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The Anthology at the End of the Universe by Glenn Yeffeth

leaton01's review

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3.0

I've had this book on my "to read" shelf probably since it came out or shortly thereafter. I'm a dedicated Douglas Adams fan and therefore, this collection was a must-have. And I finally go around to reading it and while I can't say it's a "must read"--it certainly is enjoyable enough that it lead me to re-listen to all of the Hitchhiker's Guide books recently to celebrate and remind myself of the works. Like any good anthology of essays, not all are going to be winners with every reader. We all come to Hitchhiker's Guide differently. There are some that I enjoyed and there were others that I found less engaging. Some authors tried a bit too hard to write in the style of Douglas Adams and it felt derivative, but others were able to sew together such a mixture of facts and thoughts that they enhanced my love of Adams that much more. Overall, it's a fun read but definitely one that is stranded a bit in time in the sense that I think if they did a collection today, it would be a much different anthology--not just because the technology has changed (no more digital watches; smartphones for everyone and primordial babel fish with each smartphone), but so too has the influence of Adams changed. When I look at the smarter sci-fi stories and writers out there (John Scalzi, Catherine Valente) out there and the ones that use comedy, I'm inclined to think that Adams is certainly prevalent today.
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