One of the salutary effects of watching open media in action is that I've become quite fond of the idea of new authors reworking the characters and stories of old authors. I'm tired of proprietary "canons". Particularly when it becomes apparent that the guy running the canon has much less talent than his fans. (Cough George Lucas cough.)
Though I think Douglas Adams is bound to be a tough act to follow. It does help that the last Hitchhiker's book is not the best work in the series. I tend to read only the parts of that book with Ford in them (which are great) and just skip all the existential despair that rounds out the book. I mean, the Hitchhiker's series is all about the existential despair, but you can have too much of a bad thing.
What I really want to see, though, is more Dirk Gently stories.
Except that I think I read Hitchhiker Guide books more because I find Douglas Adams' writing a delight to read than because I like the particular characters and story.
Which means I should be ashamed of myself for not reading any Dirk Gently books yet.
I think that if they really wanted to end the series, Colfer is the best man for the job. He's no Adams by any means, but he's certainly good, and hopefully he'll at least give us a feel for what Adams wanted.
Gaiman would have been an excellent pick, too: Good Omens, with Terry Pratchett, is as close to Adams' humor as I've found. But Colfer has a much finer sense of whimsy.
[+] [-] mechanical_fish|17 years ago|reply
Though I think Douglas Adams is bound to be a tough act to follow. It does help that the last Hitchhiker's book is not the best work in the series. I tend to read only the parts of that book with Ford in them (which are great) and just skip all the existential despair that rounds out the book. I mean, the Hitchhiker's series is all about the existential despair, but you can have too much of a bad thing.
What I really want to see, though, is more Dirk Gently stories.
[+] [-] scott_s|17 years ago|reply
Which means I should be ashamed of myself for not reading any Dirk Gently books yet.
[+] [-] alexfarran|17 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unalone|17 years ago|reply
Gaiman would have been an excellent pick, too: Good Omens, with Terry Pratchett, is as close to Adams' humor as I've found. But Colfer has a much finer sense of whimsy.
[+] [-] cliff|17 years ago|reply
(portrayed by the original BBC voice actor of Arthur Dent)