Douglas Adams (1952-2001): A Fan's Reaction

Douglas Adams is dead.

This is probably no longer news to you, since he died on the 11th of May. However, I have been away at university for a long time, and have not touched newspapers for more than 3 months. It was only yesterday that I got home, and only today that I read this month's papers - and found out about Adams' death.

There was an article in the papers about Adams entitled "So Long and Thanks for the Ride". I cannot begin to explain the devastation I felt when I got to the end of the immensely lengthy article only to read: 'He is survived by his wife, Jane Belson, a barrister, whom he married in 1991, and their daughter.' And then: 'Douglas Adams was born in Cambridge on March 11, 1952. He died of a heart attack on May 11, 2001, aged 49.' I suppose that at some point in life or the other we've encountered events so strange or unexpected that our first reaction was 'This can't be for real'. Well, that was my first reaction. And yes, alas, it was for real.

I was first acquainted with Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide books when I was 14 and found the first of the Hitchhiker books in my school library. Being an astronomy geek, I naturally thought that it was - what else - a book on astronomy. Yes, I did read it. No, I did not remember very much about it. I did go on to buy his 'Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency' the next year, and enjoyed it immensely. It wasn't until last year,however, that my good friend Tycho brought me to a 2nd hand bookstore, and I found the Hitchhiker omnibus. And bought it. And read it. And went hysterical as a consequence. I read it aloud to everyone unfortunate enough to be within earshot (I don't think they understood just what it was that I was reading out to them since I was laughing madly Ford Prefect-fashion), re-read it at least 6 times, went on an HHG hunting frenzy on the Internet, and even got the videocassette so that I could see just how bad it was (Tycho hated it; I loved it). I even went around telling people how coincidental it was that one of my most favourite authors shared my birthday.

And now... this.

To echo the sentiments of another hoopy frood, Douglas Adams probably wouldn't want us to say, "Look, I'm a bit upset about this". But instincts are, and always will be stronger than reason, and my first reaction was to gasp in shock. My second reaction was to cry. In front of my family. (a lot of his fans confessed that they did the same, so I have nothing to be ashamed of) And I suppose that when the literary world loses so important a figure as Douglas Adams, it is not wrong at all to grieve. I believe that a lot of us Hitchhiker's Guide fans will be grieving for a long time. On the other hand, to quote another hoopy frood: we should be celebrating his life. It makes sense. Here is the man who revolutionized science fiction by successfully fusing it with British comedy. Here is the man who brought to our household, among other things, 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' in both book and video form. Instead of mourning our loss, we should instead give thanks that this man was born at all, because he contributed the greatest thing to the lives of science fiction freaks in the second half of the 20th century since Star Trek and Star Wars. We should celebrate the existence of HHG, and the Dirk Gently books, and Starship Titanic - and the meaning of life. Which is forty two, in case no one ever told you.

But human emotions remain stronger than what the 18th century Enlightenment people sought to establish, and we will inevitably continue to feel a certain degree of sadness and loss. But life must go on.

So long and thanks for the impact you've made upon life, the universe and everything, Douglas Noel Adams. Your light will forever shine.

Keyan Farlander, 25th May 2001.