And Another Thing is the sixth novel in the ever-more increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy trilogy, and has been published by Penguin Books on the 30th anniversary of publication of the first book in the late, great Douglas Adams’ phenomenally successful series.
Eight years after Adams’ death, his wife, Jane Belson sanctioned the sixth and final installment of the trilogy to be written by the international number-one bestselling children’s writer, Eoin Colfer, author of Artemis Fowl novels.
Adams’ final book in the Hitchhiker’s series ended (as it began) with the complete destruction of Earth. Everyone is dead, which didn’t leave much of an opening for Eoin to start the sixth book in the series. So how does Eoin bring the eternal pessimist Arthur Dent, his alien best friend, Ford Prefect, and the two headed Galactic President, Zaphod Beelbebrox, back from the dead?
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy started life as a radio series in 1978 and subsequently became five best-selling novels, the first being published in paperback by Pan Books on 12th October 1979. It was an instant hit, reaching number one in the bestseller charts two weeks after publication and went on to be translated into over 35 languages. Bigger than Dr Who, Star Trek, Battle Star Galactica and Monty Python, by 2000 it had sold over 14 million copies worldwide. It was also remade as a Bafta-winning TV series, dramatized for the West End stage and made in to a film starring Martin Freeman, Bill Nighy, John Malkovich and many more. It combines science fiction with comedy and inspired a whole new genre of Science Fiction humour, Red Dwarf being just one example.
Hitchhiker’s has become a part of the cultural Zeitgeist with phrases such as ‘life, don’t talk to me about life’ and ‘life, the universe and everything’ a part of our common vernacular. Actor and writer, Sanjeev Baskhar, recently noted on Desert Island Discs that he was a huge fan of Hitchhiker’s hence the reason for giving his hit TV chat show the name The Kumars at No. 42. The No.42 being, according to Adams, the answer to all the questions of the universe. Douglas was always unhappy with the bleak ending of the fifth book, Mostly Harmless, and always intended to write a sixth book before his death in 2001.