ghastly

dinner

expertfool

trying to simulate the effects of adderall with excessive caffeine use

deeply enjoying mango rum with mango juice rn

i’m only half way through “and another thing” so maybe i shouldn’t be making bold statements, but i also feel reasonably equipped to make some complaints especially since it’s bc of these issues that i’m losing interest in finishing the book.

i think the main difference between douglas adams and eoin colfer is a grasp on emotions and how to relay them through literature. i’ve never read any of colfer’s other work, so maybe “and another thing” is just not his best. however, adams understood how to deliver whip-quick information in an engaging manner and leave an impact because his characters were often receiving the information along with the audience, so the characters’ reactions existed in tandem with the audience—and when the information was isolated from the characters, it was still so outlandish yet somehow grounded in a familiar experience that it was both captivating and flowed easily into the next passage. colfer struggles to depict natural reactions in the characters and weave new information into the dialogue so it seems as if the characters are actually frequently excluded from it, and the dialogue is long winded and unnatural. as a result, the reader feels extremely isolated from the characters’ experiences, and the characters’ actions appear stilted and driven by the author rather than a natural progression.

there’s also a matter of characterization; i have a lot to say, but i feel most strongly about trillian. i greatly enjoy adams’ depiction of trillian, but colfer’s falls flat and, frankly, misogynistic. he does not seem to understand who trillian is as a character nor does he seem to understand her as a mother. despite adams’ depiction of the complex relationship trillian and random share with a deep history the readers can glean from inferring based on interactions and silent conversations between the characters, colfer settles for basic and bland. adams makes it clear that trillian is not a typical mother, and her and random do not have a typical mother-daughter relationship, but colfer has an idea of what a bad mother looks like and writes that rather than the complicated dynamic the characters actually have. he also depicts trillian as a rambling, ineloquent, and insecure person, but adams writes trillian as self-assured, sophisticated, and ambitious with a very human amount of loneliness. she is the sort of person who observes and assesses her situation and then decides what she wants to do. i’m sure that trillian has said silly things, played cards with ford, arthur, and zaphod, played drinking games with them, got badly drunk on some vacation planet during their travels post-life, the universe and everything and did or said dumb things, but during the thick of the climax trillian keeps her cool. it’s one of her defining traits that makes her stand out from the rest of the cast. unfortunately, colfer loses this in favor of depicting trillian as a babbling, easily insulted woman who is a poor mother, sharply contrasting adams’ coolheaded and complex trillian.

douglas adams is a detailed writer with a habit of lengthy exposé who knows when to show the reader rather than tell, but colfer only seems to know how to tell which ends up dragging the story and leaving the audience wanting for something deeper.

and another thing the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy h2g2 sorry for the rant