I'm just guessing here, but I think those who rated this book highly were doing it out of affection for Douglas Adam's other, better works. They are great.

This one is less so, and came about from collecting whatever was lying around on his computers after his sudden and sad death. So what can we expect- much of the book is incomplete and unfinished.

There is also a wide variety of subject material here that veers away from comedic science fiction into serious atheism and endangered species protection.

The last book he was working on, The Salmon of Doubt, is not far enough along for the reader to do more than glimpse at where it was heading, so remains unsatisfying. You couldn't and can't expect more that that, considering the circumstances, but there it is.

What the book does offer is another look at the author himself, which dedicated fans will most likely appreciate.

I'm terrible at reviews. Read it. Tell me what you think. It's... different.

This partially posthumous volume consists of a collection of magazine articles, newspaper columns, interviews and such like, along with one short story (about a young Zaphod)originally published in the Utterly Utterly Merry Comic Relief Christmas Book...a copy of which I own...and the (very) incomplete conflated text of three versions of the third Dirk Gently's novel. This novel was abandoned whilst Adams was still alive, in favour of a 6th Hitchhikers' novel. Adams had decided that the material/theme was better suited to the latter. Personally, I think a 3rd Gently's would have been much more fun than a 6th 'Hikers'. The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul is my favourite Adams novel and The Salmon of Doubt looked to be very much in a similar vein, structurally and stylistically. It's a great shame that we will never see an end to this fragment.

THIS REVIEW HAS BEEN CURTAILED IN PROTEST AT GOODREADS' CENSORSHIP POLICY

See the complete review here:

http://arbieroo.booklikes.com/post/33...

This was a weird one for me. I started listening to this book about a year ago and hated it. Today, I unexpectedly finished another audiobook at the beginning of my drive to work. I searched my phone and found that I hadn't deleted The Salmon of Doubt yet. Begrudgingly, I started it over.

I had a completely different reaction today. I thought it was hilarious. I thought the essays/Articles were great. There was one about the inevitable random cords that people end up collecting that was especially poignant for me, as I purged my cord collection last month.

I don't always agree with the Essays, but even the ones that I didn't were still entertaining and well thought out.

The main event, so to speak, of the book was the first nine chapters of what would have been the third Dirk Gently book. I wasn't a fan of the first two. At all. This one was shaping up to be really good. His death robbed us of what would have been a great book.

I don't know why I didn't get into the book on my first attempt, but it may force me to reconsider a few other books that I didn't like.

It's basically a collection of Adams' writings and articles of interviews, some half-finished Dirk Gently story that goes to Albuqurque (New Mexico) and no further...

It's basically the literary equivalent of ADHD (I should know -- I have ADD).

Nevertheless, one might understand that a great writer and person was lost when he died much too soon at barely 49 years old.

A compilation of assorted pieces from throughout the career of Douglas Adams that ultimately comes across as a mixed bag. Stretching back from his youth through to the end of his sadly shortened life, some pieces feel introspective and biographical while others are forgettable rants.
The problem with gathering together a selection of these writings and interviews is that inevitably the book ends up covering the same few topics ad nauseum. Atheism, Apple computers, evolution and the environment are subjects that pop up in most pieces.
The saving grace of this book is undoubtedly the incomplete third Dirk Gently novel which feels as though it would have sat comfortably next to the rest of his work and as such is so unfortunate that it will never be finished.
For the Dirk Gently parts and a short story about Zaphod from Hitchhiker's I'm giving this 2 stars. The rest can be skimmed and/or skipped.

As a side note at the end of the book there's an extract from the memorial for Douglas which seems odd as 1) it was held in a church and 2) it featured prayers and religious songs. That really seems unusual for someone who was such a vehement atheist. Or maybe that's just the paradox that was Douglas Adams..!

I waited sixteen-and-a-half years to read this and I just about managed to get through it without bawling my eyes out. Douglas Adams was the first author to make me laugh uproariously, back when I was a wee nipper. Sure, Roald Dahl had given me a few chuckles, but it wasn't until I read Hitchhikers for the first time that I realised a book could make me laugh so much I nearly wet myself.

As such, this was a bittersweet experience. Reading Adams' unpublished work, including several chapters of a new but never to be finished Dirk Gently novel, gave a new definition to laughing through one's tears. I'm glad I read it but it's going to take a while to recover. It's a good job I had my towel...

Volume postumo, con interviste e commenti da parte di amici e colleghi, con alcuni capitoli di quello che sarebbe potuto diventare il sesto libro della trilogia della Guida Galattica o il terzo della serie di Dirk Gently.
Uno sguardo, divertito e divertente, nella vita e nelle opere di Douglas.

A collection of essays and a well put-together but incomplete last Dirk Gently novel, I can see how this will always garner mixed reviews. Overall, I enjoyed this book as there’s something poignant about reading Adams’ words one last time that makes this a fond farewell, but the lack of an end to the Dirk Gently book left me disappointed and wistful, but the story was shaping up so well I’m glad to know as little as I now do. Maybe one for true aficionados but a touching book to add to a collection.

brief synopsis:
Dirk continues his detecting adventures.

setting:
DaveLand
Primrose Hill (London)
Los Angeles, California
Chicago
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Sante Fe

named personalities:
Dave - presumably a real-estate agent
Clive - the patron saint of real-estate agents
Kermit the Frog - a Muppet character
Sam - maybe a lawyer
Dirk Gently aka D Jenttry - an English private detective
Melinda - Dirk's prospective client
Gusty Winds - a four-year-old male siamese cat
Thor - the ancient Norse God of Thunder; a polytheistic thug from Norway
Kate Schechter - an American girl of Dirk's acquaintance
Josh, Jude, Julian, Julio, Justin, Karl, Karel, Keir, Keith, Kelvin, Kendall, Kendrick, Kennedy, Kenneth, Kenny, Kentigern, Kermit, Kevin, Kieran, Kimberly, Kirby, Kirk - names Dirk had a computer read to ascertain a batty, old woman's dog's forgotten name
Judge Dredd - a fictional law enforcement and judicial officer in the dystopian future city of Mega-City One
Kierkegaard - a batty, old woman's dog
Christ - Jesus Christ, a first-century Jewish preacher and religious leader
Frank - Dirk's supposed employer
The Great Zaganza 'GZ' - Dirk's disreputable friend who writes horoscopes
Desmond - a three-ton rhinoceros
John Selwyn Gummer - a British Conservative Party politician
Henry VIII - a king of England
John Ranting - a courtly scumbag
Percy Ranting - a Victorian rubber magnate
Roy Harrison - Desmond's keeper from Chatsfield
Joe - a large, fat, sweaty man
Bruce Willis - an American actor

Now I can leave the earth in peace.

So sad that this unique writer is lost of us. Douglas Adams was the author of the hilarious Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe series, are there is no one like him. Include interviews and essays, very rich. Listened to the audiobook. It's purely a pleasure.

Douglas Adams er den absolut sjoveste forfatter, jeg nogensinde har læst noget af. Jeg er endnu ikke kommet i gennem en eneste af hans bøger uden at sidde helt alene og grine højlydt. Man er aldrig ensom, når man læser Adams.
Det skyldes hans enorme empati og forståelse for den menneskelige situation. Det kommer blandt andet til udtryk i et interview om hans ateisme. Hvor fremtrædende ateister ofte kan virke nedladende eller decideret ondskabsfulde overfor troende, er Adams mere tilgivende. Han siger: "De troende tager fejl." Kort og koncist. Hårdt og afvisende. Men så tilføjer han: "Det er menneskeligt at fejle." Adams ser på sig selv og menneskeheden med et let undskyldende smil. Vi er en tosset art, der bumler lidt rundt på en planet og ødelægger det hele for os selv. Mennesket er tåbeligt og tragisk, men alligevel elskværdigt. Det er det smukke ved Douglas Adams' tekster.

The Salmon of Doubt er en essaysamling med en særlig stemning, da den er udgivet relativ kort tid efter forfatterens pludselige død. Det er en udgivelse, der er præget af det chok, der er gået gennem hans familie og venner. Bogen er fyldt med introduktioner og mindeskrifter, samt programmet for hans mindehøjtidelighed. Det er personlige tekster formet af et dybt savn. Det skaber en bog, der både af præget af Adams' egen varme i teksterne, men også den varme og kærlighed hans nærmeste har næret til ham.
Det er en bog, der føles som at kramme for sidste gang.