Colfer was on Newsnight Review tonight, in a short filmed report towards the end of a studio discussion between Kevin Smith, Jeanette Winterton and Natalie Haynes about all things Geek seemingly taking over in literature, comics, film and TV.
Age: 41 Joined: 20 Nov 2004 Location: Scarborough, God's Own Country
Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 1:10 am Post subject:
http://www.b3ta.com/interview/eoincolfer/ _________________ I'm going to start a new company. It's going to be called 'Easy McApple.' The revenue stream will be based on betting who will sue me first...
Shame that people have to be so obnoxious, don't think Mr Colfer deserves that. Who do THEY think they are, that they believe they have the right to be so rude and disrespectful? Whether individual fans think a sequel should have been written or not, it's not their decision to make, it's the estate's, and they made it.
And whatever Douglas Adams might have hypothetically thought of the decision, I think one thing is certain - he would not have been impressed by some people's treatment of Eoin Colfer.
Anyway - have been reading forum for a while but not posted before, so Hello and all that. I was at Hitchcon yesterday, thoroughly enjoyed the whole day (and pleased to see that people there were far more civil!)
Age: 41 Joined: 20 Nov 2004 Location: Scarborough, God's Own Country
Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 1:20 pm Post subject:
Well, it is B3TA after all, which isn't the most respectful place anyway.
I do think the PR department had one too many gargleblasters before organising that particular stunt.
Once you've got past the crap, I did rather like this:
Quote:
Nervous?
You have no idea.
And welcome to our little corner of the Interwebby thing. _________________ I'm going to start a new company. It's going to be called 'Easy McApple.' The revenue stream will be based on betting who will sue me first...
Well at least Eoin handled the questions well. I wouldn't have had the patience.
In searching for fair reviews of the new book, I came across a great interview on Douglas from Terry Jones. The biscuit story brightened my day, and reminded me how great Douglas was at telling a story even at an embellishment.
Age: 36 Joined: 04 Nov 2004 Location: "Oh! THAT party!"
Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 2:35 pm Post subject:
DarthTedious wrote:
Ol' Peculier wrote:
http://www.b3ta.com/interview/eoincolfer/
Shame that people have to be so obnoxious, don't think Mr Colfer deserves that. Who do THEY think they are, that they believe they have the right to be so rude and disrespectful? Whether individual fans think a sequel should have been written or not, it's not their decision to make, it's the estate's, and they made it.
And whatever Douglas Adams might have hypothetically thought of the decision, I think one thing is certain - he would not have been impressed by some people's treatment of Eoin Colfer.
Anyway - have been reading forum for a while but not posted before, so Hello and all that. I was at Hitchcon yesterday, thoroughly enjoyed the whole day (and pleased to see that people there were far more civil!)
hey, welcome! say, any relation to darth bastard?
and i agree: disliking the fact that a sixth h2g2 book is written by someone else than dna is okay, but beig rude about it like that is a different matter. the internet is fertile ground for such a behaviour though, unfortunately... _________________ "The human gene pool needs more lifeguards!
Either that or stronger chlorination...." (Pitbull)
Once you've got past the crap, I did rather like this:
Quote:
Nervous?
You have no idea.
Ah, bless der little fella.
My family were sitting in the front row for Eoin's talk with readings from the new book yesterday at Hitchcon and they said when he came on you could see his hands were really shaking. Maybe he was dreading a hail of rotten fruit, but all he got was a very warm reception.
He won over a lot of the old guarde of HH fandom with his self-deprecating manner and very funny gags. The letter he read out from a slightly deranged fan was hilarious, but I suspect (hope) was either scripted or embellished by his own fair hand. His performance as The Dish of The Day in the live show was utterly charming.
Eoin's two young boys, his wife and several of his family had all flown over from Ireland to be there for his moment of triumph. He once again was very sweet to my son Liam and hugged him for a quick photograph. Later I unexpectedly got a big hug from him when I said goodbye at the party.
Age: 51 Joined: 10 Oct 2004 Location: Spending a year dead for tax reasons
Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 4:08 pm Post subject:
I went, I saw, I enjoyed the event a lot (apart from the incredibly crap band, song and sound mix) and I have read most of the book.
Has it changed my view?
No, not one iota.
Eoin Colfer is a very nice likeable person both when chatting in the pub on Friday and on stage on Saturday. I have read two of his Artemis Fowl books and liked them for what they are - good teenage fantasy books.
I enjoyed the day but I enjoyed the staging of the HHG much more than anything else.
Why has the 6th book been written? To make money for Ed Victor, Penguin, Jane and the rest, both from sales of the book and the resultant effect on the older books, audios, etc, etc. In doing this they are trying to move the HHG reader base to a younger (teenage) audience.
Have they the right to do this? Absolutely, they own the rights to do whatever they want with it.
Do I think they should have done it? Absolutely NOT.
I was going to take notes while reading and write a detailed review but I really cant be bothered expending that amount of effort on it (and I read mostly in tube/train/airport/plane so not that easy!)
In itself it is generally very amusing, it is well written in Eoin's usual style.
In the best parts it is very affectionate fan-fiction, in the worst it is the "Leprechauns in Space" many feared. I have no desire to go back and read it again whereas I have lost track of the number of times I have read all of Douglas's books.
I found it interesting that he said yesterday that he was only going to do one book and, if there are more, they would be by someone else. I wonder if he will be so firm if the book is a big seller. I can't see any of the people he mentioned yesterday being interested in picking up from him.
Looking forward to the Dirk TV series which will hopefully be adapted with a respectful, sympathetic hand like Dirk did on the radio series. What happens if/when that is a success and they want to do series beyond the two books is something for us to argue about then :)
Anybody want an only slightly used copy of "And Another Thing"? _________________ D.
The Thirteenth Triskaidekaphobe
--------------------------------------
Last edited by Gusty on Mon Oct 12, 2009 4:26 pm; edited 1 time in total
For those who don't want to buy the book or even read it yourself it's Radio 4 book at bedtime book of the week right now! BBC website again so a problem for a lot of people. I'm hoping it will help me get off to sleep nice and early. _________________ Her mouth opened, her eyes patients, the variety of age and constitution as a pullets egg, with some gobbits of fat, and the heavy sand.
In doing this they are trying to move the HHG reader base to a younger (teenage) audience.
Doesn't it already have that audience? Most people I know discovered HHG as teenagers... the difference being of course that thanks to its depth and intelligence, people don't subsequently grow out of it.
Age: 51 Joined: 10 Oct 2004 Location: Spending a year dead for tax reasons
Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 5:19 pm Post subject:
bablefishy wrote:
Found this snippit also:
Q: Do you think you might write more Hitchhiker stories in the future?
A: I would like to see a different high profile writer do one every year.
I think he said 2-3 years on stage.
There's a website around somewhere that has snippets of famous books written in the style of another author. I remember LotR in the style of Enid Blyton but lots of other funny ones.
What's the worst you can think of? HHG in the style of Jeffrey Archer perhaps?
Please note I use the word "style" only very loosely in connection with Jeffrey Archer _________________ D.
The Thirteenth Triskaidekaphobe
--------------------------------------
“At the side there’s a bar inviting you to join this and that society. I ignore them, but one day a bar came up: ‘The Stop [Eoin Colfer] Writing Hitchhiker’s Society’. It’s just random. It must have gone out to millions of people.
“I did join, and it backfired on someone, because it turned out to be the best thing I could have done. Initially I was there to defend myself, but then I decided, I’m not enjoying this, so I decided [to post messages saying], You know what? Yes, Eoin Colfer is an a***hole. I’ve known him for many years and I don’t like him.” He also wrote: “Eoin Colfer spent an entire summer with a Bay City Rollers scarf around his wrist” and “Eoin Colfer buys jeans online . . . in the teenager section”.
“It went really well and a lot of people sent encouraging messages and that’s when I decided: that’s the attitude to have. I’m going to have a sense of humour.”
He speaks about last weekend's Hitchcon...
Quote:
“There were 1,000 fans there, all in dressing gowns. Imagine walking out to that. These guys are staring at you, boring lasers into your head, but they were nothing but kind. The reviews have been great. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. But I’ve said I’m clinging on to this moment.”
It bothers me because the story given was Colfer was asked to do the job by Belson. Now it seems that the idea was put into her head by Victor
It seems to me that if Victor gave the idea of Belson, then she asked Colfer, the original story is still true. It just has an additional element that wasn't originally discussed.
Besides, so what? I'm about 50 pages in and actually really enjoying it. Sure, it's not Douglas, but you know what? I absolutely *love* the idea of other great authors writing later books, like a Sherlock Holmes or Conan thing. The originals will always be the best, and some later books will be terrible and others will be great. I just think that the H2G2 universe deserves to live on.
Age: 24 Joined: 21 Apr 2004 Location: In...Where the heck am I?
Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 9:09 pm Post subject:
What Colfer have done, it is fan-fiction, and no more valid than anything on fanfiction.net. The H2G2 universe died with Douglas. You can smack all the official lookin' stamps on it you can find, it is still fan-fiction. _________________ Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats.
Age: 40 Joined: 09 Jan 2004 Location: I was just here.
Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 10:11 pm Post subject:
Lord-z wrote:
What Colfer have done, it is fan-fiction, and no more valid than anything on fanfiction.net. The H2G2 universe died with Douglas. You can smack all the official lookin' stamps on it you can find, it is still fan-fiction.
By your defining, then, every Bond book not written by Ian Fleming would qualify as fan fiction. _________________ This has been another random act of nonsense.
Age: 24 Joined: 21 Apr 2004 Location: In...Where the heck am I?
Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 10:16 pm Post subject:
OddBrian wrote:
Lord-z wrote:
What Colfer have done, it is fan-fiction, and no more valid than anything on fanfiction.net. The H2G2 universe died with Douglas. You can smack all the official lookin' stamps on it you can find, it is still fan-fiction.
By your defining, then, every Bond book not written by Ian Fleming would qualify as fan fiction.
Exactly. _________________ Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats.
Age: 51 Joined: 10 Oct 2004 Location: Spending a year dead for tax reasons
Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 10:31 pm Post subject:
Lord-z wrote:
OddBrian wrote:
Lord-z wrote:
What Colfer have done, it is fan-fiction, and no more valid than anything on fanfiction.net. The H2G2 universe died with Douglas. You can smack all the official lookin' stamps on it you can find, it is still fan-fiction.
By your defining, then, every Bond book not written by Ian Fleming would qualify as fan fiction.
Exactly.
Agree. _________________ D.
The Thirteenth Triskaidekaphobe
--------------------------------------
Age: 42 Joined: 04 Jan 2005 Location: A hole in the ground behind the shed in a Dorset garden
Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 11:29 pm Post subject:
Gusty wrote:
Lord-z wrote:
OddBrian wrote:
Lord-z wrote:
What Colfer have done, it is fan-fiction, and no more valid than anything on fanfiction.net. The H2G2 universe died with Douglas. You can smack all the official lookin' stamps on it you can find, it is still fan-fiction.
By your defining, then, every Bond book not written by Ian Fleming would qualify as fan fiction.
Exactly.
Agree.
Yes. _________________ Before long now, I'll reach the age where farting will be an essential part of propulsion.
(...don't piss us off)
Age: 27 Joined: 04 Dec 2004 Location: Across from where?
Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 11:38 pm Post subject:
The Duke of Dunstable wrote:
Gusty wrote:
Lord-z wrote:
OddBrian wrote:
Lord-z wrote:
What Colfer have done, it is fan-fiction, and no more valid than anything on fanfiction.net. The H2G2 universe died with Douglas. You can smack all the official lookin' stamps on it you can find, it is still fan-fiction.
By your defining, then, every Bond book not written by Ian Fleming would qualify as fan fiction.
Exactly.
Agree.
Yes.
Wibble. _________________ "Court? At night? I'm laughing already!"
Age: 47 Joined: 20 Jan 2005 Location: Here, There and Everywhere
Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 1:57 pm Post subject:
Mike wrote:
The Duke of Dunstable wrote:
Gusty wrote:
Lord-z wrote:
OddBrian wrote:
Lord-z wrote:
What Colfer have done, it is fan-fiction, and no more valid than anything on fanfiction.net. The H2G2 universe died with Douglas. You can smack all the official lookin' stamps on it you can find, it is still fan-fiction.
By your defining, then, every Bond book not written by Ian Fleming would qualify as fan fiction.
Exactly.
Agree.
Yes.
Wibble.
Aye-aye. _________________ Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
(Douglas Adams, "Last Chance to See")
Age: 51 Joined: 10 Oct 2004 Location: Spending a year dead for tax reasons
Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 3:19 pm Post subject:
Article on HHG in Big Issue this week featuring interviews Neil Gaiman, Russell T. Davies and Eoin Colfer.
Nice quote from Neil:
"I didn't think he had ever been a novelist... Writing novels was a profession he backed into or stumbled over or sat down very suddenly on and broken"
Also a review of the new Gilliam film and an interview with Stella Rimmington ex-head of MI5.
Worth £1.50 (or more as you see fit) from your nearest homeless person. _________________ D.
The Thirteenth Triskaidekaphobe
--------------------------------------
I was walking through a local bookshop today, and to my surprise Finnish translation of the book was already on the shelves. Pretty fast publishing. The name is rather straight translation, "Vielä yksi juttu". The translator seem to have translated Artemis Fowl as well... Still didn't buy it.
Age: 24 Joined: 21 Apr 2004 Location: In...Where the heck am I?
Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 7:15 pm Post subject:
I saw the danish translation a week or two ago. "Og noget andet er...". That is a pretty direct translation. _________________ Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats.
Age: 52 Joined: 31 May 2005 Location: In the coolest place in the universe...
Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 3:12 pm Post subject:
Finnn2 wrote:
I was walking through a local bookshop today, and to my surprise Finnish translation of the book was already on the shelves. Pretty fast publishing. The name is rather straight translation, "Vielä yksi juttu". The translator seem to have translated Artemis Fowl as well... Still didn't buy it.
Any other translations available yet?
Douglas Adamsin? _________________ Come and see my Carousel....
Age: 52 Joined: 31 May 2005 Location: In the coolest place in the universe...
Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 3:18 pm Post subject:
I tried the Zen approach, and read the book with a wholly innocent mind -- no expectations, no prejudices.
I laughed out loud twice. Chuckled internally three times. Thought he rather overplayed Arthur's tendency to attract disaster, which sort of negates the eternal hopefulness of the character. I thought it was interesting how he would re-state phrases that were Adams "Hallmark" statements, so that he would avoid direct re-use of beloved quotes.
Overall, I didn't find it a bad read, but not a thrilling one either.
I find it fetching that he joined the Facebook page against his own sequel. _________________ Come and see my Carousel....
Age: 41 Joined: 13 Jan 2010 Location: The Shadow of St Albans Abbey
Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2010 2:48 pm Post subject:
Blimey (again!)
The thing that doesn't quite add up for me;
When Dirk Maggs was asked if there would be more Dirk Gently audios (Hitchcon), he immediately passed the question over to Ed Victor, who took on the role of great protector of Douglas' work, puffed his chest out and announced that their just wasn't enough of the great man's own ramblings down on paper to make it worthwhile or feasible. The impression that I (at least) got was that Maggs was actually disappointed!
I dont quite understand how that fits in with the desire to have more Hithchiker books?
It's just a (mostly harmless) observation. I'm new, so please go easy on me. _________________ So sad that it should come to this.....
Age: 36 Joined: 04 Nov 2004 Location: "Oh! THAT party!"
Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2010 3:59 pm Post subject:
Tardis-Knight wrote:
Blimey (again!)
The thing that doesn't quite add up for me;
When Dirk Maggs was asked if there would be more Dirk Gently audios (Hitchcon), he immediately passed the question over to Ed Victor, who took on the role of great protector of Douglas' work, puffed his chest out and announced that their just wasn't enough of the great man's own ramblings down on paper to make it worthwhile or feasible. The impression that I (at least) got was that Maggs was actually disappointed!
I dont quite understand how that fits in with the desire to have more Hithchiker books?
It's just a (mostly harmless) observation. I'm new, so please go easy on me.
don´t worry, many here ask themselves the same question... _________________ "The human gene pool needs more lifeguards!
Either that or stronger chlorination...." (Pitbull)
I got the book for christmas and have been planning to read it since. I didn't specially wish for the book, but I guess it was unavoidable that Santa thought I should get it. I would still have preferred the original version, but this is the Finnish translation. Well... it's easier for me to read if nothing else.
The translation was made pretty fast, I guess, but it looks ok. There are some typos, but nothing special. They forgot to mention the translators name on page 3 and there is an extra loose page with added name, slipped between the pages. For some reason I found this rather funny in this case. After all, the Guide wasn't that perfect either...
I haven't read Colfer's other books, so I can't say if this is close to his usual style. I think he did his best with this, but obviously something is missing. He tries almost too much to be funny and clever, but the jokes aren't that good. At some points the book is almost hard to read, because there is some twist in every sentence. This also makes the story move rather slowly. There are funny moments, and satirical takes on religions, politics and so on. I found the book a passable sequel, but it also shows how hard it is to write good comedy.
Age: 21 Joined: 23 Feb 2005 Location: Trapped in Redneck Limbo
Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 7:51 pm Post subject:
Well, I finished it the other day. I gave it a chance. I rather hated it. There were some good bits, but like Finnn2 said, the whole twist every other sentence just started to get on my nerves. Also, nearly every scene was far too long. There were some good bits. It started off fairly strong and then got boring quickly. There was two character developments I really enjoyed, but those were quickly contradicted in the last chapter. It also seemed to focus too much on Wowbagger... _________________ The truth ain't like puppies. A bunch of 'em running around, you pick your favorite.
There's nothing funny about a plastic vagina.
The Epic Project. Coming sometime. I'm pretty sure of it. Pretty sure.
Age: 24 Joined: 15 Jan 2005 Location: The Lonely Hearts Club
Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2010 6:21 am Post subject:
I actually got the book as a birthday present back in November, but still haven't read it. I'm afraid of what I'll find, I guess. I haven't read much positive feedback here, so I'm very leery. _________________ "Madness is the first sign of dandruff." - Dr. John "Winston O'Boogie" Lennon
"I'm a pacifist. I don't believe in imaginary violence." - Paul Rudd in Role Models
Q: How many surrealists does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: Fish.
I read it last fall. Not quite sure why, but I guess I'm the obsessive-compulsive collector type... I've so far kept my (mainly vitriolic) opinions on this book mostly to myself, but I suppose I should really add my spit to the bucket: I didn't like it.
About halfway through I summarized it somewhat like this:
It's akin to having stomach cramps in a room filled with laughing gas; a bit of fun in between, but afterwards what you recall most vividly is the sound of vomit hitting the floor.
After having completed it, and I had calmed down a bit, this was what I wrote:
A disappointing read. This I'd expected, but it was even disappointingly so. The ending is even gloomier than that of MH, which in itself is an odd aesthetic choice, but more than that, mr Colfer has the nerve (THE NERVE!!!) to end in a cliffhanger... Where's that bottle of Old JS..?
That being said -- and though I wouldn't recommend reading it to anyone -- this book has opened me to the idea of more sequels. Not -- Bob forbid! -- based on Colfer's book, but I would rather like to see what other people could do with Part 6. Wouldn't that be a neat idea, and in line with the multiverse approach? =) Having several versions of 6of3 would also diminish the importance of And another thing... It would be the first version, yes, but ultimately only one of many.
Last edited by SkymanDr on Sun Jan 24, 2010 4:20 pm; edited 1 time in total
Age: 42 Joined: 04 Jan 2005 Location: A hole in the ground behind the shed in a Dorset garden
Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 3:20 pm Post subject:
MORE takes on a 6th novel? Oooh, somewhere Scratch's head is exploding... _________________ Before long now, I'll reach the age where farting will be an essential part of propulsion.
(...don't piss us off)
I must be an odd cat because I actually liked And Another Thing. Got it for christmas in it's original language and finished it in 5 nights.
Ok, it's fan fiction but it is at least well thought through with a working plot and more of a homage than a imitation. A bit slow sometimes and I found it spend too much time on the human colony sometimes instead of focusing on Z, F and A.
It is still miles away from the quality of first books but I found it more enjoyable than MH at least.
Two things that struck me was:
1. The usage of Thor and the Asgard gods was an interesting mix between the HHG and Dirk Gently universes.
2. Much clearer charactarizations. With that I mean that Zaphod acts and does stuff that only Zaphod would (and could) do, Arthur is very much Arthur in every situation and even Ford solves problems "the Ford way". DNA never were that careful about this. Sometimes there were something happening in the books where you said: "Hmmm... that was more like Ford would have done it" etc.
Maybe this all started in the first radio series where it is Arthur that convinces Mr Prosser to lie down in front of the bulldozer but in the book it is Ford who does it. DNA didn't really spend so much time with this matter. Colfer did.
But all in all: Much better than I thought but still not up to par with DNA's best work. It does however earn it's place on my book shelf.
All in all: It could have been much much much much much much worse.
It's not DNA but at least it's entertaining... to me.
And yes, a rare Totta sighting this is. _________________ Regardless of your age, your finger fits perfectly in your nostril. This is the ultimate proof that we are SUPPOSED to pick our noses.
Kaboom. _________________ Her mouth opened, her eyes patients, the variety of age and constitution as a pullets egg, with some gobbits of fat, and the heavy sand.
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