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Would this be happening if DMC hadn't been a success?


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#1 Scrambled Eggs

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Posted 17 September 2008 - 04:03 PM

Don't know how well he's known in the States but in the UK Eoin Colfer's a big name as kids authors go.

Perhaps there were plans to do this anyway but I'm sure DMC's sales may have convinced Penguin to go for it.

Are we going to see more and more of these heavily marketed posthumous continuation novels thanks to Faulks and DMC?

Children's author to write sixth instalment of Hitchhiker series


Wednesday, 17 September 2008



A children's author has been commissioned to write the first posthumous instalment to the best-selling Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy series.


Mostly Harmless, the fifth and last Hitchhiker book, was written by its creator Douglas Adams 16 years ago.


Now the author's widow, Jane Belson, has given her approval to the plan by publisher Penguin to resurrect the hapless Arthur Dent in a sixth book, entitled And Another Thing...


The novel will be written by Eoin Colfer, best known for Artemis Fowl, the best-selling titles about a teenage criminal mastermind who wreaks havoc in this world and the next.


Colfer, 43, was a primary school teacher in Ireland before he secured the largest ever advance for a children's novel by an unknown author.


His Artemis Fowl series went on to sell more than 18 million copies worldwide and a film adaptation is due to go into production next year.


The author said he was "terrified" by the prospect of creating a new Hitchhiker book almost a quarter of a century after being introduced to what he described as a "slice of satirical genius" in his late teens.


He said: "My first reaction was semi-outrage that anyone should be allowed to tamper with this incredible series.


"But on reflection I realised that this is a wonderful opportunity to work with characters I have loved since childhood and give them something of my own voice while holding on to the spirit of Douglas Adams".


He added: "I feel more pressure to perform now than I ever have with my own books, and that is why I am bloody determined that this will be the best thing I have ever written.


"Being given the chance to write this book is like suddenly being offered the superpower of your choice. For years I have been finishing this incredible story in my head and now I have the opportunity to do it in the real world. It is a gift from the gods."


Adams's widow Belson said: "I am delighted that Eoin Colfer has agreed to continue the Hitchhiker series. I love his books and could not think of a better person to transport Arthur, Zaphod and Marvin to pastures new. The project has my full support."


Adams died of heart failure in 2001, at the age of 49.


Around 16 million copies of his Hitchhiker books have been sold around the world, translated into 35 languages.


He had wanted a sixth Hitchhiker book, saying in an interview: "I suspect at some point in the future I will write a sixth Hitchhiker book... I would love to finish Hitchhiker on a slightly more upbeat note.


"Five seems to be a wrong kind of number, six is a better kind of number."


The idea for the story came to Adams while in a field in 1971 and the first radio series was broadcast by the BBC in 1978.


A play and the first book appeared the following year.


Hitchhiker's spawned four more books, a TV series, a comic and a recent film.


The Salmon of Doubt, a collection of essays as well as previously unpublished material by Adams, was published in 2002.


But Penguin said the book was not part of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series.


Penguin managing director Helen Fraser said: "Douglas Adams was an extraordinary writer, with an ability to come at the reader from the most unexpected angles, knock them off balance and make them laugh at the same time.


"Eoin Colfer is an inspired choice as Douglas's successor... He is a huge talent and a fantastically funny writer, and this new book will bring as many new young readers to Douglas Adams's work as it will introduce adults to the brilliance of Eoin Colfer."


Michael Rowley, Waterstone's science fiction buyer, said: "Penguin matched Sebastian Faulks perfectly and Waterstone's believes Eoin Colfer and The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy is an equally inspired combination.


"There's a ready-made audience of millions for more Hitchhiker's books - this is very exciting news for all those fans."


And Another Thing... will be published in October next year


http://www.independe...ies-933493.html

#2 Mister Asterix

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Posted 17 September 2008 - 04:12 PM

I’ll read it. But I can’t see anyone getting a Hitchhiker’s book right except Adams.

#3 marktmurphy

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Posted 17 September 2008 - 04:22 PM

Rather good:

http://eoincolfer.co...other-thing.mp3

#4 marktmurphy

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Posted 17 September 2008 - 04:32 PM

I'm in two minds: I like Hitch-Hikers and the last few books were rubbish, but equally Hitch-Hikers wasn't really about the plot or characters but about Adams' amazing ideas- all of those fantastic, planet-sized wild concepts he came up with. I don't know if I do care more about Arthur Dent or ideas like the Earth being a giant computer made by mice, so it all comes down to whether this fella can tap into that sort of conceptual brilliance or not.
Even moreso than Fleming and Bond, Hitch Hikers really is Adams.

#5 Trident

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Posted 17 September 2008 - 05:04 PM

Really not sure about this. At a guess, if a continuation is absolutely necessary (which, in my eyes at least, with Hitchhiker's Guide certainly isn't the case) then I'd have thought either Neil Gaiman or Terry Pratchett. I have yet to read something by Colfer to judge if he'd be in the same vein. But all in all I have difficulties to see any writer making up a decent continuation of The Guide.

Now, would it have happened if DMC wasn't a success? Not sure if explicitly DMC's fate was a signal to go ahead with this. The Guide is a huge success and has been for decades. The pressure to expand this with new entries must have been on for at least 10 years. I think what made this possible now at this point is perhaps more due to a general friendly market for material with a fantasy twist or plots that go beyond reality. Harry Potter and Colfers own Artemis Fowl as well as the superhero-wave from Hollywood and the success of the Discworld series are indicators for that. DMC's sales numbers and general friendly reception are for a great part due to the till-then unprecedented PR-Blitz IFP and the publishing houses have started. It's questionable if Penguin will want to invest in a similar manner in the new instalment of Adam's original series.

#6 spynovelfan

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Posted 17 September 2008 - 07:46 PM

I think DMC may have been a contributory factor, but there have been several successes of this type recently, notably the new Jason Bourne novels by Eric Van Lustbader, which have been massive sellers in the US off the back of the Matt Damon films.

Enid Blyton's estate is also due to do this, with new Mallory Towers novels and more to come: http://business.time...icle4596352.ece

#7 Trident

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Posted 17 September 2008 - 08:06 PM

I think DMC may have been a contributory factor, but there have been several successes of this type recently, notably the new Jason Bourne novels by Eric Van Lustbader, which have been massive sellers in the US off the back of the Matt Damon films.

Enid Blyton's estate is also due to do this, with new Mallory Towers novels and more to come: http://business.time...icle4596352.ece



Yes, it's certainly a time for continuations of one kind or another. Forsyth has done one on 'The Phantom Of The Opera', Isabelle Allende one on 'Zorro', Lustbader several Bournes. Haven't heard about Blyton material being restarted but recently I read somewhere that Blyton is still among the most-read and loved British authors, coming even before Mrs Rowling if I recall correctly. So it would be only logical and consequent to try and tap in on this.

Over the years, continuations have evolved from a desperate attempt to cash in on a certain brand to a logical next-step in any successfull literary franchise. Dracula has seen it as well as Sherlock Holmes, and I have little doubt that most fictional books with any relevant readership can see continuations of one kind or another over the passage of time.

#8 ImTheMoneypenny

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Posted 17 September 2008 - 11:34 PM

I'm in two minds: I like Hitch-Hikers and the last few books were rubbish, but equally Hitch-Hikers wasn't really about the plot or characters but about Adams' amazing ideas- all of those fantastic, planet-sized wild concepts he came up with. I don't know if I do care more about Arthur Dent or ideas like the Earth being a giant computer made by mice, so it all comes down to whether this fella can tap into that sort of conceptual brilliance or not.
Even moreso than Fleming and Bond, Hitch Hikers really is Adams.


Totally agree. :(

#9 Mr. Blofeld

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Posted 18 September 2008 - 12:03 AM

Really not sure about this. At a guess, if a continuation is absolutely necessary (which, in my eyes at least, with Hitchhiker's Guide certainly isn't the case) then I'd have thought either Neil Gaiman or Terry Pratchett.

That was exactly my thought; why couldn't we have had them collaborate on a new Hitchhiker volume, springing up from where Douglas Adams left off in The Salmon of Doubt ? :)

I do like Colfer, though; not an expected choice, but he's no Sebastian Faulks, Guide be praised... :(

#10 spynovelfan

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Posted 18 September 2008 - 08:38 AM

Over the years, continuations have evolved from a desperate attempt to cash in on a certain brand to a logical next-step in any successfull literary franchise.


True - and the Bond continuations were an influence there. In the preface to The Saint on TV, Leslie Charteris wrote about his decision to let others write stories about Simon Templar - although he had approval of them - and that he had thought long and hard about it, but that the Fleming estate's announcement that Kingsley Amis was going to write a Bond novel had helped sway him towards the idea.

#11 Trident

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Posted 18 September 2008 - 09:54 AM

Over the years, continuations have evolved from a desperate attempt to cash in on a certain brand to a logical next-step in any successfull literary franchise.


True - and the Bond continuations were an influence there. In the preface to The Saint on TV, Leslie Charteris wrote about his decision to let others write stories about Simon Templar - although he had approval of them - and that he had thought long and hard about it, but that the Fleming estate's announcement that Kingsley Amis was going to write a Bond novel had helped sway him towards the idea.





Most interesting!

It would seem that we've been lucky that it wasn't Gardner who was comissioned first. I doubt that his works, even his better ones, would have had the same ground-breaking effect.

But perhaps continuations just had to come either way. The idea surely would have popped up sooner or later, with Bond it just was the right time. Or perhaps even a little early, considering the long gap between Amis and Gardner and the reluctance to publish Jenkins.

#12 MHazard

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Posted 18 September 2008 - 02:21 PM

I doubt this is related to the commercial success of DMC. Let's just hope that unlike DMC it's an artistic success. I'd think Hitchhikers would be even harder to get right (or at least tolerable) than Bond. Personally, I'll pass. I already feel cheated for buying DMC.

#13 Safari Suit

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Posted 18 September 2008 - 02:57 PM

IMO the radio series (the original radio series i.e. series 1+2) was the real Hitchhiker's, everything beyond that or not directly derived from that was of a siginificantly lesser standard. The Dirk Gently books were OK if a little frustrating, but Mostly Harmless was pretty poor. That said, it also ended the series on no uncertain terms. I'm just left wondering why?

Is The Meaning of Liff III forthcoming?

#14 Dainshdude118

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Posted 02 December 2008 - 08:58 PM

BEing a bit of a sci fi conessuer, i can confirm that Eion Colfer is a fantastic auther. He would have been my third choice, behind Terry Pratchett and Matt Forbeck