The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is to be trilogy in six parts now.
This is the thing that upset everyone yesterday. It seems that Eoin Colfer the author of Atremis Fowl books is to write the next book in HHGttG universe.
I have the same misgiving as everyone else. We’ve all had the dubious pleasure of being exposed to the new installments of cult books whose authors unfortunately died and their heirs wanted to cash on the franchise.
I hate this trend.
The book such as Frank Herbert’s Dune and Roger Zelazny’s Amber (and even Gone with the Wind not that it's only genre problem) are beloved because the unique qualities these authors infused them with. When someone is hired to write on it suddenly become like Star Trek or game releted books. You can just feel when somebody is not creating from their own imagination but instead plays shuffle with somebody else’s ideas. Glorified fanfiction. Nice but empty.
It’s bit different when it’s based mostly on original author’s notes. When one only fills the gaps like it is to be with Memory of Light or simply compiling and ordering like Christopher Tolkien did with his father’s work.
I think I wouldn’t mind if Brian Herbert hired somebody to write just the one, ending book for Dune but this series prequels and in-between books that clearly came from some other universe make me dislike the whole universe. And I only read one prequel. I was thinking about reading the sequel but the poor writing quality makes me want to wait for the original notes. And Dune used to be my favourite book ever.
I haven’t even tried to read the Amber books. Don’t want to develop aversion to them too.
I understand Adams thought about more upbeat ending and wanted to write a sixth novel. Still Mostly Harmless ended the story so well. Everyone dead, all Earths destroyed. Very definitive ending. Why spoil it?
Colfer is a good writer, certainly better then the ones who continued other series. And he’s obviously a fan so he knows the stakes. He was apparently approached by the wife of late Douglas Adams and despite not liking the idea at first he agreed. He decided he prefer being blamed for failure them blaming himself for not taking it when somebody else failed. I can understand that.
Nevertheless he is not Douglas Adams. Noone is. It doesn’t matter if she’d pick Terry Pratchett or Stephen Fry. It still would give me creeps. It feels like something just for money. Look what happened to Winnie the Pooh.
I'm now afraid what will happen to Discword when Terry Pratchett dies or his sickness gets worse.
I have the same misgiving as everyone else. We’ve all had the dubious pleasure of being exposed to the new installments of cult books whose authors unfortunately died and their heirs wanted to cash on the franchise.
I hate this trend.
The book such as Frank Herbert’s Dune and Roger Zelazny’s Amber (and even Gone with the Wind not that it's only genre problem) are beloved because the unique qualities these authors infused them with. When someone is hired to write on it suddenly become like Star Trek or game releted books. You can just feel when somebody is not creating from their own imagination but instead plays shuffle with somebody else’s ideas. Glorified fanfiction. Nice but empty.
It’s bit different when it’s based mostly on original author’s notes. When one only fills the gaps like it is to be with Memory of Light or simply compiling and ordering like Christopher Tolkien did with his father’s work.
I think I wouldn’t mind if Brian Herbert hired somebody to write just the one, ending book for Dune but this series prequels and in-between books that clearly came from some other universe make me dislike the whole universe. And I only read one prequel. I was thinking about reading the sequel but the poor writing quality makes me want to wait for the original notes. And Dune used to be my favourite book ever.
I haven’t even tried to read the Amber books. Don’t want to develop aversion to them too.
I understand Adams thought about more upbeat ending and wanted to write a sixth novel. Still Mostly Harmless ended the story so well. Everyone dead, all Earths destroyed. Very definitive ending. Why spoil it?
Colfer is a good writer, certainly better then the ones who continued other series. And he’s obviously a fan so he knows the stakes. He was apparently approached by the wife of late Douglas Adams and despite not liking the idea at first he agreed. He decided he prefer being blamed for failure them blaming himself for not taking it when somebody else failed. I can understand that.
Nevertheless he is not Douglas Adams. Noone is. It doesn’t matter if she’d pick Terry Pratchett or Stephen Fry. It still would give me creeps. It feels like something just for money. Look what happened to Winnie the Pooh.
I'm now afraid what will happen to Discword when Terry Pratchett dies or his sickness gets worse.