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I wanted to read the incomplete final works of Douglas Noel Adams.
I cherish his Hitchhikers Guide books, and also his less spoken of Dirk Gently books, which contain fascinating puzzles, quirks and sheer madness.
Having flicked through the first parts of the book, I reached the title page for The Salmon of Doubt, dubiously close to the end of the book!
However, the storyline, is intense, others claim there is a disjointed feel to the book, and whilst this is not strictly untrue, it just adds to the ideas of the book.
After reading this, your mind will try and work out what the heck is happening, I am just sad Douglas isn't here to put my mind to rest!
---- Story Spoiler ----
Dirk Gently is in a rut; he is at the point where he doesn't want to open his bank account statements because he doesn't want to see his balance.
When he does open them, he realises he is being paid large sums of money, and presumes that someone must be paying him to do an investigation.
Without knowing who, or what the job is, Dirk decides that the best way forward is to randomly follow people...
---- End Story Spoiler ----
A must read for all Douglas Adams fans, the rest of the book is varied, but contains the biscuit incident, which is always good for a laugh!
Buy It! Also:
The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy
The Restaurant and the End of the Universe
Life the Universe and Everything
So Long and Thanks for All the Fish
Mostly Harmless
Dirk Gentlys Holistic Detective Agency
The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul
The Salmon of Doubt
Some fans of Adams fiction may not like the extensive nonfiction pieces included, but those people will miss out on some of the best gems of Adams' wit and wisdom. Most others, though, will realize that there is a vast archive of columns and articles, letters and speeches, (many published outside the U.S.) that we have missed.
In all of the pieces, nonfiction and fiction, Adams' crisp humor and prodding logic will make you giggle, laugh, and most of all, wonder at this gloriously silly thing we call life.
Listen to this many times... and don't forget your towel.
I had seen Mr. Adams's "Hitchhiker's" books for several years, and always wondered about them. Still, I had not read any of them--until the word came down that he had suddenly died, and died at a young age. Somehow, I sensed this was a terrible loss, and bought the "Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide" to see if my sense was right. It was.
Douglas Adams wrote the books that I wanted to have written. The language is fun, interesting, and the characters wonderful. And they are funny.
The selections in "Salmon of Doubt" also reflect this same spirit. In one selection, Adams is explaining how he was listening to Procul Harem's "Grand Hotel." At one point in the song, there is a pause--and then the music really takes off. Adams was thinking how something really special, really fantastic needed to happen at that moment--something like the end of the universe. And out of that thought was born "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe."
In this book, you'll travel to Kenya with Adams--and see what it is like to climb a mountain wearing a huge rhino costume. You'll also find why Adams loved P.G. Woodehouse--which inspired me to read Woodehouse (Adams, of course, is right). Ride along with Adams's perhaps futile efforts to get up close and personal with giant manta rays off Austrailia. Finally, you will really get a sense of what it was like to be Douglas Adams--including his insecurities, which manifested in his legendary obsession with missing deadlines.
In one essay, Mr. Adams in a brief digression says that if anyone who has the opportunity to go to Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, and doesn't--then you are "a complete idiot." I visited New Mexico once, perhaps twenty five years ago. I still love Santa Fe--and have to agree with Mr. Adams. So while I am at it: If you have ever enjoyed anything by Douglas Adams, but still do not read this book, then I am afraid you are a complete idiot..............
Articles, interviews e,c,t; 4.5/5: Most of the book is consisted of these sorts of odds, and ends, and they are fantastic, on top of being really interesting. My personal favorites amoung this bunch are when he climbs Mt. Kilamanjaro in a rhino costume, when he brings a newly invented water transport vehicle, which he borrowed off a stranger, while listening to a crappy band in a park, and taking it down to austrailia to compare it to riding a manta ray. Which woould be worth the price of the bookif that were it, but fortunately it isn't.
The salmon of doubt(novel);5/5: Wow! If this book had actually been completed it would definately be amoung his best. The only problem is that since it wasn't completed it sounds very strange( more than usual), which is not his, or the book's fault, it just made a few bits(especially the beginning) sound awkward .
I would reccomend reading some of both the dirk gently, and hitchiker books, and have read at least three of his books total, in order to fully appreciate this. But if you do fully appreciate it, then it will keep you entertained for many an hour.
That said, don't be dissappointed - if you're an Adams' fan, you'll love this book, and if you're a hard-core Adams' fan, you'll need this book - if not for the quality and joy of Adams' writing, then simply because, quite frankly, this is the last we'll get of him.
Personally, I found this book a little hard to read, only because it's very sad to know while reading it that this is the last book we'll ever see by the fantastic Douglas Adams.
I'm happy to report that the Salmon of Doubt is a very good book. Much of the aforementioned mixed material, though partly published before, holds up surprisingly well over time and is certainly good for some chuckles and even a few belly laughs. Adams' passion and intelligence are displayed even in rather techinical pieces. The unfinished novel, though, is a real gem. As has been noted elsewhere, the unfinished state doesn't hurt a Dirk Gently novel as much as it would most other books. Still, it's painful to realize that the great mind of Mr Adams will not be able finish it.
Obviously, this is completely the wrong book to start out if you're not familiar with any of Adams' works. I would even suggest that it's the last Adams book anyone should read. For us Adams fans (and you certainly know who you are) this is one last reminder of what we've lost and, thankfully, no moneymaking ploy at al.
Douglas Adams wasn't a born novelist, after all - he was a radio producer, scriptwriter and general gadfly about town whose enormous, but accidental, success with the radio show The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy obliged him to become a novelist.
As a novelist, he certainly had some nice ideas, a keen eye for social observation, and an idiosyncratic - definitely witty - turn of phrase which sustained itself for the 120 odd pages of the penguin paperback, but had thoroughly worn out its welcome by the end of the second instalment. And there it really all should have ended.
Instead Adams was compelled (no doubt for financial reasons) to promulgate further, increasingly smug and vapid, instalments of the Hitch-Hiker's series, two fully fledged Dirk Gently novels (again, the idea was good, execution irritating as hell), and with each the sense grew that Adams spent far too much time engineering clever-clogs grammatical constructions, and not nearly enough time concentrating on the novel he was trying to write. Instead of murdering his own darlings, Adams smothers the readers with them instead.
Thereafter, career as a novelist seemed to die off, to be succeeded by a unremarkable career of op-ed pieces for broadsheets and computer magazines, together with creation of various pieces of software and computer games. These were the lofty heights attained by such an apparently gifted writer.
This posthumously published book anthologises the post Dirk Gently aspect of his career. I can save those of you who have not caught up with Douglas Adams since Zaphod Beeblebrox a few wasted hours here: You've not missed much.
Just two pieces are worth the paper they're written on; one is a plea for a new global standard universal AC adapter for all electrical appliances, the other is a lengthy ex tempore speech in which Adams, without recourse to his irritating brand of wit, sets out his extremely convincing, well-composed views on religion and atheism. Given my views on his textual over-engineering, I think it is no accident that this piece, which stands head and shoulders above anything else in this book, was spoken on the hoof, apparently without notes.
Do the producers really think that people want to listen to a book of letters, memoirs, interviews, and miscellany in a single (or 7 1-hour 10-minute) sitting(s)? It is unbelievable that the various chapters of the book have not been given individual track numbers.
For my own use, before I could bear to listen to this audio book, I had to rip the entire 7-disc set and segment it so I could handle it in reasonable chunks. That took me 5 hours. Oh, and there is not even a Table of Contents. I had to find one on somebody's website, so I'd have some sort of clue what I'd find in this book.
This is inexcusable and irritating, especially for an audio book that retails for $45.
If this is how all of New Millennium's titles are, I'll never buy one again.
I got the same sense of an old friend, warts and all, from Richard Brautigan's "An Unfortunate Woman" which his daughter released twenty years after the author's death. In both books, enough of the polished wordsmith remains for the seeker of a last morsel to savor.
I have two main frustrations with Adams. One is that his ideas, while brilliant, tended not to have much stamina: My favorite of his books has always been Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. The second Dirk book, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, was stale in comparison. And frankly, the last two books of the Hitchhiker series ought never to have been published. Given the format of Salmon, you won't see that here. Just about everything in it is fresh and alive and energetic.
My other problem is Adams' persistent and dogged atheism. The reason I find this rather sad is that few other authors seem to have such an eye for what one might call the Divine Blueprint, the interrelation of all things from the tiniest particles to the Universe as a whole. Adams was keenly aware of the infinite beauty and complexity of Creation and yet stubbornly refused to believe a conscious Will could be behind it. Time and again, he managed to describe God's thumbprints without recognizing them for what they are. (Of course, plenty of folks may not agree with or care about my view, but this is my post.) Anyway, I've a pretty good notion that St. Pete let Adams into Heaven, if for no other reason than to relish the look on Adams' face when he got there and got the spiritual equivalent of a Babel fish put in his ear.
Adams' talent and outlook are virtually impossible to explain to anyone who hasn't read his books. Like breakfast at Milliways, The Salmon of Doubt is a great way to round out your collection of Adams impossibilities. Enjoy.
I found the rest to be even more illuminating; consisting mostly of essays, letters, articles, and interviews that Douglas Adams wrote or gave throughout his life. It has actually been a while since I've read his works, and I can see now the wit and cleverness present in virtually every sentence, even without the wild and outrageous humor I expected when I was younger. Although I like his work, I've never considered myself an avid follower; so much of what he was doing with his life was unknown to me until reading this collection. The gain is mine now, because Douglas Adams is, for lack of a more profound way to express it, a really fun guy to read.
You will probably be surprised that he had a very serious side. Unlike his more fantastical escapades, though, this book will probably force readers to shed a tear now and again. Pity we lost such an artist at so early a time. I feel cheated, as I am confident he would have composed a masterpiece regarding Sahaf, Blair and Bush!
Just as was Adams, I am a devotee of MacIntosh computers. All you Windows-operated PC fans, read Adams's remarks about Mac computers and you just may come to understand the rest of us.
I also was surprised to learn that Adams was most proud not of his fiction. He was proudest of Last Chance To See. Want to know more about that one? Read my review of it.
For now, though, I think I'll have a pan-galactic gargle blaster and hitch a ride on that passing spaceship!
Goodbye Douglas - lots of us down here still remember you even some 25 years later! So long and thanks for all the laughs!
This looked as though it had the promise to be better than the other two Dirk Gently books(truth be told, I wasn't a big DG fan).
But this one looked as though it had real promise!
It's a shame that we will never get to read the completed text.
True, I discovered DA later than some, but I have been a rather zealous for about fourteen years.
This is a real kick in the pants for fiction, first Uncle Shelby, then Doug...
(or was it the other way around)
This looked as though it had the promise to be better than the other two Dirk Gently books(truth be told, I wasn't a big DG fan).
But this one looked as though it had real promise!
It's a shame that we will never get to read the completed text.
True, I discovered DA later than some, but I have been a rather zealous for about fourteen years.
This is a real kick in the pants for fiction, first Uncle Shelby, then Doug...
However this book is not like many of his books, and perhaps that is because it is reallly a collection of several books. The first sections Adams sounds off on various issues, and like him or not, disagree with him or not, you have to respect someone who says what the feel regardless of what others may think. The novel portion of the book is very good, and I was really interested in the storylines and how the charcters evolved.
If you enjoy his sci-fi novels but do not prefer reading political views or arguments, than stick with the Hitchhikers Guide. Read this book if you want to read about who Adams was.
Well, this is what to expect:
1) A collection of letters, writings, and speeches from Adams. Some quite old, some more recent.
2) Some selected interviews
3) Less than one-half of what would have been the next Dirk Gently novel
This book allows the reader (most likely Adams fans) to see the many facets of Adams' personality. You truly get a feel for how he thinks and what he truly was like as a human being. There is much more depth of Adams' character to be found in this book than anything else I have ever read about him. Even his website could not quite capture this feel. The editor did a simply marvellous job capturing Douglas' personality, character, and love for life.
Two pure gems in the book would have to be:
1) His essay on the two neighboring dogs Maggie and Trudie. He met them while writing in New Mexico. Being a dog lover and owner, it was terrible interesting to see dogs through his eyes. It really gave me a feeling of how he viewed the world.
2) A short skit he wrote with Graham Chapman called The Private Life of Genghis Khan. (on the Douglas Adams website) I absolutely loved it. It actually introduced a character we meet in the Hitchhiker's series.
When I finished reading I can say that I felt almost melancholy knowing he had passed and would not be around to finish his work, or produce even more. The thought is saddening. However, up until the point that you close the book, you will laugh. You will laugh long and hard. You may even re-examine yourself, your life, and your surroundings.
This book despite its incomplete ending is absolutely the most fitting tribute to such a gifted and wonderful human being. In fact, the incompleteness almost adds to the tribute. DNA may be gone, but he will continue to influence us until we move on as well.
As always, the answer remains 42...
My Comments:
As much as I love Douglas Adams' work, I'm just not so big of a fan that I want every scrap of writing he has ever written. Some of the stuff in the book is fun and interesting and I must admit that it is nice to see a bit more of the preservationist side of Adams rather than just the humor. But, this book is really more of a compilation of dissimilar material for the extreme Adams fan. If you absolutely have to have everything that Adams ever wrote, you'll probably want this book. If you are more interested in Adams's novels you may not find this quite so interesting.
His free-ranging imagination is quite fertile, and his essays often jump around, stream-of-consciousness fashion, but they never stray so far afield that his point gets lost. His writings about computers are particularly interesting, especially in hindsight (many were written in the mid-1990s for Mac publications).
But, the most interesting thing to me is how this book affected my own thinking. About 20 pages into it I found myself swarmed by ideas for my own essays about life, my universe, and many things I have done, seen, or prognasticated upon. So pervasive were these thoughts that I bought myself a little notebook in which to jot them down.
And that, to me, is the ultimate testimony to Douglas Adams and this wonderful collection: it will spark in you new pathways of thinking that will take you, with great vigor and vim, into the unchartered expanse of your own personal universe.
The essay/article portion of the book, while interesting, does have an unavoidably hodgepodge feel to it. Most of this material will be familiar to diehard Douglas Adams fans (in fact, much of it has already been printed elsewhere - little here is new material), but it is nice to have it all gathered together in one place. Unfortunately, no index or table of contents is provided, so finding a particular piece is rather challenging.
The portion of the book actually devoted to "The Salmon of Doubt" is very intriguing. As the editor notes, the eleven chapters are stitched together from three separate "versions" of the novel that Adams was working on at the time of his death. As a result, some of the chapter transitions are very choppy (and of course the story sputters out without a proper ending, although this does seem vaguely appropriate for a Dirk Gently novel). However, I found chapters two through seven of the book to be very engaging; a bit rough, certainly, but this was shaping up to be a great Dirk Gently novel. It was with sadness that I reached the end of this story and realized that there would be no ending, and further, no other novels from Douglas Adams.
I don't fault the editor for assembling the story the way he's chosen to, as an amalgam of three different manuscripts - I'm sure this would have been his suggestion even if Adams were still alive. Still, I would love to see a completely "unedited" version of the novel, i.e., one that includes all three working versions; I think that would be fascinating to read. It's certainly a tease to know that certain parts of the different versions were skipped over in assembling this edition.
Having said that, I still do think this book is a must-own if you're a fan of Douglas Adams and his work, due to the inclusion of the unfinished novel. However, when reading "The Salmon of Doubt", you must be prepared to read an unpolished, unfinished story; if you're able to read it in this frame of mind, it's actually very rewarding.
Imagine by confoundment when, while walking on the streets of Burlington, Vermont, I spotted this wonderful homage in a bookstore window. I dragged my buddy into the shop with me and walked out with not only a copy of "The Salmon of Doubt", but also a hardbound edition of the Complete Hitchikers guide (The one with all of the books, plus a few shorts), and a copy of Robert Ludlum's "The Bourne Identity" (see my review).
Anyway, when I returned to our condo where my family and friend were staying, I flopped on the bed and started to read. In no time flat, I was lauging histerically at some of the marvellous essays, speeches, and magazine articles contained in this book. Such articles as "Little Dongly Things", "The cookies" and "The Trousers", brought new light to a side of Douglas of which I had no idea. The new Dirk Gently novel (part of it, anyway) is good, though not as refined as his earlier works.
This collection of writings is indeed a fitting tribute to a wonderful author. For a fan of Adams, it will be a joyous ride throughout his life and career. For a non-fan, I would sincerely recommend getting into Hitchhikers and Dirk Gently before tackling this book. An excellent read, earning every one of it's five stars.
EFD
The rating of 4 instead of 5 is simply because of the story itself. No, it is not finished, and I couldn't say whether he would have wanted it published as is or not.... It would be much better if finished... But who could copy his style? I feel it's a necessary addition, but I think it would have been just fine without out.
I'm glad to have it to complete my Douglas Adams library (and I have almost everything he's ever been involved with), and will re-read it many times, just as I have the rest of them.
How very sadly disappointed I was.
A good part of the first two-thirds of the book is trash: journal-style entries kvetching about technology, recycled newspaper articles and interviews, with a few gems thrown in to make skipping over the irrelevant things nearly impossible. The short story was disappointing as well, as it had already been published in the five-volume Hitchikers' set.
So it was with some relief that I settled into Adam's unfinished novel, for which the posthumous collection is named. Everything that I had loved in the other books was there, with the exception of one crucial element: The Adams ending. The plot was developing quite nicely, with the completely random elements one is used to in a Dirk Gently plot, but just when it finally seems to go somewhere-
It stops. Forever. You will never know where the other half of the cat is, or where on (or off) earth DaveWorld is, never have that fantastic conclusion of all the oddest details turning out to be the most important ones, ever again.
Please, people. Douglas Adams was a genius, it is true, but this is not the way to honor his passing. Don't exploit his poor faithful readers by taunting us with a story that no one can ever finish, padded with fluff. The Salmon of Doubt, in short, should have been left unfinished, unpublished, the way its author left it.
But then, miraculously, when one day I was walking through Chapters, trying to put up a huge "DNA Memorial" in front of the section of the store that carried his books, I saw 'The Salmon of Doubt'. And I thought "I am dreaming"... so I pinched myself, and realized that I wasn't. HERE IT WAS - DOUGLAS ADAMS' LAST BOOK! I screamed. People stared. I fainted. Enough said about that.
I bought the book. I read the book. I laughed. I cried. I remembered. And you should, too. This collection of Douglas Adams' writings, plus the first few chapters of Douglas Adams last unfinished project, 'The Salmon of Doubt' (a new Dirk Gently novel) is an item for anyone who even knew who Douglas Adams was. And even those who don't.
42.
In structure, the book follows one of his titles, being sectioned into "Life," The Universe," and "And Everything." "Life" is his - from the irony of born with the initials DNA only months before Watson and Crick explained the structure of the molecule [and both at Cambridge!] through school years in short pants, to marching to Kilamanjaro in a rhino costume. The why of the march has eluded too many readers. In "The Universe" we encounter Adams' expanding world. Unlike some writers, he dotes on computers. The Internet opens doors to exciting new places and to further inspire his writing. His "rabid atheism" is queried, and his forthright responses should be required reading for many people. Although it truly belongs in the "Life" section, the essay "Cookies" demonstrates Adams' humanity as strongly as anything he's written. Then, in "And Everything," some fiction emerges, including a sketch on a young Zaphod Beeblebrox. Zaphod's moral roots are exposed as are some of our own.
A potential Dirk Gently novel, under this book's title, is provided as the concluding portion. Dirk Gently was Adams' mechanism for examining life as Hitchhiker's was for looking at science. Adams, like his contemporary Terry Pratchett, defies categorization. He didn't write "sci-fi" although that's where you always find his books. Dirk Gently's stories aren't "fantasy" although some pretty fantastic things occur. Like Pratchett, Adams uses his stories to display his insight into the human condition. Again, like Pratchett, Adams presents these reflections with captivating wit. Dirk Gently novels are never fully snared in one reading, and even this partially finished effort rewards your return.
The Foreword advises you not to "bolt this whole" by reading it in one go. Heed that advice. It's all good medicine, but it tastes even better in small doses. Others have rejected the advice and quaffed SoD to their discomfort. But if you sample bits a little at a time, even randomly, you will be properly introduced to one of the great humourists. Whether you are new to Adams or a dedicated fan, there is good fare here. Use as directed for best results.
This book didn't live up to the "thought-provoking" idea that it's dust jacket projected.
It's an okay read, but not one of his best works.
I took the book home and read it.
I thought the book was fascinating, and despite work deadlines and family commitments, I found myself reading the book very late into the night on several nights.
I thought Mr. Adam's writings (albeit incomplete) covered a vast array of information and topics. He struck me as a truly brilliant and inquisitive person who did not take much at face value, but seemed to question the underpinnings of everything.
The highest praise that I can give for this book is that, in reading it, I thought that Mr. Adams must have been an interesting friend, and a fascinating conversationalist (all of which I consider high praise, for what better way to spend an evening that with good friends, intelligent and convivial conversation, and good food? :-)
We lost a great writer when Mr. Adams died.
Douglas Adams, author of the five books in the vastly popular comic-space saga "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" trilogy (you did indeed read that correctly), plus an assortment of other novels, died in May 2001.
Now comes a posthumous collection of his writings, called "The Salmon of Doubt,"Êwhich allows his fans one last, gentle look at a revolutionary voice in literature and science-fiction.
"Salmon" is very much a toast to Adams, a eulogy to him.
The assembled writings are fabulous, culled from a massive selection of writings, letters, essays, various introductions and other things from Adams' computer.
The title refers to an included unfinished Dirk Gently book which, had he lived, might have turned into the sixth "Hitchhiker" book.
Other points of interest:
The first published work of twelve-year-old Douglas Adams, a letter to the editor to "The Eagle," a popular boys' magazine.
"Y," in which Adams helpfully points out that the question "Why?" is the only one important enough to have had a letter named after it.
"Riding the Rays," in which Adams gets the idea to compare riding a new technological submarine, the "Sub Bug," to riding manta rays off the coast of Manta Ray Bay near Australia, the rejection of his proposal when it comes to riding the rays and, upon discovering a manta in said bay, his ease with giving up the pursuit of a ride. Quite possibly the best entry in the whole book.
"Is There an Artificial God?" is an interesting speech from Adams on his aetheism, as he breaks downb his non-belief into steps and explores the contrasts between science and religion.
"Cookies," in which Adams finds himself plagued by the most horrid of human entities: The cookie thief. Or does he?
A letter to Disney's unresponsive David Vogel leaving a chart of numbers at which Adams can possibly be reached.
"The Private Life of Genghis Khan": A woman whose village has just been pillaged and burnt to the ground by the Mongol now finds herself right next to him, with one of his warriors forcing her to ask the mighty Khan how his day was...
It is almost spooky how, in a review/essay of P.G. Wodehouse's unfinished novel "Sunset at Blandings," Adams laments the fact that Wodehouse's final work is "unfinished notÊjust in the sense that it suddenly, heartbreakingly for those of us who love this man and his work, stops in midflow, but in the more important sense that the text up to that point is also unfinished."
Heartbreakingly stopped in midflow, unfinished? The same can be said of Adams himself.
The bulk of this book is previously collected material--interviews, public speeches, magazine articles, short stories--and knowing Adams had intended it all for public consumption allayed my fears. Topics include music, technology, side adventures of Hitchhiker characters, and Adams' own interactions with the animal kingdom, both unusual and mundane. His remarks on the existence of a artificial God are, like so many things that came out of this guy's brain, quite funny yet thought-provoking. It's all well-chosen stuff to paint a more complete picture of Douglas Adams as someone beyond "that 42 guy."
The unfinished chapters of his last novel--which stars Dirk Gently in this draft, but Adams suggested in an included interview that some of the concepts may have found their way into a sixth Hitchhiker book--are rather short and maddeningly refreshing. There is enough to get the reader hooked (and it moves at a much tighter, brisker pace than the other Gently novels--this really is an excellent start), but sadly, we'll never know how the story ends, other than abruptly.
The Salmon of Doubt pays true respect but does not wallow in the author's passing--fans will come away uplifted and entertained more than weeping at the loss of a the true genius. However, the book's wide range and intimate access amply illustrate just why he's already so desperately missed.
It was an appalling realization for someone who, in middle school and high school, had been nigh-on obsessed with his work, having devoured all of it (including Neil Gaiman's companion book, years before he'd become famous in his own right), and even directed one of his radio scripts as a high school drama project. I found myself desperately wanting to listen to my old and long lost cassette tape of his radio shows (which are maddeningly not available at this time on CD), and to have one of my friends call me and say "no, ha ha, it's not true, just a silly prank, he'll be around for decades more, don't worry."
But no. Instead, we get this posthumous collection of writings, of varying quality -- the much ballyhooed Procul Harum speech gives us scant information as to why Procul Harum is great and why Adams thought so -- but much of it an excellent insight into the mind of Douglas Adams. The Macintosh related works, in particular, are quite good, and I say this as I write on a Windows machine.
For Hitchhiker's fans, the book is a mixed bag. "Young Zaphod Plays It Safe" is republished with an ending that clarifies the somewhat subtle (and dated) joke. "The Private Life of Genghis Khan" turns out to be a bit of Hitchhiker's ephemera as well (although its punchline only works if you've read the Hitchhiker's series) and then there's the work for which the book is named, "The Salmon of Doubt."
It started off life as a Dirk Gently novel, and in a reprinted interview, Adams said it was likely to get reworked as a Hitchhiker's one instead. It's short, and while all the fragmentary versions have been combined together quite mercilessly -- the destination of a plane ticket changes repeatedly between versions on a sentence by sentence basis -- it doesn't add up to much. There is an interesting first chapter, some vaguely annoying Dirk Gently chapters after that, not much happens, and then, well, it's over. It looks as though Adams was going to riff on Los Angeles in this novel -- which, despite claims to the contrary in the story itself, he ended up knowing rather better than he might have liked -- but we'll never know. It certainly doesn't look like a Hitchhiker's book, beyond the DaveLand stuff in the first chapter.
But it's what we're left with, and it reaffirms what we already knew: Douglas Adams was quirky, funny, interested in technology, thought the self-importance of our species was deeply funny, was concerned with evolution and ecology and, ultimately, he was a really, really slow writer.
I will miss him deeply.
This is a book for confirmed Adams fans, but of no particular interest to more casual (or non-)readers.
In this book there are several articles, notes, and other pretty random writings. Although it is disjointed, every single part of it is a completely enjoyable reading experience and holds a part of the man Douglas was. I didn't know he was so SMART!!
If you want to get to know the wonderful man behind the awesome Hitchhiker books, this is the book to read. Only watch out for the wave of sadness at it's closure. The world lost a truly wonderful human being and I will forever kick myself for not noticing him more before his death.
Until the manufacturer gets his act together, I would avoid the CD.
Douglas Adams' books had huge influence on the way I see the world, and of the way every single person I know sees it. I love the way he takes apart the simplest of things and re-builds it in a manner no one ever seen it before. He also had some brilliant notions of the internet, saying we are the forth generation of sand (read the book), e-commerce is about to come crashing down (read the book) and anticipating that computers will eventually get so tiny they will be incorporated into everything making the world around us a much more interactive place than it is now (well... this is a review telling you to *get* the book, you know...), he even wrote a note or two about this very website ( :-) ).
One word of warning: the book contains (among other great stuff) an assembled (from 3 different drafts) version of the first 11 chapters of what would have eventually may or may not have become "the salmon of doubt" - it does not end nor it gives any clue of what the ending would have been, so if you are not into unfinished works, skip that part or read it knowing it just doesn't have any ending.
I'll miss Douglas' work (and I sure hope he read an email I sent him a couple of years ago).
Bottom line is, get the book, it is full of great stuff.
If you are a big Douglas Adams fan and are really interested in his ideas, thoughts and views, then buy the book and you will enjoy it. If you are a casual fan, or a fan of the HHGTG or Dirk Gently, then skip this work or wait for it on paperback.
As you probably know, Douglas Adams died suddenly and certainly too early for someone of his character. This book is more of a memorial than an unfinished novel that will only appeal to people who are deeply interested in getting to know him better.
The book with the words "The Salmon Of Doubt" on the cover is actually a hodgepodge of various articles, essays, introductions, speeches, odd thoughts and other writings of which the incomplete novel, THE SALMON OF DOUBT, is only a small part. The non-fiction portion (which accounts for most of the pages) reveals a very witty and intelligent author, who was quite outspoken about those topics close to his heart, and who put those views forward in a thought-provoking and amusing way. The editor has gamely attempted to organize this collection into groups of similar topics, but to be honest it doesn't feel organized at all. This is basically just a random compilation of different writings all thrown together into a single volume. Douglas Adams had far-ranging tastes and interests, and while you will see some recurring topics (his love of the Beatles is omnipresent), you won't find any real sense of coherence. But you will find a lot of intelligently argued and hilarious essays on subjects as diverse as technology, the environment, P. G. Wodehouse, atheism, and other people's dogs.
Reviewing what exists of THE SALMON OF DOUBT is a very difficult task. There are a lot of plot points and threads that obviously aren't wrapped up or even properly started. What is here is great, but would that level of quality be maintained? Would the plot be continued in a satisfying manner, or would all the clever hints that were dropped be discarded? It's impossible to determine how the rest of the story would have gone. The editors give us as much information as they could, but even Douglas Adams apparently hadn't decided whether it would continue to be a Dirk Gently book, or if he would switch it over to his Hitchhikers universe. The only real way I have of reviewing the tiny (80 pages) block of THE SALMON OF DOUBT is to say that I did enjoy reading it, I'm heartbroken that there isn't any more of it, and I'll certainly reread this in the future. If only it wasn't so short.
If you had any misgivings about reading an incomplete work, then I can only try to persuade you to go ahead and devour this anyway. A tantalizing fraction of a Douglas Adams book is still better than no Douglas Adams book at all. The non-fiction writings are provocative and the Hitchhiker humor is displayed on every page. Take a final stroll through the last words of Douglas Adams; you'll be very sorry that the ride is over, but you'll be glad that you got on board.
So long, Doug, and thanks for all the wit.
"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened."
Perhaps as well as any other, this quotation reveals the quirky humor of Douglas Adams, a comic genius who died of a heart attack, at the age of 49, on Friday, May 11, 2001.
Adams was the author of five novels in THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY trilogy (sic!); two Dirk Gently novels (DIRK GENTLY'S HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY and THE LONG DARK TEA-TIME OF THE SOUL); LAST CHANCE TO SEE (with Mark Carwardine); and THE MEANING OF LIFF and THE DEEPER MEANING OF LIFF (both with John Lloyd).
The writings collected in THE SALMON OF DOUBT were retrieved posthumously from the disk drive of Douglas' Macintosh and from three other computers. To this treasure-trove has been added assorted letters, articles, interviews, speeches, and short stories, such as "The Private Life of Genghis Khan."
The present volume also includes the title story, "The Salmon of Doubt," a novel-in-progress that was to be Adams' third Dirk Gently novel.
When asked to list his favorite authors, Adams gave this surprising reply: Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Kurt Vonnegut, P.G. Wodehouse, and Ruth Rendell. He also said that the two books that changed his life were Richard Dawkins' THE BLIND WATCHMAKER and THE SELFISH GENE, both of which explicate and celebrate Darwinian evolution.
Born on March 11, 1952, Douglas Noel Adams claimed that there is probably no connection with the fact that, less than a year later, on Feb. 28, 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick announced that they had broken the code of DNA.
Adams was that rare combination of scientific intelligence and comedic genius. Many of his stories strike one as if they were collaborative efforts--scripts written by Kurt Vonnegut, Woody Allen, Lewis Carroll, and Franz Kafka--for a Monty Python movie.
THE SALMON OF DOUBT contains sidesplitting, laugh-out-loud humor. The Dirk Gently story, although unfinished, shows that Adams had not lost his touch. Alas, we will never know why and how Gusty Winds--a tomcat that functions quite normally, although half of his body is missing--came to be in his bizarre condition.
Here is off-the-wall slapstick humor and out-of-left-field, zany wit. Beneath the fool's gold, however, there lurks a mother lode of wisdom.
Quite simply, I found it a "rollicking good read." Most of the stories, interviews, magazine articles, etc. were totally new to me and delightfully full of Adams' trademark satire. The pieces on manta rays, Genghis Khan, and especially all his thoughts on music were special favorites. Of course, the fragments of the new novel were disjointed, but full of wit and possibility.
This volume is not Adams' best work, no. In fact, from a certain point of view, it's not really his work at all. All of the material contained between its covers either was intended by Mr. Adams for other formats or purposes, or, in the case of THE SALMON OF DOUBT story itself, was in a totally unfinished state. This stuff was never supposed to be in a book, or at least not yet.
As such, THE SALMON OF DOUBT is really a book just for Douglas Adams super-fans. Others might appreciate some of the humor and insight contained therein, but without a context in which to place it, too much of it will be missed. Just as an anecdote that falls flat is excused with an "I guess you had to be there...", I maintain that this book, for full understanding, requires a comprehensive knowledge and appreciation of (not to mention a raging love affair with) Douglas Adams' version of our universe. Thus, while I was reading THE SALMON OF DOUBT novel section, I noticed that some of the writing wasn't up to snuff. I recognized that especially the dialogue was a bit on the weak side. However, most of my thoughts were focused instead on the wonderful possibilities for the story, and, as I had predicted, it was an extremely sad and touching moment when I read the last page.
The perfectionist in Mr. Adams probably would have initially disapproved of the release of this compilation, provided he still had a functioning body with which to be concerned with such things. However, I'm willing to bet that he would have come around eventually and let us have our table scraps. And I am willing to bet that he was the first one on his block to pick up a copy of The Beatles ANTHOLOGY 1 back in '95, ANTHOLOGY 2 in '96...
EXTRA:
As an aside, I must address the most recent "review" by [another reviewer]. Readers please note that there is exactly ONE piece in this book which directly concerns Douglas Adams' atheism, an interview which he granted to the American Atheists organization --- strange that atheism would have come up in the discussion, I know.
How this made our confused reviewer feel that he was being "preached at about atheism" I am not entirely sure, but Mr. Adams' feelings about a given god are hardly relevant to a literary review. It should be obvious that Mr. Adams doesn't "believe" in Thor either, but nobody is complaining about that. It is tough for any and all curiosities, absurdities, and assumptions to stand against the subtle siege that is Douglas Adams' humor. Sorry if you feel threatened, but there are no taboo questions or answers in the world of actual free will. Nevertheless, I implore said reviewer to refrain from using book review space for lame religious propaganda in the future.
That said, what about the novel fragment itself? Dirk Gently finds that his (always empty) bank account is being unaccountably filled and decides that he is being paid to investigate. Since he doesn't know what he is being paid for, he resolves to follow the fifth person who passes a certain corner and investigate him. With a few digressions into a near-god's hang-glider experience, a rampaging rhino, and Thor--the Norse god of thunder, Dirk sets out on a bizzare adventure. In typical Adams fashion, everything is silly, but everything hangs together with a strange logic.
Is it worth reading? Of course. It's Douglas Adams, after all.
Is it wonderful? Uh, not really. It's definitely interesting. Interesting to learn about what makes a writer tick and also interesting in that you get to see the scafoldings of a novel in the making--with what Adams describes as its placeholders (one of the non-novel sections of this volume is Adams' description of an unfinished book by the late P. G. Wodehouse in which Adams describes SUNSET AT BLANDINGS).
Adams fans will be overjoyed to see one last addition to the corpus. Those not so familiar with Adams should start with his finished (and polished) novels. Everyone should be aware that although this may be 'Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time,' it isn't really in the HITCHHIKER series at all--although Adams might have moved it there had he lived.
The material Adams actually wrote for novels-in-progress (three disparate fragments)amounts to just eighty pages. Though very funny, the writing is less polished than in his finished novels. And, of course, the reader is left with a tangle of plot threads like the "Little Dongly Things" Adams deplores in a MacUser article. The remainder of the book consists of previously published magazine articles, previously published interviews, a short comic sketch on Genghis Kahn published in a 1986 book, and a couple of letters. In the articles and interviews Adams occasionally comes across as querulous (on remodeling his home) or pompous (on the subject of his atheism). His best essays are on music -- from Bach to the Beattles -- where passion ignites his language.
I hope the people who control the material from Adams' computer files give us a book of his letters. Richard Dawkins, in his epilogue, says Adams was a prolific and funny email correspondent. The Collected Email of Douglas Adams might be a more fitting memorial to Adams than The Salmon of Doubt.
I found the book a little slow when I started reading it, mostly because it's not a regular type of book. After I got deeper into the book, however, I couldn't put it down.
The Last quarter of the book is the start of Adam's next Dirk Gently novel that would have been titled Salmon of Doubt. This story is very interesting and but slightly disappointing only because it is uncompleted.
This is a good book and I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Douglas Adams.
There are a couple of fairly substantial pieces from what might have been the sixth chapter of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and another "Dirk Gently" novel. Just a few touches of classic Adams show through:
"... The following morning the weather was so foul it hardly deserved the name, and Dirk decided to call it Stanley instead...."
Some of the other, shorter pieces are curiously personal. There are several items about his concern for the world's wildlife -- including his personal favorite, saving the rhinos of Africa. He understood that you have to help the people in Africa help the rhinos. He comes across as a very nice man.
For some reason, I'd always thought of Douglas Adams as a nerdy type -- like his hero Arthur Dent in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. But this book tells us he was a big man, a jovial, boyish 6 foot 5 inches. He grew up on comic books and loved (and performed) music all his life. Although the pieces on his computer were probably not sent to the publisher for good reason, this is a curiously touching anthology.
We miss you, Doug.
The book is a relatively patchwork collection of some of Adam's best works, discovered after his tragicly premature demise in 2001. From a rambling story about police officers and traffic laws that had tears of mirth rolling down my cheeks, to the barest skeleton story of his next planned Dirk Gently book, one is entranced by the mystery-that-was-Adams. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and recommend it first to anyone who even remotely enjoyed reading a book by Douglas Adams and second to anyone who is feeling depressed, because his books (and this one especially) cannot fail to cheer you up...
You will probably walk away from the book as I did... smiling, and feeling as if you just sat at DNA's computer, and searched through the myriad of files and folders there yourself... getting one last glimpse into the mind and writing genius of Douglas Adams. It is a fitting final tribute to an amazing human being.
Thanks for the countless hours of reading, gaming and listening pleasure, Mr. Adams. I have my towel, and I am trying not to panic. You will forever be missed...
This book introduces you to the person with the wonderful imagination and craftsman with words. While I don't agree with everything of his beliefs -- I now understand him more. He is articulate in presenting things he was passionate about.
Excellent read -- I don't really care the whole section of the airplane was looking at me as I chuckled out loud; many times ! If you are a fan of Douglas Adams -- this is a must read. For people who have never read him -- read one of his completed works first, then come back to this.
"The Salmon of Doubt" is, of course, divided into three sections - Life, the Universe, and Everything - and plays out roughly by that rubric. Adams' wife, friends, and personal assistant waded through te contents of his hard disks to organize his last words in a way that would have been meaningful to Douglas were he alive, and is certainly meaningful to those millions of fans left stunned by his death.
All in all, "The Salmon of Doubt" is a fine book by memoir standards, and a touching note of closure best suited to those who admired and were interested in DNA beyond the confines of his two famous series.
I can recommend this book if you are a true fan of DNA's, and if you are not already a fan I can recommend this book because it holds many of the pieces of his personality. It is not a complete book by any means, just a collection of articles, speeches, and unfinished works. Just a taste of his genius.
Douglas Adams was one-of-a-kind and will always be missed.
I have seldom looked forward so much and then been so disappointed in a book as I was with Salmon of Doubt. It's okay for what it is -- a mishmash of previously published articles and columns, random musings culled from DNA's computer after his death, interviews, reprints, and the beginning of his unfinished and incomprehensible novel.
The marketing led me to believe I was going to be reading a new installment in HHGTTG, not an anthology. Even the book itself implied that we'd be getting another installment of HHGTTG, and specifically states that it's not a Dirk book. Well, it may not be Dirk Gently (even if he is the protagonist), but it's also not HHGTTG. And the whole "novel" comprises only 80 or so of the 280 or so pages of the book.
Save your money. Re-read HHGTTG instead.
"Salmon of Doubt" is so absolutely and quite wonderfully Douglas.
This collection of articles, interviews, random thoughts and unfinished novel is an genuine treat to read. His unmistakable voice shines through on each and every page. For someone who professed to agonize over the whole "writing thing", Douglas did it with a style that is often imitated, yet never will be duplicated.
I was delighted to see "Cookies" make its way into this collection. I laughed when he included in the 4th Hitchhiker's novel, and was fortunate enough to hear him retelling this true story. He had everyone at this Chicago hotel bar in absolute hysterics some years ago, reliving the moment. I have never forgotten it.
"Maggie and Trudie" also stands out as one of my other favorite entries here. As does "The Private Life of Genghis Khan". The interviews included also give a further glimpse into this marvelously gifted man.
There is no doubt in my mind that the ever-so brief "Salmon of Doubt" story/novel itself would have been a joy to read had he been around to finish it. It would have worked perfectly well as the next Dirk Gently (or possible 6th HH) novel. I found myself reading this portion quickly, watching the pages dwindle and knowing it was going to abruptly end. It did. Now I'm left wondering what happened to Dirk and Desmond the rhinoceros. It's going to bug me till the end of time. Which I am sure would thrill Douglas to no end.
I'll have to ask Douglas when I see him at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe how it all ends.
My only complaint about the book are the several introductions, all of which were not written by Adams. Each introducer seems interested only in establihing his credentials as a genuine "friend of Douglas", and each is more anxious than the last to give away the punchline or some other crucial point in one or another essay in the book, ruining the experience of getting to that point the way Adams intended.
But worst of all, the introductions all set a glum tone for a fun book. The introducers seem convinced that this book is all about how tragic it is that Adams died. But what Salmon of Doubt is really about is how wonderful it is that Adams lived.
So, do yourself a huge favor, and read those introductions last, if at all.
Not only did I just truly enjoy reading every page of it, but I cherished it a little bit more than I normally would, I guess, because I knew that NOW, truly, this is the last time I'll read anything original from Douglas Adams.
I'll miss you, DNA... so long, and thanks for all the fish. This last collection was what I needed to feel comfortable about you hitchhiking the galaxy w/o the rest of us.
I frequent a message board where a rating of "5" means "Comedy Gold," and that is why I give A Salmon of Doubt five stars. It is hilarious. The essay, "Cookies," used as a plot point in So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish, is a brilliantly narrated anecdote. The reflections on canine behavior in Maggie and Trudie gave me a sleep-preventing giggle fit. The novel portion is jerky in places. An astute reader will spot some filler lines, gaps in continuity, and things that would most likely have been left out of the final version, but no one is pretending that it is whole. Salmon is exactly what it sets out to be; it is a requiem, a tribute to a great man.
The rest of the book, though, is mainly interviews, essays and letters that he wrote over the course of his life and career. Ranging from his views on religion (an avid atheist) to his status as an author and a conservationist to his love of music and his memories of school, the book feels more like a conversation with him than a memorial. This seems to be for the best, though, as it gives a very thorough, balanced view of the man - including some of his shortcomings.
Of special note is the essay he wrote for P.G. Wodehouse's "Sunset at Blandings" - a discussion of the brilliance of Wodehouse's work and what it takes to read an unfinished book. Many of the passages seem especially poignant when reading the Dirk Gently chapters.
Also of note is the lament by Richard Dawkins, longtime fan, friend, biologist and author of "The Blind Watchmaker" and "The Selfish Gene". After reading repeatedly in the first three chapters how Dawkins' books changed Adams' life, it is touching to read how his books had such effect on Dawkins'.
Ultimately, this book is worth reading for anyone who was even a casual fan of Adams. It contains all the intelligence, wittiness and passion that makes his works worth reading (or listening to - or watching), but gives the feeling that you are actually getting to know the whole man for once. The tragedy of Adams' death seems most poignant after finishing the book and wishing that you could sit down and discuss his life, his theories or his opinions with him and knowing that the chance is forever past. If his books have ever interested you, read this one, too.
"Salmon of Doubt" is a posthumous odds-n-sods collection of Adams's work. The first 2/3rds of the book contains a wide variety of material, ranging from a fan letter he wrote at age 12 to interviews done shortly before his death in April 2001.
To be perfectly honest, a lot of this material is fairly thin, and much of it was previously available at various places on the web. It's nice to have it all in one collection, though, and if you're only familiar with Adams from "Hitchhiker's," you may be surprised to discover the breadth and depth of his interests and passions. To be sure, there are some gems to be mined here -- in particular, a charming essay about some dogs who adopted Adams when he was living in Santa Fe, NM; and an absurd but perfectly Adams-esque quest to test a one-man aquatic sub against a manta ray.
For Hitchhiker's fans, the book also contains the short stories "The Private Life of Genghis Khan" and "Young Zaphod Plays It Safe." Both are amusing, if rather pointless.
Leave all that aside, though. The REAL reason to purchase this collection lies in the last hundred pages or so -- the first 11 chapters of the much-delayed and finally abandoned third Dirk Gently novel, "A Salmon of Doubt." This is vintage Adams -- bizarre, hilarious, and utterly unpredictable. Unfortunately, this fragment ends just as the narrative is picking up steam, and we'll never know how Adams would have tied together the tantalizing and very improbable plot threads he laid out in these too-brief chapters.
Salmon of Doubt, like all of Adams's previous work, is at times frustrating but in the end immensely rewarding. It's a fond farewell from one of the masters, and a sad reminder of what we all lost with his too-soon passing at age 49. Goodbye, Douglas, you are sorely missed.
Filled with various essays, interviews, short stories and the first ten chapters of his last, unfinished Dirk Gently novel, this book is a MUST OWN for even the most casual fan of Douglas's work. Here, beyond two headed ailens, hypergalatic bypasses, electric monks and homless Norse Gods, we get to know Douglas Adams the man. Though fans will mostly want this book for the Dirk Gently material (Which is 100% laugh out loud stuff), there are some truly wonderful gems to be found in the pages of this book that you'll want to read and re-read over and over again. If there was ever a doubt, Mr. Adams proved that essays can be entertianing, educational and thought provoking.
While this may seem a strange way to sell a book, these highly enjoyable scraps underscore Adams' amazing ability to observe the world, twist it around and show us reality through the lens of fantasy.
If you have read any of Adams' work, then this book will not disappoint. If you are new to Adams, then the articles presented in the book offer a great introduction.
The universe is like a safe to which there is a combination -- but the
combination is locked up in the safe.
-- Peter DeVries
"I think it is true for all _n. I was just playing it safe with _n >= 3
because I couldn't remember the proof."
-- Baker, Pure Math 351a
