Slashdot Mirror
New Douglas Adams Book Planned
Cabby writes "The BBC and the Independant on Sunday have the news that all the remaining Douglas Adams material is going to be published later on this year, including the unfinished novel 'The Salmon of Doubt' and the proposed screenplay for the Hitchhikers Guide movie"
To make money, silly. Okay, never mind and you are bang on right. It's just Adams had, or is it has, a lot of fans and so even unfinished stuff is going to be bought and no-one is going to dare to say a bad thing about it.
Well, Douglas ADAMS please (in the headline
Come on, people! There are many great and famous works which have been left unfinished by the death of the author or artist, later to be distributed posthumously:
The Aeneid - Vergil
Requiem Mass - Mozart
The Art of Fugue - Bach
Pieta (Florence) - Michelangelo
"Unfinished" Symphony - Schubert
Tenth Symphony - Mahler
The Silmarillion - Tolkien
Some other famous works were complete but not published until after the author's death:
The Prince - Machiavelli
Billy Budd - Melville
Of course, not all posthumous works are great, but they are at least useful in understanding the work of the artist, and there really is the occasional masterpiece.
Sure, Adams' estate will profit from this, but that is no reason to be disappointed or jaded.
Seriously, now. Did anyone *not* expect him to write another book? I just assumed that it wouldn't come hout during his death, but wait until the tax situation cleared . . .
someone implemented IP over spoon . . .
ooh, please! As the scond head. Detach it and surgically attach to, ahh, hell, anyone!
Oh, it didn't work. MY apologies to the Carrey estate. Somehow we'll have to get along without those "masterpieces" . . .
hawk
I can just imagine it: you get three quarters of the way through the book, having no clue what's really going on but expecting it to all make sense in the end...
...and then the rest of the book is blank, except for an editor's note at the end, explaining that the author died partway though.
People would argue for years over how he intended to finish it.
Short Bio for George
Vermifax
Vermifax
Logout
I get that feeling every time someone interesting dies who has any IP.
Novel theory: Modern Man evolved from psychopath
Pouring out a 40 of Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster for my homie.
Doug: Big up from y'all'z monkeyboy dawgz. Peace.
spawn_of_yog_sothoth
I actually thought Mostly Harmless showed him at the top of his form in quality of writing terms.
I loved the book -- until the end. The end was a bit of a problem; a tragic outcome seems somehow incompatible with the spirit of the series. I mean, here you are laughing your head off and all of a sudden everyone dies, in all universes, for ever and ever.
Oops.
I would really prefer to think that Arthur and Fenchurch were somehow reunited on a planet far, far away from anywhere. I think the problem was that Adams couldn't figure out a way to end the series and eliminate the constant cries for new stuff.
D
----
Mozart's Requiem isn't particularly good. I've always preferred Fauré's.
I agree with the original poster. Unless the work was basically finished and just needed the odd little change, they really shouldn't be publishing it.
I'm saying that Faure's was better. It was a purely off-topic comment.
I wish someone had told him this _before_ he released Mostly Harmless :-)
I don't think I'm alone in saying that I thought the Dirk Gently novels (esp. the second one) were the most inventive and funny writing Adams' had ever produced. It wasn't knock-down funny like the HH radio scripts, but it was a slower deep kind of funny. The scene in which Dirk is fighting the eagle is so damn good...
"... I declare our city to be a free and independent state to be named Tri-Insula!" --Fernando Wood, Mayor of NYC 1861
I'm obviously not as big a fan as I thought...
What was the sixth?
Well, well, well; three holes in the ground...
excellent point, but it's important to realize that _none_ of Kafka's novels were finished.
The Trial and the Castle were both assembled by Max Brod in sort of a best guess fashion, and are a couple of the most amazing books around.
NO GLANDS.
---
As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
"Douglas Adams is back, and better than ever!"
-- David Manning
---
As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
I'm curious to know what the book is about however because as a previous poster mentioned it has been both a Dirk Gently & Hitchhiker Novel.
The problem of course is that this book is not completed, or if it is, DNA was not satisfied with it. This doesn't mean it won't be a good read, it means he wouldn't have released it. Reading it may show us a little of his writing process, but no matter how good (or bad) it is, we'll have to remember it isn't what was suspoed to be published.
DNA once commented " I love deadlines, I love the sound they make as they fly by" I have a feeling he intened on letting this book never meet any deadline as he has done several projects since it (H2G2, Starship Titantic come to mind)
...seventh Hitch-Hiker (sic) novel..."
...ideas in a faux-HitchHiker (sic)...
If you're going to slam on people not spelling "hitchhiker" correctly you could at least manage to spell it correctly (or even consistently) in your own post.
Have you ever read Robert Sheckley (one of Adams' favorite authors, BTW)? Then, did you go see an abomination called Freejack, supposedly based on Immortality, Inc.? There is no limit to how badly a movie can butcher a brilliant SF story. Especially if that author is known for a sarcastic, biting type of dark humor, which applies to Adams as well as anyone I can think of.
I read recently that there is also a 3D game
in production, in either pc-gamer or some
other UK games mag. Can't find any links for
it, but it had a little picture and some
blurb, maybe someone else has come across some
info.
Ant
Get your motor running, head out on the hi-way, looking for adventure, and.. perhaps I'll just hack some perl first..
Hmm, I remember reading the first novel, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy when I was just 12 years old. Absolutely loved it, laughed myself silly when I got the chance to hire out the TV series on video some years later. (I'm only 23!). I must say however that I was rather saddened by the last book, Mostly Harmless, as it was a very poignant (sp?) way to end the series. And it happened far too quickly. After reading that novel it felt like Wham, Bam, thank you Ma'am and the Earth is no more. But I digress :). I feel that those works which Mr Adam's was composing prior to his death should remain unpublished or perhaps set in public domain instead of copyrighted by his estate.
As for a movie? God save us all! I can just imagine some Hollywood director/producer getting their hands on The Guide and mutilating the plot in the name of a good movie. I would rather the excellent trilogy' be what Mr Adams is remembered for, not some crappy movie looking to cash in on his death.
So long, Mr Adams, and thanks for all the fish.
Doug was not happy with the direction he went with Mostly Harmless either. Thats why he was working on a 6th book.
maybe there's a reason these works were unfinished
Erm.. yes.. he's dead.
Terry Pratchett (he of the Discworld books)has clearly said this will NOT happen to him - he has appointed a "literary executor" to basically wipe his harddrive the moment he pops his clogs. I heard him answer a question on this (for some reason) at a book signing and he said nobody would be finishing off any book he'd started... or publishing the half a book if there was such a thing.
I am a leaf on the wind
[About Kafka requesting his unfinished works to be burned]
Somehow, I have always suspected that Kafka wasn't entirely sincere about that. Especially since he made the request to his long life friend, the author Max Brod, who practically worshipped Kafka and his writings, and who, since their school days, with some exaggeration, had picked up every scrap of paper, that Kafka even touched, and put in a gilded frame.
And among the works Kafka wanted Max Brod to destroy, was the short story "Ein Hungerkünstler", a story, together with three others, he would edit, and correct spelling errors in, while in his dying bed.
Furthermore, those works Kafka really wanted to destroy (his earliest works), he did destroy. His own death from TB, wasn't a suprise, so if he really wanted, he could easely have destroyed whatever he wanted to.
Kafka was a meticously writer, who himself knew how good he was. Those works he published, got very good reviews.
So in my not so humble opinion, Kafka's message in his litterary testament to Max Brod, was something like this "Hey Max, you really don't have to burn my papers, but if you publish them, which I am sure you do, please separate the unfinished works from the rest, and let no one be in doubt which is which."
On another note; How I dislike, how Kafka is always portrayed, as this serious, "romanticly pale and TB-sick" author. He was a funny man, and his works are chuck full of humour. His slightly paranoid (rightly so), undecesive characters, who always think eight steps ahead before taking any action, and therefore end up taking no action whatsoever, are funny.
I am sure, more people would read Kafka, if they realized how funny his works are.
I for one believe that the dead are affected by (and in some cases can affect) the temporal world, but not to the extent that they are likely to post to slashdot.
How else can you explain some of the posts in this sid?
Become a FSF associate member before the low #s are used
"I'd hate to have any of my unfinished work thrust onto the public. The difference between finished and unfinished is that with the former I'm happy with it going for general release, the latter, i'm not."
That's what Franz Kafka thought too. He asked his wife and his editor to burn all his work after his death. Fortunately, his editor didn't, and that's why we have all of Kafka's stuff. Amerika, his unfinished novel, is still *great*.
Become a FSF associate member before the low #s are used
My favorite was the discussion of Shroedinger's Cat to stall for time.
Excuse me while I duck from the moderators. Low karma, here I come!
------
No, he meant spelt, the grain.
------
well you don't expect live people to keep writing after they're dead, do you?
Writers are their own worst critics...good writers esepcially. And great writers, of whom I think Mr. Adams squeaks into the fray quite nicely, are often so critical of their own work they don't recognize the genius in it.
To add to your list of examples: Kafka (of "The Trial" and "The Castle" fame) did not publish anything while he was alive and his posthumous wish to his friend was to burn all his manuscripts. Thankfully, his friend had the good sense to realise Kafka was a genius of a writer.
"Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge, and where is the knowledge we have lost in information?"-T.S.Eliot
Elron Hubbard .... he just kept cranking them out for years after his death .... probably something to do with that infestation of murdered space aliens ....
By F Scott Fitzgerald
Another wildly popular unfinished novel.
To quote Neil Gaiman from an earlier slashdot story:
I hope that his death isn't followed by the publishing of all the stuff he hadn't wanted to see print.
--
May we live long and die out
Rather wild and unsubstantiated statement, can you prove it?
Just curious.
---- Sigs are bad for your health ----
Give a hand, not a hand-out.
Apparently, Jesus once said "the meek shall inherit the Earth". Assuming he meant the planet Earth, and not just dirt in general, that stakes a definitive "claim to [our] world". And who is more meek than a dead person?
Therefore, the dead do potentially have a "claim to our world", however, as posession is 9/10ths of the law (at least in the USA), I say the live people have a greater claim.
Being affected or not seems unrelated to the lack of any said "claims".
---- Sigs are bad for your health ----
Give a hand, not a hand-out.
Weston Super Mare? have you been there recently?
ugh.
Fry: heh, Yakov Smirnoff said it
Leela: No he didn't.
phil.
Fry: heh, Yakov Smirnoff said it
Leela: No he didn't.
Well obviously he meant "smelt", which was a very subtle reference to the title.
If you haven't already read it, it's a paternity case for Dirk Gently. Although reared by salmon, the eponynmous fish of the title long harboured the suspicion that he was really a herring.
I literally read the "Trilogy" from begining to end
Read ? You mean there's a _book_ of this stuff too ? I thought it was just on the radio !
(and at Theatr Clywd - anyone else remeber the Vogon Poetry Appreciation Chairs, made from forklifts)
Adams was infamous for his writing style (much like my coding style). Fiddle with the damn thing in a perfectionist manner for years, and never actually ship it until your agent pulled it out with pliers. I've not read this ms., but I bet a half-finished Adams' script is already in a far better state than most writer's final drafts.
Besides which, the Adams otaku will never shut up until it's published, spun-off, and there's some crappy plastic action figures to go with it.
Maybe this means that the BBC will cut loose of the official copies of some Dr. Who stories that were never finished or in a couple of cases filmed at all. I hate to have less than reverence for the dead, but the idea of getting much of the Dirk Gently material as it originally appeared in the script of the episode "Shada" that was never finished thanks to a BBC stike is just exciting.
Unless it's something like a 98% finished work, I'd rather not see them take his name and slap it on something that has very little DNA in it...
-pf
Make affiliate bucks
I suppose it depends how "unfinished" this book is.
--
--
I like to watch.
I wish someone had told him this _before_ he released Mostly Harmless :-)
*sigh* yeah. "So long..." was a good enough ending. Mostly Harmless, really just sucked. :-(
On the bright side it was after reading that that I discovered "Last Chance to See" a non fiction naturalist sort of book that is just lovely. So while I don't even know the actual publishing chronology, I think of "Last Chance..." as his last book and feel nice about it.
Kahuna Burger
...will work for Chick tracts...
I'm not sure where exactly they take over (I assumed it was Mostly Harmless, and not any of the earler ones). They also must have been writen recently to, as he mentions USB in it.
It was going to be directed by Jay Roach, who I think could handle it just fine. The only catch was that the producers wanted some star power.
Here's hoping we get Bruce Campbell as Zaphod.
Oh, it's certainly a creepy process. After my dad died, one of the tasks that fell to me was to trawl his PC for documents, bank account details, tax stuff, contacts who needed to be informed of his death and, indeed, any remaining unpublished material (he was an academic of fairly high standing in a rather obscure field), particularly the commentary he'd been working on for the previous 15 years and had very nearly finished. It took one of his ex-colleagues about a year to get it finished, but as his family we're all very happy with the fact that it's out there and will probably be a major text in the field for many years to come, a fitting tribute to his knowledge and learning.
If the material is good, then it's a memorial to the late author's effort and talent. If it's not up to scratch and not likely to enhance the author's respect, then it should probably go quietly to the grave.
all depends on the material and the decision of his heirs. But it's a far from pleasant experience, the trawl
TomV
I must declare an interest by admitting that my brother is the author.
Well, if its made by any of the big hollywood film companies then none of us will be going to see it will we. You may recall that we are all boycotting the MPAA over the DeCCS case.
Death does not mean you can stop selling crap... at least not in our culture. Why, I saw John Wayne hawking Coors Light just yesterday on that there TeeVee!
Department of Homeland Security: Removing the rights real patriots fought and died for since 2001
Here's a quote by Neil Gaiman, a popular fantasy and comic-book writer (Sandman, Good Omens with Terry Pratchett, etc.). This blogger entry was a sort of eulogy written just after Adams' death, and sums up why I think the unpublished stuff should remain so (unless the Hitchhiker's movie is finally made with no changes to Adams' script).
I for one would love to see unfinished work.
If it sucks then it sucks, but that's what I would expect. Being such a big fan I'd love to get my hands on whatever I could.. even if it is just to bring back a few of the joys and memories of reading through HHGTTG for the first time.
Rats would be more funny if they could fart.
"Research is what I am doing when I don't know what I am doing." -- Wernher von Braun
There is no consistency in the way you refer to Guide. It's been referred to as Hitch-Hiker, Hitch Hiker and Hitchhiker over the years, quite often by Adams himself. These are all perfectly good similes and it doesn't really matter which one you use.
CORRECT SPELLING however is another matter, and 'hicker' is not a word in anyone's book.
Belgium man, Belgium!
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
"Information wants to be paid"
Actually, I think you'll find that 'spelt' is a perfectly good English word. It is the past tense of the verb "to spell".
In the original title of this thread, Slashdot had spelt Douglas Adams' name incorrectly. They must have fixed it later.
You are a complete arse who cannot see a perfectly legitimate English sentence when it is in front of your face. GET A DICTIONARY YOU IGNORANT BUFFOON!
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
"Information wants to be paid"
Well. It would have been nice had Slashdot SPELT HIS NAME RIGHT in the heading... "Douglas Adam" indeed.
(Same to all the stupid people who write phrases like "Douglas Adam's" or even "Hitchicker". Christ on a bicycle, have none of you ever read anything!)
The Salmon of Doubt. It would actually be interesting if all the drafts are present. It originally began in the early 90's (93?) as the third 'Dirk Gently' novel. Then the character of 'Dirk Gently' was written out. Some time later, it reappeared as the seventh Hitch-Hiker novel. Then it vanished altogether. Amazon were accepting orders for it for some time and ZZ9 were constantly having to tell people that no such book had been published!
Now it would be very interesting to see if any of this change survives.
It may seem like grave-robbing, but I'd rather they did this than have some hack finish off Adams' ideas in a faux-HitchHiker style. I'm very glad to see Ed Victor saying there is no question of having someone finish ideas off.
Hacker: A criminal who breaks into computer systems
"Information wants to be paid"
More like "from the picking-the-flesh-from-the-corpse-of-Douglas-Adams dept"... maybe there's a reason these works were unfinished?
--
Take a look at L. Ron Hubbard, for instance...
Never play leapfrog with a unicorn. Or a juggernaut.
You know, he's only spending a year dead for tax purposes. I'm sure that he'll maintain creative control.
__
Death does not mean you can stop selling crap... at least not in our culture.
I'm sure we can all agree that sales is probably the most profitable post-mortem profession you can get into these days.
"Sweet creeping zombie Jesus!"
"Sweet creeping zombie Jesus!"
-The Professor, Futurama
However, they are toning down the Christian elements to cater to today's readers.
Now I'm as Godless as the next guy, but I can't help but think that this would be slightly contrary to C. S. Lewis's original vision for his series. I think I can speak for everyone in wishing the publisher a painful eternity in the fires that burn but do not consume.
"So Long" was too happy. Arthur leans that Earth is still there and then spends a few chapters having flying sex with a total hottie while listening to Dire Straits records. The tone of the story was completely different than in the first three, which introduced a lot of very dark themes. (You can't escape bureaucrats; truely understanding the world would make you go mad; life is short, cruel, and usually unfair; etc.)
In "So Long", Adams abandoned the motif of depression that defined the series up until then in order to meditate upon just how sexy Mark Knopfler's guitar solos are.
The "rain god" was funny, but probably would have been a better fit in a Dirk Gently novel.
I will grant you that Adams at his worst was still better than a lot of authors at their best *cough*Pratchet*cough*, but I really consider "So Long" to be the weakest of the five books.
"Mostly Harmless" was a return to form. Of course the Vogon bureaucracy would have ultimate vicory in the end... could it really be any other way?
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
Does publishing the screen play mean they are not going to make the movie?
It'll reveal if God really is sorry for the inconvenience.
The Blaster Master Fighting for Truth, Justice, and Evil Pie since 1979
--
Scott Robert Ladd
Master of Complexity
Destroyer of Order and Chaos
All about me
Douglas Adams on a bad day is better than a whole lot of other stuff released.
TekWar anyone?
http://twitter.com/onion2k
I think that I agree with you. Douglas Adams was a terrible critic, which was probably why he did not realise that much of his later output was pretty terrible, and to be honest shamed his earlier output.
Many of the hitchhiker books fell over on this, being a pale reflection of the radio series. And what was he playing out with Dirk Gently. Whatever convinced him that cobbling together two Dr Who stories in this way was a good idea?
Douglas Adams was not a great writer. He had a great turn of phrase, an inventive and fertile mind for looking sidewise at issues, and a brilliant flair for one liners. This did not make his a great writer however. Compare HHGTTG for instance with "Catch 22", if you want to see what a great writer can do.
"won't you buy it if it is published?"
I won't buy it no. I have bought much of Douglas Adams' output, but I stopped after Dirk Gently convinced me I was throwing my money away. I do hope however that Radio 4 repeats the HHGTTG, I would certainly look forwards to that.
Phil
The first Dirk Gently novel was indeed inventive. At least it was 15 years before when they were Dr Who stories. What I don't understand is why he choose to recycle them in an inferior form later on.
Phi
he'll be published unfinished, like Pushkin. All his own work, not diluted by another's.
So, they want to release his unfinished books, what about doing it at the memorial in London in September - would be enough fans there anyway...
Please don't. Just leave it be. Why do we have to rummage through his stuff. It was unfinished.
*sad*
Pinky: "What are we going to do tomorrow night Brain?"
Pinky: "What are we going to do tomorrow night Brain?"
Brain: "I would tell you Pinky but this 120 char limi
I haven't read the book (obviously) but if its not particulary good then its only going to sour the memory of the other good books that he's done.
Live and let live. I'd hate to have any of my unfinished work thrust onto the public. The difference between finished and unfinished is that with the former I'm happy with it going for general release, the latter, i'm not.
(Anyone remember Gene Roddenberry's unfinished work? And how poor that was? Makes you realise why it was unfinished ...)
--
Avantslash - View Slashdot cleanly on your mobile phone.
Maybe Douglas Adams has moved offshore to continue his writings in peace and quiet. It's still working for L. Ron Hubbard.
- - - If the sun is a star, why can't I see it at night?
I'm quite happy to be able to listen to his final, unfinished work.
---
'Fruity smells are what I like'
Debbie Gibson
"Now I'm not disbuting [sic!] that Douglas Adams is a great author..."
I'll dispute it. I loved the "Hitchhiker's Guide" radioplays when I was younger, and the first two "Hitchhiker's" books, the ones which hew closest to the story told in the radioplays, are worth reading. From there, the "Hitchhiker's Books" grow progressively more pointless. I think that Adams came to possess a real contempt for his audience (q.v. the line in SO LONG AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH, where he finishes a paragraph with the words something like, "If you don't care to read this, skip ahead to the last chapter, which is a good bit and has Marvin in it.") And it shows, in his increasing disregard for continuity and narrative coherence.
I should say that I've never read the Dirk Gently books, which have been highly recommended to me. Judging from what Adams I _have_ read, however, he strikes me as a sort of second-string Terry Pratchett--possessing Pratchett's ability to create insane characters and situations, but lacking Pratchett's commitment to telling a good story.
hyacinthus.
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Afterlife
Well, I don't mind them doing this, but only if this is done once. I mean it seems every year Tupac puts out another double cd, and I always wonder, where are they 'finding' this new music that he never put out. Maybe Adams is still alive :)
Linux is the bomb
Nathan
There are some instances, like Kafka, for instance, who would have never shown anybody anything if his friend hadn't had done it for him, but in this matter it isn't a case of simple neurosis. Adams was a pro, he'd been published and widely read before, surely if he thought that his unfinished work was ready for publication, it wouldn't have been unfinished.
As for this:
"He added that there was no question of any other writer completing the book."
I can assure you that of equal nightmarish possibility is the chance that an EDITOR will attempt to complete his book without him knowing about it. I know the literary industry is hurting, but to resort to this sort of thing is abominable.
--------
Bleah! Heh heh heh... BLEAH BLEAH!!! Ha ha ha ha...
I'm so glad that the personal effects of a dead man have to be dishonoured in order to satisfy your curiosity. Why not argue on behalf of the dignity of the guy? Probably because of selfishness.
In the other cases, with many other works being published posthumously like the Aeneid and the Silmarillion, it wasn't done in the era of endless Harry Potter sequels and unauthorized Princess Diana biographies. The motivations for publishing this work are financial, first and foremost. It's a bleeding shame that the personal property of a guy is allowed to be ravaged so as to satisfy a publisher.
--------
Bleah! Heh heh heh... BLEAH BLEAH!!! Ha ha ha ha...
Don't forget Tupac, who I think at this point has released more albums since he got capped than he did when he was still among the living.
The body isn't even cold yet, and they've already begun to rumage through his clothes. It was an express wish that his unfinished works would not be published. I remember reading about it somewhere on his website. I for one will not support this disrespectfulness, and will not purchase any posthumous releases.
Ryosen
One man's "Troll, +1" is another man's "Insightful, +1".
This is going to be the most explicit book ever published if 'they' peek into the browser cache.
I do like the idea though of spending my life partially completing work, running up huge debts, and then paying them off after I've died, when all my work gets completed.
All we have to do is get a really ugly telephone with large, easily pushed buttons, connect it and wait...
What Would the Fab Five Do?
You said: Rather wild and unsubstantiated statement, can you prove it?
The problem is, exploring the converse of his statement is totally impossible. No, he can't prove it, but even gathering proof for an opposing opinion would be futile. Just curious, indeed.
One day I feel I'm ahead of the wheel / the next it's rolling over me / I can get back on / I can get back on
Hey I hope you Auckland fans of D.A. are watching Dr Who weeknights at 6pm on Prime. They have (completely by coincidence) been playing the episodes Adams did the Script Editing for over the past few weeks. If not - you've got a couple more days to catch Horns of the Nimon, then DA's season is over (and Prime are stopping playing Dr Who for a while)
"Anybody remotely interesting is mad, in some way or another" - Doctor Who
I personally would pee all over myself if some unpublished Robert Heinlen were to appear one day. Lord knows that J.R.R. Tolkien has had more books released after his death than ever appeared while he was alive.
Probably the grandaddy of them all as far as milking it has to be Hendrix.
Q: How many albums did Jimi Hendrix release while he was alive?
A: 5 actually 3 is all that should count cause one is a hits collection and the other is a contractual obligation album
Are You Experienced (1967)
Axis:Bold as Love(1967)
Electric Ladyland(1968)
Smash Hits(1969)
Band Of Gypsies(1970)
There were also two Curtis Knight LP's but Jimi really wasn't much more than a sideman on those so I didn't count them.
Q: How many different variations and compilations have been released since his death?
A: > 40 plus many an assorted bootleg
Are You Experienced
Axis Bold As Love
Axis: Bold As Love
Band Of Gypsies 2
Band Of Gypsys
Blues
BBC Sesions
Cornerstones
Crash Landing
Cry Of Love
Electric Hendrix
Electric Ladyland
Experience
First Rays Of The New Rising Sun
Footlights
Gloria
Hendrix Speaks
In The West
Isle Of Wight
Lifelines
Live And Unreleased The Radio Show
Live At Winterland
Live At Winterland Plus 3
Live At Winterland mini
Loose Ends
Monterey
Nine To The Universe
Radio One
Rainbow Bridge
Red House Variations On A Theme
Sacred Sources 1: Live Forever
Setting The Record Straight
Smash Hits
Stages
The Essential Jimi Hendrix
The First Rays Of The New Rising Sun
The Jimi Hendrix Concerts
The Singles Album
The Ultimate Experience
Voodoo Soup
War Heroes
Winterland 3
Woodstock
Woodstock 25
Woodstock box
I see you all getting excited about a great author's unpublished works. There is a reason why some of them are unpublished, he didn't want them published.
I have to agree with a posting that Neil Gaiman made when he found out about him passing on. He was hoping that they wouldn't publish his unpublished stuff. I personally would much rather listen to the opinion of peer of his, and someone whose work I also admire. I would really hate to see this become a Gene Roddenbery (sp?) type of exploitation, granted Andromeda rules, but that is only because I am one of those sexist pigs.
Let's be happy with what we have recieved from this great man and leave it at that.
For once, I guess we can be grateful someone didn't use strong encryption...
--
"I'm not downloaded, I'm just loaded and down"
Like others have said, let Mr. Adams rest. Unless his last wish was to publish this stuff, it's safe to assume that he didn't want it published. Gotta love that boolean logic, eh?
So why rape his work after death? Just to capitalize on recent media attention? Is his estate in financial dire straits? I, for one, am unlikely to purchase any of this stuff - unless the critcs tell me to! ;)
CrazyLegs
"Pork!!" said the Fish, and we all laughed.
I can't let this one go by without comment. Are you saying that because the guy published some stuff, he forfeits privacy and the rights to control how his work is presented? Man, if this ain't Open Source run amok!
So you like his work! Great! Douglas Adams probably had that goal in mind and, dammit, if it didn't make him rich and famous. But come on, dude, he is not part of your life - his writings are. Douglas Adams doesn't owe you anything. As for your financial investment, you own the book you bought - that's it. Unless, of course, you forwarded Adams a few bucks when he was a struggling, destitute hack.
But let's take your line of reasoning a little further, shall we? You post your comments on /. and you are now publishing in the public domain. Furthermore, I've developed a perverse-worship-ideal about all things Flarg!-ian. Congrats! You're part of my like now! Can I have your address? What's your girlfriend's name? Do you have any unusual moles? Do you have any pictures, writings, thoughts, bad habits, or other creatively unique thoughts for me? By your own logic, "All Flarg!s are belong to us.".
What's that you say?.... Thought so.
CrazyLegs
"Pork!!" said the Fish, and we all laughed.
However, I do not need new material enough that they should publish a TRULY unfinished work. Now, if "unfinished" means he sent HIS last draft to the editors and it hasn't been edited and rewritten to their standards yet, fine.
---"What did I say that sounded like 'Tell me about your day?'"---
I wish all you "let the man be" people would take a hint from classical literature.
Writers are their own worst critics...good writers esepcially. And great writers, of whom I think Mr. Adams squeaks into the fray quite nicely, are often so critical of their own work they don't recognize the genious in it. Alan Ginsberg sat on Kaddish for something close to a year before releasing it, and when he did he only made minor revisions. And Emily Dickinson didn't release anything during her life -- books of her work were only compiled after her death when her loved ones and associated exchanged poems she had written for them. Surely, E.D. would have complained about the publishing of her most personal thoughts, her rawest fantesies, into the general public. But she can't. That's one of the appeals of posthumous publishing, you can remove the complaints of the party post likely to be embarassed by their own genius. And I, for one, applaud the effort. The dead have no claim to our world, because they are totally uneffected by it. If some of us would like a chance to see Adams' final works published -- and I do, if even as a tribute to the editrial process Adams undertook -- then by all means we should be allowed to.
Unfinished does not mean "crappy," just as finishing a book does not imply it was done with any quality. Mostly Harmless was a mistaken book to most who read it, far too cynical and abrupt. An unrushed, paced novel with no thoughts of marketability or story length would be a gem from the often disjointed Adams -- it could be as brilliant as some of the unfinished symphonies. And those who would place blame on the future publishers, answer me this: won't you buy it if it is published? Won't you read it and complain when it lacks the genius of Dirk Gently? I know I will...money making or not, this is not "2pac' s poetry book"...this is Douglas Adams.
Hey freaks: now you're ju
Well, there's the old story that Elvis earned even more money the first few years after his death than he did in his whole life, and he earned a ton during his life.
I am for the complete Trantorization of Earth.
I'm only meta-commenting on questionable moderation today, hm...
Anyway, and while risking to feed a troll (I checked the web for combinations of Douglas,Adam and terrorist, and couldn't find an IRA terrorist by that name, but there seems to be one terrorist Adam Douglas that's been mentioned quite some times, and I could be wrong about that too, he might be only a reporter who writes about terrorist attacks) I'd say that post #31 is a funnier attempt at pointing out the typo in the headline. Correct that already editors, it hurts my eyes.
A World in a Grain of Sand / Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Infinity in the Palm of your Hand / And Eternity in an Hour.
Well, Young Zaphod Plays it Safe is a short story that came with the deluxe hardbound edition, so I guess that counts.
We're sorry, the phone number you have reached is imaginary. Please rotate your phone 90 degrees and try your call again
I hear so much complaining people, when are we going to learn that economics don't stop just because we die? The Beatle's released new songs in the '90's, complete with John's voice. John Candy and Marilyn Monroe died filming movies that were later (or will be anyway) finished and thrown out there.
I certainly wouldn't mind if I died and somebody updated my web page. Let's not let the world end because of some little departure.
spacefem.com
I agree that Mostly Harmless was the most cynical work by Douglas Adams, and that it didn't really fit in with the rest, but I also find that quite apt. Apart from killing off all possibility of a sequel (although I would love to read the complete history of the Cathedral of Chalesm), it could be understood as a comment on the popularity of the series (of the books, not the original radio~), and what it had become.
In that, it was quite visionary, albeit darkly so. I postulate parallels between the development of the Guide within the series and the Internet in the real world - how long before netNanny et al watch over all of us, from some black box plopped on every router everywhere? How long before the common technology Internet, brought to you by Microsoft?
I mean - Neuromancer is more positive in outlook.
But before descending irredeemably into a rant - Salmon of Doubt: bring it on. I have the complete collection, including both Liffs, the short story with Zaphod, and last Chance. It's going to be published anyway, and I, for one, will show great appreciation being able to witness it.
Not a day goes by where I don't ask myself "What would Arthur do?" (ending up in me indulging in activities in a very wide range, from making sandwiches to putting on Dire Straits)
yes, we have no bananas
I'm actually reading the hitchhikers now, its great.
Would Adams have agreed to have his publisher look through his comp for unpublished works so that they could be published? maybe he didn't wish for some of that work to be published.
Hitchhikers guide is great and i cant wait until schools over so i can resume reading it.
i would appreciate it if you would ignore everything i wrote up until the word perhaps... sorry...
Douglas Adams spoke at MIT in Cambridge MA on 2 November 2000. Ironically, his topic was "Last Chance to See." He was funny and entertaining, though most of his talk consisted of stories from the book. After the Q&A, he sat and signed a large number of autographs.
Here are my pictures from that evening.
http://www.geocities.com/tmcgonegal/dna/
Tom.
Works are unfinished for all sorts of reasons: bad plot, death, whatever. Some unfinished works are excellent, and some aren't. Why not release it and let the readers judge? What's the harm?
at least there's still this.
--
Slashdot: When News Breaks, We Give You The Pieces
FreeBSD for the impatient.