Douglas Adams' The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time (A Madman Re-Read)

It's hard to believe that when Douglas Adams died in 2001, he had only published 11 books. That number just seems in error. Adams had released 5 volumes in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy trilogy. Yes, I did mean trilogy.  He also released a compendium of the radio scripts for Hitchhikers. Adams also gave us 2 Dirk Gently books. The remaining 3 books were co-written by Adams about made up words, similar to Sniglets and a treatise on endangered animals. The last book, Last Chance to See was considered by the author his greatest work. Though how anything can top The Restaurant at the End of the Universe is beyond me 

Just because Douglas Adams only finished 11 books before his death at age 49, that doesn't mean he wasn't a prolific writer. He contributed a number of articles on subjects varying from computers to religious beliefs and almost everything in between; most of which were published in magazines and newspapers in the UK. The Salmon of Doubt seeks to give his fans one last conversation with the extremely witty and hilarious author while also offering what the third Dirk Gently or the sixth Hitchhikers book might have been had he survived. 

After Adams's death, a family friend was able to access the late author's computer and download a large number of his archived writings. His editor and his widow then sifted through the works, culling from not necessarily the best of the best, but a selection of works that most described the type of complicated man Douglas Adams was. 

A staunch conservationist, Adams's time dressed as a rhinoceros during a climb up Mount Kilimanjaro is documented. The author was also an unabashed techie who loved computers almost as compulsively as I love comic books. A couple of articles read like lost chapters of Orwell's 1984, giving insight into how technology will change our lives; especially in terms of how we will shop online. I also think he should be credited with being a visionary on the formation of the Google Cloud Platform, having lamented in the mid-90s how nearly impossible it was for him to write something on a computer to be reviewed by his editor on another model without just having to take his computer with him in person to his publisher.

Don't think Douglas Adams wasn't able to combine his two great passions. In 1992, he managed to convince a tech magazine to fund a trip to the Great Barrier Reef in order to determine which offered a smoother ride: a new underwater one-man submersible or a giant sting ray. Needless to say, the diving experts wouldn't let the author actually touch a ray, let alone ride one. But he did manage to see a nearly 8 foot wide specimen in action and came to the conclusion that it was perfectly designed.

If conservation and technology were Douglas Adams' passions, Atheism was his guilty pleasure/soap box. And yet throughout this entire book, there's a sort of contradiction in his lack of beliefs in a creator. An admirer and later best friend of Richard Hawkins, one of the leading Atheist scientists whose also really vocal about it, there are several writings and interviews on his lack of faith in there being a God. To him and Dawkins, everything happened by accident. But if that is the case, then how can a stingray be perfectly designed? Too many of Adams' case for evolution is that there cannot be a God involved in the process. I personally don't see why it's so wild a thought that God could design something with the intent that as it's situation changes, the creation has certain traits built into its DNA to evolve with its surroundings. Who says that God can't keep creating new stuff after a much needed rest on the seventh day?

His 25-page speech 'Is There an Artificial God?' was my least favorite entry in the entire book. It was so rambling that it took me 3 days to finish. I hate that a stupid street preacher who was probably talking more out of his rectum than through the Holy Spirit caused Douglas Adams to become an atheist. I also hate that Adams believed that all religions were all part of 'the church'. I'm sorry but the Hindu religion is not a branch of Christianity. And the work of Baptists, Methodists or even the 21st century's Catholic should not be held accountable for the sins of the Catholic Church in the 14 and 1500s!

Douglas Adams was also a noted screenwriter. Some of the best Tom Baker Doctor Who episodes were worked on by Adams in one way or another. A couple of never produced treatments for skits to be performed with Python Graham Chapman are included and they are hilarious. There's a short story from the early days of Hitchhikers character Zaphod that had merit. But since he's probably my least favorite character in the franchise, that could explain my lackluster enthusiasm for it.

The main reason why I think most people, including myself wanted to read this book is for the title story, 'The Salmon of Doubt.' Adams began tinkering with it was a Dirk Gently novel. But as explained in an interview before you get to the story, Adams began to see that it might have worked better as a Hitchhikers story. 

I don't know. I thought it was rather entertaining and I could really envision a lot of the things Dirk saying in this book as being said by actor Samuel Barnett who played the title character for 2 seasons on BBC America's Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency.  I loved the interconnected way seemingly unconnected events played out. The dialogue, which was always Adams' strong suit, was brilliant and hilarious. I just hate that it was never finished.

Perhaps the most hilarious part of this book is the ending. It's the program from Adams' memorial service. For someone who was 'convinced there is no God', he sure had a lot of prayers, hymns and preachers at his funeral. He also had Pink Floyd's David Gilmour playing 'Wish You Were Here ', which was pretty cool. And considering how unfunny things have been around the world lately, I wish Douglas Adams was here too 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Ender's Game: War of Gifts One-Shot

An interesting story about fanaticism vs. totalitarianism. 

I'm not a fan of the Ender's Game universe. In fact, I've never read any of the books. I happened across this book from a grab bag and if I wasn't intrigued by the title 'War of Gifts', I would have overlooked this Christmas time set comic book.

A young boy named Zeck Morgan is taken from the home of a pair of religious fanatics who are staunch pacifists, by representatives of the Battle School. The lad does everything he can to refuse to participate in the war games of the school due to those beliefs. But for some stubborn reason, the headmaster of the Battle School refuses to let the child wash-out.

On what would be the Christmas season on Earth, Zeck observes a Dutch lad providing a gift from Saint Nicolas to a fellow cadet. As any sort of celebration of faith, including holiday observances is strictly forbidden by the Battle School, Zeck rats the kid out. But the headmaster refuses to do anything.  In protest to this, Zeck starts a miniature holy war at the academy. For if he can't be allowed to practice his religious beliefs then nobody should be allowed to either. Hopefully, child prodigy Ender Wiggin can put this young man in his place...

I enjoyed this book. It's not turned me into a devotee of Ender's Game or Orson Scott Card or anything like that. It was a good single issue read and that's all I need unless there ever is another holiday themed issue set in the Ender's Game universe. 

I personally feel terrible for Zeck Morgan. His parents just seem awful. The boy is raised to be a pacifist and yet he and his whole family are angry, bitter people. Everyone isn't good enough to be a Christian in their opinion and something like Santa Claus is considered a gateway drug to Hell instead of an opening door to Heaven. These kind of Christians give believers like myself a bad name and I very much wish atheists and those who hate religion understood that the body of Christ isn't all like the Morgan family. 

Oddly enough, the Battle School seems the more reasonable institution. Well, at least the headmaster does. He overlooks these small acts of faith of his students as long as it doesn't interfere with the mission. Zeck thinks the practice of religion should be all or nothing. He doesn't realize that the headmaster of the Battle School is giving Zeck as much grace as that Dutch boy in allowing them both to express their beliefs. 

As for how this story aligns with the views of Orson Scott Card, I understand that there are some critics who believe the author to be homophobic. Maybe he is. But I've never met the man personally and other than this adaptation, I've never read anything else he's written before. I collect holiday themed comics. It's one of my favorite genres to collect and this book will stay as a part of my collection. If this causes me to lose readers of my blog, I won't apologize as I refuse to participate in censorship and to me, cancel culture IS censorship. I give my opinions on the books I read based on personal taste and quality of both the storytelling and art. The story by Jake Black was very well crafted. The art by Timothy Green II, was a little rough as I sometimes had trouble discerning who was who. But then again, I think that sort of homogeneity is part of the point behind the Battle School; like when a soldier is in basic training and the drill instructors try to strip away individuality for the good of the outfit. 

I liked it. It might not be your traditional holiday story. In fact, those holidays are verboten and basically all but ignored. But it was set during the holidays of the future and had holiday themes. So despite looking like a generic sci-fi comic, this issue is really a Christmas miracle if you dig deeper to examine the content of the story.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Making a Heart for God

For this selection, I didn’t choose a book that seemed to be the most intellectual, most politically correct, or most bionically sound book. This time around, I went for a subject that interested me and that I had little knowledge about. “Making a Heart for God”, is a look at a week-long retreat at a Trappist Monastery in Kentucky. First of all, I didn’t know anyone could actually stay at one of these places and not have to become a monk. In fact, you don’t even have to be Catholic! I was amazed at how monasteries were turning into vacation destinations for anyone who can grab a reservation. You don’t even have to be male to stay either.

The book is written out as a schedule of participants’ weekly activities (or lack thereof). As the itinerary is laid out, stops are made chronicling the monastery’s history and doctrines are examined. The visitors and monks read, pray (a lot!), worship, work and make money for the order to stay solvent, and they relax. The big surprise was how secular all of this could be, while still trying to pursue Heaven.

Worth Consuming

"Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Intended to Bear"

WORTH CONSUMING!

My wife keeps saying when I get to the arts and crafts and the cooking, that I need to do some of the activities written in the book to get the full experience of what the Dewey Decimal System has to offer. At this point of my Dewey project, I came upon a chance to read a Christian Devotional book.

 

 What a perfect example to put to practice what my wife challenges me about.

The Road to Guadalupe: A Modern Pilgrimage to the Virgin of the Americas

Having read the dust jacket, I thought that I was in for a quirky, informative read about people who make pilgrimages to shrine dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus. It sounded interesting and a change of pace from the recent books on religion I have been reading for this project. So I cheerfully checked it out.