The Salmon of Doubt. [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

The Salmon of Doubt is the late Douglas Adams' third comic novel about "holistic detective" Dirk Gently. Ten tantalising chapters of this unfinished project are padded to book size with about 50 short Adams pieces, mostly non-fiction.

Additional material includes introductions by Stephen Fry and editor Peter Guzzardi (who stitched together the Salmon fragment from disk drafts), The Guardian's Adams biography, Richard Dawkins' farewell piece, and the order of the memorial service.

The non-fiction by the man himself ranges from perhaps a dozen meaty articles and speeches to brief squibs, interview/questionnaire answers and tiny asides like:

We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works. How do you recognise something that is still technology? A good clue is if it comes with a manual.

There are enjoyable pieces on computers (especially), atheism, dogs, manta rays on the Great Barrier Reef, the Save the Rhino stunt climb, and PG Wodehouse. Much of the rest is ephemeral; you can't help reflecting that Adams himself never chose to collect all this lightweight newspaper work.

Lovers of his fiction will welcome the Hitch-Hiker-related short stories "The Private Life of Genghis Khan" and "Young Zaphod Plays It Safe", despite the latter's dreadfully dated political punch line.

What of The Salmon of Doubt itself, a quarter of this book? There's a glimpse of a far-future estate agent's utopia, a woman asking Dirk Gently to investigate a cat that's literally only half there (his puzzling reluctance to take the case may echo Adams' own feelings about the novel), Gently's capricious trip to America in response to an unknown client's total lack of instructions, the tragic death of a rhino as perceived by the rhino... Many teasing questions; we'll never know the answers.

Overall it's a must-have for devoted Adams fans and completists, a likely disappointment (though with pleasant exceptions) for new readers. --David Langford -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

Adams died last year. The Monty Python of science fiction, he left us with the wonderful Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979), from which its fans took the enduring expression of gratitude, "And thanks for all the fish," and the meaning of life itself: "42." Adams' friend Christopher Cerf here gathers Adams' occasional pieces, bon mots, and a short third entry in the Dirk Gently series. If they didn't already know, readers will now learn of Adams' passion for the Beatles (and disdain for the Rolling Stones), his hard work for endangered species, his attitude toward his prominent nose, his gratitude for his family (who put up with his quirky personality), and even of the prolonged writer's block he experienced in trying to produce another novel after Dirk Gently. It is plain from the editing that Cerf had to extract nuggets from fragments, but even minor Adams seems like a message from an old friend. An essential purchase for public and school libraries. John Mort
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine andere Ausgabe: Gebundene Ausgabe .

It's hard to classify this cornucopia, selected by Christopher Cerf from Adams's papers after his untimely death, but Hitchhiker fans will want it.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

-- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine andere Ausgabe: Gebundene Ausgabe .

Introduced by Stephen Fry, 'The Salmon Of Doubt & Other Writings' comprises fifty pages of the late Douglas Adams' unfinished novel, 'The Salmon Of Doubt', along with writings from 3,000 unpublished files stored on his computer hard-drive. This collection is the unique last word from one of the world's most successful and best loved science fiction writers, and represents an important and hilarious legacy. -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine andere Ausgabe: Taschenbuch .