And Another Thing... (Hitchhiker's Guide Series #6) [NOOK Book]

( 117 )
NOOK Book (eBook)
$14.29
BN.com price
$25.99 List Price (Save 45%)

Available on NOOK devices and apps

  • Nook Devices
  • NOOK
  • NOOK Color
  • NOOK Tablet
  • Tablet/Phone
  • NOOK for iPad
  • NOOK for iPhone
  • NOOK for Android
  • NOOK for Android (Tablet)
  • NOOK Kids for iPad
  • PC/Mac
  • NOOK Study
  • NOOK for PC
  • NOOK for Mac

Want a NOOK? Explore Now

Overview

An Englishman's continuing search through space and time for a decent cup of tea . . .

Arthur Dent's accidental association with that wholly remarkable book, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, has not been entirely without incident.

Arthur has traveled the length, breadth, and depth of known, and unknown, space. He has stumbled forward and backward through time. He has been blown up, reassembled, cruelly imprisoned, horribly released, and ...

See more details below

More About This Book

Overview

An Englishman's continuing search through space and time for a decent cup of tea . . .

Arthur Dent's accidental association with that wholly remarkable book, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, has not been entirely without incident.

Arthur has traveled the length, breadth, and depth of known, and unknown, space. He has stumbled forward and backward through time. He has been blown up, reassembled, cruelly imprisoned, horribly released, and colorfully insulted more than is strictly necessary. And of course Arthur Dent has comprehensively failed to grasp the meaning of life, the universe, and everything.

Arthur has finally made it home to Earth, but that does not mean he has escaped his fate.

Arthur's chances of getting his hands on a decent cuppa have evaporated rapidly, along with all the world's oceans. For no sooner has he touched down on the planet Earth than he finds out that it is about to be blown up . . . again.

And Another Thing . . . is the rather unexpected, but very welcome, sixth installment of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. It features a pantheon of unemployed gods, everyone's favorite renegade Galactic President, a lovestruck green alien, an irritating computer, and at least one very large slab of cheese.

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble
Like its subtitle, this book challenges us for an explanation. The unfurling of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series stopped with the untimely 2001 demise of its author, Douglas Adams. But so fertile an epic was not meant to cease. Eoin Colfer, the acclaimed writer of the Artemis Fowl children's book series, has answered the call to continue the saga in high style. "I am bloody determined," he insists, "that this will be the best thing I have ever written." And Another Thing… resumes the series where the fifth novel left off, with the meeting of Arthur and his long-lost daughter, Random.
Publishers Weekly
At long last, the motley band from Douglas Adams's renowned five-book Hitchhiker's Guide Trilogy have returned, thanks to Artemis Fowl author Colfer. When the Vogons return to finish obliterating Earth in our universe and all alternatives, Arthur Dent and his companions find themselves hitchhiking on the spacefaring Viking longship of Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged, an immortal with a death wish who is an expert at mass insults. Readers may find this volume paradoxical. On its own it is a funny novel, but Adams set a legendary, nearly impossible standard. Wacky humor reminiscent of the original Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy rings true, as do most of the characters, but newer elements, such as the brief appearance of Cthulhu, feel out of place. Most notably absent is the supreme inventiveness that hit us with the Infinite Improbability Drive, and the comic-sublime moments like Arthur flying with Fenchurch. You can't go home again, but Adams fans will still appreciate the reunion with old friends.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781401394806
  • Publisher: Hyperion
  • Publication date: 10/12/2009
  • Sold by: Barnes & Noble
  • Format: eBook
  • Pages: 288
  • Sales rank: 97,053
  • Series: Hitchhiker's Guide Series , #6
  • File size: 543 KB

Meet the Author

Eoin Colfer
Eoin Colfer
Eoin Colfer is the author of the internationally best-selling Artemis Fowl series, which has been translated into forty languages, most of them human. Other titles include The Wish List, The Supernaturalist, and Half Moon Investigations, which was made into a hit TV series by the BBC. His books have won several awards, including the British Children's Book of the Year, the German Children's Book of the Year, and a Betelgeusean Bloater award for shortest newcomer, which he keeps in his head as it is radioactive and scares the children.
And Another Thing is Eoin's first book for adults, and he found the experience very similar to that of writing for young adults, apart from less usage of the phrases it wasn't my fault and none of you people get me.

Biography

Eoin Colfer is a former elementary school teacher whose Artemis Fowl series has become an international bestseller. He is also the author of The Legend of Spud Murphy, The Wish List, and the New York Times bestseller The Supernaturalist.He lives in Ireland with his wife and two children.

Author biography courtesy of Miramax Books/Hyperion Books for Children.

Good To Know

Some fun and fascinating outtakes from our interview with Colfer:

"My original ambition was to be a comic book artist. I would still love to write a comic one day."

"I have a real hatred of queues. If I see a queue of more than four people, I will leave the building and come back another day."

"I have four brothers and they are the inspiration for several of the sprites and gremlins in my books."

"I did a parachute jump recently and loved it. I would definitely take it up as a hobby if we had more clear sky over here in Ireland."

"I am a big theatre fan, and I go as often as possible with my wife. I actually started out in the theatre, writing plays for my actor friends."

    1. Also Known As:
      William Eoin Colfer (full name)
    2. Hometown:
      Wexford Town, County Wexford, Republic of Ireland
    1. Date of Birth:
      May 14, 1965
    2. Place of Birth:
      Waterford City, County Waterford, Republic of Ireland
    1. Education:
      Bachelor of Education, 1986; Education Diploma, 1987
    2. Website:
      http://www.eoincolfer.com

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 1
According to a janitor's assistant at the Maximegalon University, who often loiters outside lecture halls, the universe is sixteen billion years old. This supposed truth is scoffed at by a clutch of Betelgeusean beat poets who claim to have moleskin pads older than that (rat a tat-tat). Seventeen billion, they say, at the very least, according to their copy of the Wham Bam Big Bang scrolls. A human teenage prodigy once called it at fourteen billion based on a complicated computation involving the density of moon rock and the distance between two pubescent females on an event horizon. One of the minor Asgardian gods did mumble that he'd read something somewhere about some sort of a major-ish cosmic event eighteen billion years ago, but no one pays much attention to pronouncements from on high anymore, not since the birth of the gods debacle, or Thorgate as it has come to be known.
However many billions it actually is, it is billions, and the old man on the beach looked as though he'd counted off at least one of those million millions on his fingers. His skin was ivory parchment, and viewed in profile he closely resembled a quavering uppercase S.
The man remembered having a cat once, if memories could be trusted as anything more than neuron configurations across trillions of synapses. Memories could not be touched with one's fingers. Could not be felt like the surf flowing over his gnarled toes could be felt. But then what were physical feelings but more electrical messages from the brain? Why believe in them either? Was there anything trustworthy in the Universe that one could hug and hold onto like a Hawaliusian wind staunch in the midst of a butterfly storm, apartfrom a Hawaliusian wind staunch.
Bloody butterflies, thought the man. Once they'd figured out the wing fluttering a continent away thing, millions of mischievous lepidoptera had banded together and turned malicious.
Surely that cannot be real, he thought. Butterfly storms?
But then more neurons poured across even more synapses and whispered of improbability theories. If a thing was bound never to happen, then that thing would resolutely refuse not to happen as soon as possible.
Butterfly storms. It was only a matter of time.
The old man wrenched his focus from this phenomenon before some other catastrophe occurred to him and began its rough slouch to be born.
Was there anything to trust? Anything to take comfort from?
The setting suns lit crescents on the wavelets, burnished the clouds, striped the palm leaves silver, and set the china pot on his veranda table twinkling.
Ah, yes, thought the old man. Tea. At the center of an uncertain and possibly illusory universe there would always be tea.
The old man traced two natural numbers in the sand with a walking stick fashioned from a discarded robot leg and watched as the waves washed them away.
One moment, there was forty-two and the next there wasn't.
Maybe the numbers were never there and perhaps they didn't even matter.
For some reason this made the old man cackle as he leaned into the incline and plodded to his veranda. He settled with much creaking of bone and wood into a wicker chair that was totally sympathetic to the surroundings, and called to his android to bring some biscuits.
The android brought Rich Tea.
Good choice.
Seconds later the sudden appearance of a hovering metal bird caused a momentary lapse in dunking concentration and the old man lost a large crescent of his biscuit to the tea.
"Oh, for heaven's sake," grumbled the man. "Do you know how long I have been working on that technique? Dunking and sandwiches. What else is left to a person?"
The bird was unperturbed.
"An unperturbed bird," said the old man softly, enjoying the sound of it. He closed the bad eye that hadn't worked properly since he'd fallen out of a tree as a giddy boy, and examined the creature.
The bird hovered, its metallic feathers shimmering crimson in the sun's rays, its wings beating up tiny maelstroms.
"Battery," it said in a voice that reminded the old man of an actor he had once seen playing Othello at London's Globe Theatre. Amazing what you can get from the tone of a single word.
"You did say battery?" said the man, just to confirm. It could possibly have been flattery, or even hattery. His hearing was not what it used to be, especially on initial consonants.
"Battery," said the bird again, and suddenly reality cracked and fell to pieces like a shattered mirror. The beach disappeared, the waves froze, crackled, and evaporated. The last thing to go was the Rich Tea.
"Bugger," muttered the old man as the final crumbs dissipated on his fingertips, then he sat back on a cushion in the room of sky that suddenly surrounded him. Someone would be coming soon, he was sure of it. From the dim caverns of his old memories, the names Ford and Prefect emerged like gray bats to associate themselves with the impending disaster.
Whenever the Universe fell apart, Ford Prefect was never far behind. Him and that accursed book of his. What was it called? Oh, yes. The Pitchforker's Pride Is a Fallacy.
That, or something very close to it.
The old man knew exactly what Ford Prefect would say.
Look on the bright side, old mate. At least you're not lying down in front of a bulldozer, eh? At least we're not being flushed out of a Vogon air lock. A room of sky is not too shabby, as it happens. It could be worse, a lot worse.
"It will be a lot worse," said the old man with gloomy certainty. In his experience, things generally got worse, and on the rare occasion when things actually seemed to get better, it was only as a dramatic prelude to a cataclysmic worsening.
Oh, this room of sky seemed harmless enough, but what terrors lurked beyond its rippling walls? None that were not terrible, of that the old man was certain.
He poked a finger into one of the wall's yielding surfaces and was reminded of tapioca pudding, which almost made the old man smile, until he remembered that he had hated tapioca ever since a bullying head boy had filled his slippers with the stuff back in Eaton House Prep.
"Blisters Smyth, you sneaky shit," he whispered.
His fingertip left a momentary hole in the clouds, and through it the old man caught a glimpse of a double-height sash window beyond, and outside the window, could that be a death ray?
The old man rather feared that it was.
All this time, he thought. All this time and nothing has happened.

Ford Prefect was living the dream. Providing the dream included residence in one of Han Wavel's ultraluxury, five-supergiant-rated, naturally eroded hedonistic resorts, filling one's waking hours with permanent damage amounts of exotic cocktails, and liaisons with exotic females of various species.
And the best bit: The expense of this whole self-indulgent and possibly life-shortening package would be taken care of by his Dine-O-Charge card, which had no credit limit thanks to a little creative computer tinkering on his last visit to the Hitchhiker's Guide offices.
If a younger Ford Prefect had been handed a blank page and asked to, in his own time, write a short paragraph detailing his dearest wishes for his own future, the only word he might have amended in the above was the adverb possibly. Probably.
The resorts of Han Wavel were so obscenely luxurious that it was said a Brequindan male would sell his mother for a night in the Sandcastle Hotel's infamous vibro-suite. This is not as shocking as it sounds, as parents are accepted currency on Brequinda and a nicely moisturized septuagenarian with a good set of teeth can be traded for a mid-range family moto-carriage.
Ford would perhaps not have sold either parent to finance his sojourn at the Sandcastle, but there was a bicranial cousin who was often more trouble than he was worth.
Every night, Ford rode the fleshevator to his penthouse, croaked at the door to grant him entry, then made time to look himself in the bloodshot eyes before passing out facedown in the basin.
This is the last night, he swore nightly. Surely my body will revolt and collapse in on itself.
What would his obituary say in the Hitchhiker's Guide? Ford wondered. It would be brief, that was for sure. A couple of words. Perhaps the same two words he had used to describe Earth all those years ago.
Mostly harmless.
Earth. Hadn't something rather sad happened on Earth that he should be thinking about? Why were there some things he could remember and others that were about as clear as a hazy morning on the permanently fogbound Misty Plains of Nephologia?
It was generally at about this maudlin stage that the third Gargle Blaster squeezed the last drop of consciousness from Ford's overjuiced brain and he would giggle twice, squawk like a rodeo chicken, and execute a near perfect forward tumble into the nearest bathroom receptacle.

And yet every morning when he lifted his head from the en suite basin (if he was lucky), Ford found himself miraculously revitalized. No hangover, no dragon breath, not even a burst blood vessel in either sclera to bear witness to the previous night's excesses.
"You are a froody dude, Ford Prefect," he invariably told himself. "Yes, you are."
There is something fishy going on here, his rarely-heard-from subconscious insisted.
Fishy?
So long and thanks for all the
Wasn't there something about dolphins? Not fish, true, but they inhabited the same...habitat.
Think, you idiot! Think! You should be dead a hundred times over. You have consumed enough cocktails to pickle not only yourself but several alternate versions of yourself. How are you still alive?
"Alive and froody," Ford would say, often winking at himself in the mirror, marveling at how lustrous his red hair had become. How pronounced his cheekbones. And he seemed to be growing a chin. An actual chiseled chin.
"This place is doing me good," he told his reflection. "All the photo-leech wraps and the irradiated colono-lemming treatments are really boosting my system. I think I owe it to Ford Prefect to stay another while."
And so he did.

On the last day, Ford charged an underwater massage to his credit card. The masseur was a Damogranian pom-pom squid with eleven tentacles and a thousand suckers that pummeled Ford's back and cleaned out his pores with a series of whiplash tapotement moves. Pom-pom squids were generally hugely overqualified for their work in the spa industry, but were tempted away from their umpteenth doctorates by the lure of high salaries, plankton-rich pools, and the chance of massaging a talent scout for the music industry and maybe getting themselves a record deal.
"Have you done any talent scouting, friend?" asked the squid, though he didn't sound hopeful.
"Nope," replied Ford, bubbles streaming from his Plexiglas helmet, face shining orange in the pleasant glow of rock phosphorescence. "Though I once owned a pair of blue suede shoes, which should count for something. I still own one; the other is closer to mauve, due to it being a copy."
The squid nipped at passing plankton as he spoke, which made conversation a little disjointed.
"I don't know if..."
"If what?"
"I hadn't finished."
"It's just that you stopped speaking."
"There was a glint. I thought it was lunch."
"You eat glints?"
"No. Not actual glints."
"Good, because glints are baby gloonts, and they're poisonous."
"I know. I was merely saying that..."
"More glints?"
"Precisely. You're sure you're not a talent scout then, or an agent?"
"Nope."
"Oh, for Zark's sake," swore the squid, a little unprofessionally. "Two years I've worked here. Talent scouts and agents coming out of your suckers...they promised. Not one. Not bloody one. I was studying advanced kazoo, you know."
Ford couldn't resist a lead-in like that. "Advanced kazoo? How advanced can kazoo studies be?"
The squid was wounded. "Pretty advanced when you can play a thousand of them at the same time. I was in a quartet. Can you imagine?"
Ford gave it a go. He closed his eyes, enjoyed the whup-pop of the suckers on his back, and imagined four thousand kazoos playing in perfect subaquatic harmony.
Sometime later the squid enveloped Ford in half a dozen tentacles and gently flipped him over. Ford opened one eye to read the squid's badge.
I am Barzoo, read the tag. Use me as you will.

Excerpted from AND ANOTHER THING . . . by EOIN COLFER. Copyright (c) 2009 EOIN COLFER. All rights reserved. Published by HYPERION.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 3.5
( 117 )

Rating Distribution

5 Star

(26)

4 Star

(36)

3 Star

(30)

2 Star

(14)

1 Star

(11)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Leave Anonymously

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identiy on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

We're sorry, but penname is already taken.

Please select one of the following:
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

penname is available!

By visiting the BN.com website or marking a purchase on BN.com, a User is deemed to have accepted the Terms of Use.

Continue Anonymously

Welcome, penname

You have successfully created your Pen Name. Start enjoying the benefits of the BN.com Community today.

See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 117 Customer Reviews

  • Posted October 13, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    Blew my expectations away.

    Colfer is really adept at channeling Adams' voice and style (which must be exhausting). He is-thankfully-a tad lighter in overall mood than Adams' dark, brooding 5th novel. This book is brilliant-head and shoulders above most everything else out there-but there was only one Douglas Adams. Colfer himself has said as much. Adams was a scientist disguised as a writer Colfer is definitely a very, very gifted and brilliant writer-but not scientist material. I can't think of anyone else who could have captured Adams' essence better. Even the tempo is astonishingly Douglas-ish. His vicious satire is absolutely spot-on, though with something one might say resembles a bit more of a silver lining.
    In the end a very worthy book that blends together into the previous storyline astonishingly well.

    8 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 30, 2010

    And another thing - I wouldn't read it a second time

    I REALLY wanted to like this book, as I had enjoyed the previous ones (the first 3 were the best) and liked the original radio series when it was broadcast by NPR in the early 1980's, and the extended radio series of a few years ago. It never took off for me. I never laughed out loud while reading it, and found it a bit of a chore to finish.

    I've had no previous experience with Eoin Colfer, so I had no bias at the start, and I did not read other reviews before purchasing.

    3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted February 8, 2010

    I Also Recommend:

    9780345453747

    A pale imitation

    This book tries very hard to live up to the original Hitchhiker's books, but it is painfully obvious that Douglas Adams didn't write this one. The characters are the same, but it lacks the wit and sparkle that Adams brought to his galaxy.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted December 21, 2011

    more from this reviewer

    Tolerable

    This is the sixth book in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "trilogy." Eoin Colfer does a tolerable job of maintaining the tone of the original Douglas Adams HHGTTG (though he uses more profanity than Adams). The storyline is pretty good, giving some sarcastic/perceptive social commentary like the rest of the books. In my opinion, Colfer's promotion of Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged and Thor to major characters makes them far less amusing than they were in the original series. Overall, I'd say this was a decent effort, but you aren't missing too much if you skip it.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted July 3, 2011

    A great sequel to a great series by a great author

    Funny, neat, imaginative. Must buy.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted December 10, 2009

    Awesome Book!

    I was so totally psyched when I heard that a new Hitcher's book was out. I read it and I just say that it is completely amaxing. Colfer goes way and beyond what can be expected of an author taking up Douglas Adams' classic series. Now there are naysayers that say that this book is well "not good" but forget them, they don't no jack.
    It starts great, and is truly faithful to the series. To top it off the book does not imply that it is the end. So I'm hoping.

    1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted February 27, 2012

    Funny but overly familiar

    Like a lot of people, i reacted to the news that Eoin Colfer had been tapped to write a follow-on to Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" quintrilogy with equal amounts of "That might be cool" and "What the holy heck?" Having finally worked up the courage to approach And Another Thing with what I hoped was an open mind, my status report changes to "That was definitely cool" and "What the holy heck?"

    Colfer does a fairly amazing job of channeling the spirit and storytelling style of Adams, creating a tale that nicely balances the funny with the self-referential absurdism that raised Adams' work above the level of mere comedy. There's no question that And Another Thing fits well into the the ongoing series, and the open ending leaves hope that Colfer has more to say regarding Adams' characters (and that Adams' estate wants to let him say it). However, a part of that fit stems from the book being of a piece with Adams' last two HHG efforts, "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish" and "Mostly Harmless" -- which means that it holds up less well in comparison to the original "Hitchhiker's Guide" and "Restaurant at the End of the Universe", and positively pales in comparison to "Life, the Universe, and Everything".

    That third book in the series marked the first time that Adams delved into original storyline for the HHG saga, and it remains the best and freshest of the books for that reason. With books four and five, Adams seemed to be working from the perspective of being afraid to continue to push in the wholly new directions of "LtUaE", creating amazing new ideas but then scaling them back from some apparent lack of trust of his own instincts. "And Another Thing" carries that feeling of uncertainty, and though the book is funny and enjoyable at every turn, it feels a little too familiar in the end.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted November 14, 2011

    Not bad but not good either

    Good reading during a long power out
    I read the hitchhikers guide series back in middle school and loved it. Over a decade later I dont know if my sense of humor has matured or if colfer just isnt as good as adams. Maybe if this was just a book in the hitchhiker style it would have been a three star or more but i think its a bit of a shameful addition to the series.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 16, 2011

    Entertaining!

    The only thing I wished was different was the part about Fenchurch.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 28, 2011

    Same new, same old

    Colfer seems to have caught the style and humor of the original five books. It's entertaining and inventive. The price is 9.17 when I am writing this, but worth every penny. Colfer has really nailed how to write this.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted August 6, 2010

    And another thing...one thing too many

    This author of this book obviously has diligently read the original 1st 5 books of the series written by Douglas Adams. It is obvious that he determined the ingredients and forumla for such a book. And that is how it reads, like it was created with a recipe "take previous characters, mix in action, spice liberally with Guide quotes and non-sequitor segues and make sure you finish by screwing Arthur Dent in the end".

    The book focuses too much on what were previously background and secondary characters (Zaphod and Trillian) and seems to forget that the original series is mostly about Arthur Dent and his attempts to cope with the new reality. He is almost completely ignored in this book.

    In the author's defense, Douglas Adams last book in the series wasn't too good either.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted May 25, 2010

    Really worth reading

    Here is the sixth, and latest, installment in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "trilogy," created by Douglas Adams. It was also published with the approval of Adams' widow.

    Arthur Dent has made his way back to Earth, but it isn't "his" Earth. The Vogons, with the extremely bad poetry, are working on destroying all possible versions of Earth, so Arthur must take off, again. Ford Prefect, writer for the Guide, and Zaphod Beeblebrox, former president of the Galaxy, are still around. Tricia McMillan is a former TV reporter who ran away with Zaphod, just before the Earth was destroyed. She changed her name to Trillian, and used some of Arthur's DNA to have Random, a daughter. Random is very smart, and has taken teenage surliness to new levels.

    A small remnant of humanity has made its way to a planet called Nano, run by an Irish property developer named Hunter Hillman. He feels that the humans need a god to worship. The Norse God Thor is one of the applicants. A being named Wowbagger travels around the galaxy handing out insults on various planets. What follows is a titanic battle involving Wowbagger, Thor and a cheese-based deity.

    For die-hard fans of the series, concerned that no one could do it like Adams, relax. Colfer is a veteran author who knows what he is doing, and it shows here. For those new to the series, read one or two of the early books first, and then read this. It's really worth reading.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 9, 2010

    Admirable Attempt But No...

    If I was to sum up the problems with "And Another Thing..." by comparing it to something else somewhere in modern pop culture I would not have to dig too deep for two simple words: Family Guy. The reason for such a bold statement is that like Family Guy, "And Another Thing..." suffers from a thin plot and a horrible tendency to diverge from linear storytelling to make odd side jokes that go nowhere in the form of Guide Notes. The original books had the occasional little excepts from the Guide but in this latest installment one can not go a couple of pages before running into a short except that I can only describe as pointless and a waste. Now I will admit I have to give a little leniency to Eoin Colfer (whom I have never heard of prior) for taking such a bold move as to filling in for the one and only Douglas Adams. The attempt was admirable but falls a bit flat. If you are interested in where Eoin Colfer leads our favorite characters then by all means please read the book. But if you are anywhere near a purist or just might be easily angered/annoyed by constant references to Eccentrica Gallumbits of Eroticon 6, the seamingly slow pace (compared to the originals' quick pace) or maybe Eoin's wildly different approach to poking fun at theology - this book might not be for you.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted April 10, 2010

    Off and On

    This begins strong, fades about 2/3rds of the way through, and picks back up for the ending.

    An interesting take, and the ending shows a new thread that is promising. I would buy a sequel (Book 7 of 3).

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 9, 2010

    I Also Recommend:

    9780345361790 9780517226957 9780060590321 9780380813810 9780345366764

    We may have lost Douglas Adams, but we will never loose The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the quirky characters he introduced us to.

    I enjoyed this book because it is the continuing story that Douglas Adams might have written if he'd lived long enough to continue the story. Possibly the book he did write in another universe where the Vogons are about to blow up yet another Earth.

    Eoin Colfer channeled Douglas Adams using a voice and characters that fit perfectly into the world that fans of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy recognize and love. Just as Doulas Adams would, Colfer has created a collection of new characters to provide disastrous repercussions to anything the least bit positive in Arthur's life. Really, we know, Arthur wants a nice cup of tea, a kind and loving family, and to never have to leave earth or deal with another multi-appendaged, off-colored, non-Earth based being again. After all that has happened, Arthur would prefer to be bored, or possibly back on his beach making sandwiches. This is the next installment of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and I hope that there are more adventures on more worlds with more random members of the vast pantheon of myths and legends of both Earth and the other planets in our little galaxy. I'm sure Arthur would disagree.


    What happens when the Vogons figure out that Earth exists in alternate universes after Arther, Trillian, and their traveling companions have found a good pub on one of them? How does the Norse god Thor regain some of his past glory competing with cheese? Can a marriage work between a galactic president and a necklace hamster? Two out of three of these questions are answered in Eoin Colfer's And Another Thing. which is filled with all of the random tidbits of information one might expect from book 6 of 3 of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I loved it!

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted February 13, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    Another GOOD Thing...

    I probably rated this book a little higher than I would otherwise have just by dint of the fact that it was not written by Douglas Adams. And yet, had I hot seen the cover, had I not known that Adams was dead, I would never have know it wasn't him.

    In that alone, this book was astounding. There are some style differences if you're looking for them, but it is otherwise as though Eoin Colfer was channeling the spirit of Adams. Colfer manages to his the cadence, the humor and the out there nature of Adams, and I truly believe that no one could have done the great Douglas Adams more credit.

    And since the story fits, the characters fit and the humor and writing is spot on... In my mind it has already become a permanent member of the series. This book is a must read for any fan of the series.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted February 6, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    And the Trilogy Continues

    I bought this as a present for my husband, who loved the entire series. I was a little hesitant as he doesn't like wannabes, but he really loved the book. He kept reading me snippets and really, really seemed happy with it.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted February 6, 2010

    I Also Recommend:

    9780671678524

    Like the book, LOVE the audiobook

    I think Colfer has done an admirable, if not overly imaginative, job of adding to the Hitchhiker's canon. He's brought back favorite characters and even resurrected what I suspect were originally one-liner throw-offs by Adams that became fan favorites (like Wowbagger, the Infinitely Prolonged), making this a familiar romp. Adams' brilliance for wild tangents is less in evidence, which I admit to missing, but it's still delightful to revisit old friends.

    My favorite aspect of the release of this book is that they got Simon Jones to read the audiobook, which simply makes my day. He is, hands down, my favorite audiobook reader for any author, but has a particular brilliance for Adams-esque cadence.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted January 24, 2010

    Not quite the same

    Similar but not the same as Douglas Adams writing. I am not sure that I like the introduction of immortals to the series. It seems like Adams had a much dimmer view on God(s).

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted January 23, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    And Another Thing

    I really enjoyed the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series of books, and when I read that Eoin Colfer has written a sixth book in the series, I was ecstatic. But Colfer is no Douglas Adams. The humor I found in the original book was just not there. Colfer does a good job in bringing back the characters, but I just couldn't get into this book.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 117 Customer Reviews
If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)
500 character limit