burn all his unpublished work (which is almost everything of his we consider to be a classic today). Luckily the executor didn't go through with this and it was published posthumously. Sometimes authors aren't the best judges of their work.

Multiple Marvin

[Grendel Drago]

Well, given that Marvin was, at the time of his death, (some two-digit number) of times as old as the universe itself, and had actually waited until The End Of The Universe at one point, you could say that at least one (most likely several) Marvin(s) existed in the universe at that point.

-grendel drago

Old news

[biglig2]

If you wathc the on-line recordings of DNA's memorial service, his literary agent explained that:
a) salmon of doubt was extremely unfinished (to be precise, it's not a case of only being half of a book, it's a case of what there is being early drafts from a writer who did many many many revisions of his work) but that even so...
b) ...they intended to include it in a forthcoming collection of his non-book-published work (journalism etc.) simply because the fanatics would demand it.