The Salmon of Doubt

Before his untimely death in 2001, Douglas Adams had started writing a new Dirk Gently novel. The Salmon of Doubt contains the first few chapters of this novel.

Most of the book though is a collection of articles which Adams had written, brought together into one place. There are interviews for various publications, Adams telling of his problems with computers, his views on religion and so on. In fact all sorts of stuff, with plenty of that unique Adams style.

The book starts with an editor's note, followed by a prologue, then a foreword. That's a lot to work through before getting to the real stuff - which includes an introduction written by Adams for another book on why he hates writing introductions.

If you are a fan of Douglas Adams then of course you will want to read this book, but you should realise that the main part of it is the articles rather than the story. Adams delights in introducing several seemingly unconnected threads, and here they never have a chance to connect. If you're not a fan of Adams' fiction, you might still give this book a try as his style does result in some very amusing articles.