The Salmon of Doubt.

I finished listening to the audio book of The Salmon of Doubt by Douglas Adams yesterday on my walk. I'm of two minds concerning it. I always have reservations about publishing unfinished materials following a great author's death. This book is no exception. I have not read the print version. Narration by Stephen Fry and Simon Jones.

The Salmon of Doubt was Adams working title for his last novel. He had intentions of making it a Dirk Gently novel, as well as a HHGTTG novel. In the end it hadn't really evolved into either, while having elements of both. The actual story however was, in my opinion, the weakest part of the book. Probably 2/3's of the books consists of friends eulogizing Douglas, as well as a hodge podge of Adam's musings, columns, and anecdotes.

The eulogies are bittersweet of course. You can feel the love his friends had for the man and their palpable sense of loss. The various columns, anecdotes, and unconnected musings, were the best part of the book. Many times I found myself laughing out loud while listening, as Douglas related his bizarre plans or expounded on his love of computers. He debated philosophy and theology. My favorite part is where he details the history of science and divides it into the four ages of sand.

My this work is extremely disjointed and the actually story is cobbled together and unfinished, this is a must read, or even better listen for any fan of Adams. The rough nature and incompleteness of the work are the reason for the lowered score.

7 out of 10