h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've just finished reading Crytonomicon, having devoted myself to the final chapters this morning rather than Doing Something Useful.

My favourite bit is nearly at the end in the chapter called 'Return' where is says, "But it is clear that the place is ultimately ruled by ants..."

Did you like the book, then?

It took me a while to get into it but I did enjoy it in the end. It reminded me a bit of the adventures of Styx and myself in Scapa Flow . There are some great lines but also some gratuitous ramblings I could have done without.

Is there a sequel?

There are three books that are effectivly prequels, the Baroque Cycle.

There are a couple of books that NS authored that could conceivably take place in the universe he sets up with Crypt. They are in order: Snow Crash (which I am reading right now) and The Diamond Age, A young Girl's Primer.

One thing I know about Lolita and Nabokov is that he wrote it first in English and then in Russian. But he said he couldn't translate it as such, but had to rewrite it from scratch in Russian. The joys of being effectively bilingual...

It's interesting, his motives for writing it. There are a lot of artists (in the loosest sense of the word of those involved in the arts) who you occassionally think are doing it merely to shock. Lolita is certainly more subtle than, say, Lady Chatterly's Lover, although to be fair that's probably more a case of Laurance's obssession with sex spilling over into everything.

*finishes Harry Potter Deathly Hallows, closes the book on her lap, leans back into the leather armchair and sighs*


Here's the place to talk about Harry Potter. If you haven't read it yet, and intend to, avoid this thread until then!

*flies in to the reading room and perches on the back of a nice, solid chair*

I echo that sigh...

Just read HP7 and have been in discussion with Dai and my neice (who read it on her flight from Australia back to Ireland). We all feel pretty much the same about it - but I don't want to be the first to comment in here in case it all sounds rather negative!

I'll start with what I DID like then.

Cried at Dobby's funeral (felt terribly guilty as I'd been saying only the day before what an annoying cinematographical creation he was ...)

Thought the explanation of Snape's role was most excellent.

It would be interesting to know whether children find the ending comforting -- that traditions and valuable institutions endure. I thought that was why she stuck that epilogue in. For the rest of it, I actually enjoyed the read because it was pretty fast-paced in the last half at least.

I wonder how much a successful author can resist film-scripting when he or she is writing a sequel? All those cameos...

Hah, I said Snape wasn't the out-and-out bad guy traitor that he appeared to be at the end of the sixth book. I didn't realise he was so totally on Dumbledore's side though, I figured he was still somewhat conflicted.

Impressive death toll by the end. Almost like an episode of Doctor Who.

Thanks lil and i wont spoil the book for anyone i promise

> Oh, it's fiction, and you're spot on about being sucked into a strange camaraderie with a despicable man. Humbert always has a justification

One of Nabokov's talents is taking a despicable man and making him sympathetic. I've read only a few - Lolita, Pale Fire, and Despair. Of the three, I liked Despair best.

Not to worry about blowing the ending of HP7 for me... I'll read it eventually, but I'm sure by the time I've read it, I'll have heard all the juicy bits.

Yes me too i was worried if i didnt finish the book asap the ending would have been ruined for me so i rushed and polished it of in 2 days so now that i know what happens i will read it a 2nd time at a slower pace

Oh, am I supposed to be not spoiling things on this thread? I figured those who hadn't finished wouldn't join the discussion, like I didn't.

Oh no, this is the thread where you CAN talk about it.

Oh good. Can't think of anything to say now.

Must say, the thing I like about the books is that it was never obvious what was going to happen.

Well, it was obvious that Harry was going to win the day, and that, say, Snape would turn out to be not such a git, but not the manner of that if you see what I mean.

I must say I rather... skimmed... the eternity they were all hanging around in the forest though. I've decided that the sucess of the later films is that they can do the editing which the editors didn't have the balls for...

I think the later films had to snip stuff to avoid being seven hours long. Mind you there was always stuff cut - some of my favourite lines usually. I've decided that the film-makers want Harry to be too nice, not the petulant, sulky individual he sometimes is in the books.

What eternity in the forest? Perhaps I've blanked it out, because all I can find flicking through is a ten page chapter called The Forest Again, which suggests there was an earlier bit.

That's the part where Harry, Ron and Hermione keep transporting from location to location in order to avoid being found. Then Ron goes off in a huff for a while, then comes back in time to save Harry from drowning.

I was thinking of the Forbidden Forest. Yeah, that wasn't that exciting, not even the bit where they went to Godric's Hollow, which should have been. I did like Ron's reappearance though. "Are - you - *mental*?"