I really wanted to like And Another Thing"¦. I have such fond memories of reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in college, and I have loved everything else I've read by Eoin Colfer. I had high hopes. Unfortunately, I can't say that this book lived up to my expectations. Sure, there were definitely some funny parts. (For example: "The stereotypical depiction of a sentient species under threat of destruction from a hovering alien spaceship usually sees them running around panic-stricken, clutching their most treasured household appliances close to their breasts and arranging their automobiles in neat jams on bridges" (250).) Ultimately, though, it just wasn't very interesting.

First, I believe strongly that Colfer is an extremely talented author. Everything I have read by him so far (8 books in total - Artemis Fowl, Airman, and Half Moon Investigations) has been wonderful. With this belief combined with my experience of this book, I am forced to make some conjecture about why it isn't good. Here's what I have come up with.

(1) Colfer was trying too hard to capture Adams's voice when writing this book. Instead of letting his own style and humor come through, he tried to be funny in the same way Adams was funny in the original 5 books. This is understandable considering he was adding to a series that was loved for a very peculiar sense of comedy and timing. Fans of the original would certainly expect something similar when picking up a sequel. For example he frequently used Adamsisms (Froody, pormwrangler, etc) to either force a joke, or draw a connection to the original books. It's like he was saying "Hey, remember when you read this in the first book and it was hilarious? Yeah, that was great".

(2) I don't think I like these books anymore. As I was reading, wondering why I wasn't enjoying this I started to remember more clearly what the original books were about. The more I thought about them, the more I began to realize that I don't think I would find them funny anymore. I simply don't think my sense of humor and my taste in books runs along these lines anymore. It's sad, but ten years is a long time and I'm a very different person these days. So maybe this book isn't as bad as I'm making it out to be, and I'm just not in the audience anymore?

Sadly, I do not recommend And Another Thing"¦. What makes me even more sad, though, is I don't think I can even recommend the original 5 part trilogy any longer. Oh well, that's life, I guess. Or, as Adams would say, so long and thanks for the all laughs.