Deep Dive into Douglas Adams

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Podcast listeners are a different audience entirely. more engaged, harder to reach through traditional channels, and ready to act when someone they trust makes a recommendation We're a caste, and we put them right in front of you Browse thousands of the world's leading podcasts, book host reads or run your own ads, and track every conversion in real time. Same skills you already have, brand new results. Acast Acast d. com slash advertise Have you ever asked yourself, what's the best way I can contribute to sci fi and fantasy in the literary world If you have, the answer is simple You just have to be Veronica Belmont or Tom Merrt and host the SZordan Laser podcast. If for some reason you can't be Veronica Belmont or Tom Merritt, however, don't despair. All is not lost You can still head over to patreon. com slash sword and Laser and help fund their hard work. Every scent you give adds more swords and more lzars to their growing arsenal of speculative literary goodness That's patreon d. com slash swword and Laser Hey everyone welcome to the Sword and Lazer. I'm Veronica Belmont, and I'm Tom Mer. Sword and Lazer is a book club, but it's so much more. We bring you author interviews, news from the world of science fiction and fantasy, and awesome discussions from fans just like you How you doing there V Oh, I have COVID again. How are you Tom? G. I probably do. I haven't tested yet But I have a cold I leaned up this cold and I was like, oh, I'll avoid it. No. no, I didn't No You probably have COVID That's qu possible. Yeah It's the thing to do This is number This is number four for me Oh wow That's a lot. Fourth time. Fourth time. How do't That's great.or Do work from home? How is this also have a toddler Is he bringing it to you Or is it like he was sick before He was sick before us. So we went to a wedding two weeks ago. A lot of people, including the bride and groom got COVID We thought we were fine. We all felt fine the next week. And then Julian got sick. So I don't think we got it there. I think he must have picked it up at school or at a class because he was sick for several days before I started feeling a little bit not great And and u We both tested on the same day. Very faint line, very faint line. Ryan also very faint line. faint line. Butair. Yeah I have a headache that will not go away no matter what I do.nteresting. Yeah, and slight sore throat and occasional coughing and a little bit of postnasal. Juling it's almost all like runny nose coughing Yeah, that that situation. Yeahah. And how about you I just had no purple toes, scratchy throat And u Not really a cough, but occasionally a cough kind of thing. Yeah. Yeah Well, I would test, I mean, it doesn't make a difference. It is what it is now. I think the only difference with everything else we get is that we have a test that we can use to find out which This one's not COVID. This one is COVID. That's cool. Yeah, yeah. Yeah either way. have you can get COVid if you're really worried about it, but I usually end up getting over it before the Paxlovid wor and PxOVD has other side effects. so yeah It does I did not enjoy taking packsloVIid on round one So I'm good. But anyway, what are you gnawing to make yourself feel better? My feelings. Your feelings Yeah. I just had a big old pile of my feelings. No, I'm having broccoli Alfredo pasta and I feel like I've done this maybe more than once as my what are we goming? It's a regular for us Uh, it's just, you know, the um penna noodles with with some cheesy sauce, Alfredo sauce and brocoli. it's great. I'm ripping off Tomahome' joke Would you say that's copee pasta? Yeah, yeep, ye. nicely, nicely done. Tomahome. I can't believe I didn't see that. Oh, ye, there it is. He made a joke and I I would say Iified it and I would dare say it forbid. Yeah. Thank you. Thankk you. Sorry, Tomahome. I had to I had to, you know You gave me a good building block to jump from. Um Yeah, I am drinking whiskey, Japanese whiskey dinner because Yolo and because the world's a dumper fire And I'm doing all that I can to keep myself together. Which Which Japanese whiskey there are many Um the Nka Nka coffee? Yeah, it's a good one. Yeah. It was just my favorite these days U And I think the last time you had Nica Coffee whiskey because that has also been what your what are we numbing before? I mentioned that I have Nica Coffee gin which is also Remember that? Really? Yeah. No. I didn't know if that was a thing. Yeah they they make a gin and it's darn good Yeah, well, that's that's cool. I'm not I like Jin Okay Yeah it's not it's not my drink of choice but I will I do like a gin and tonic every so often But anyway Um, so Yeah, as I said, a lot of people are, again struggling, you know, we don't we don't talk about politics too much on this show. obbviously. We call politics Bruno on this show We don't talk about Bruno Oh But I think if anyone knows anything about me and my life,' it's been a rough it's been a rough week since the election in the states, even though I do live in Canada I think the impact is pretty far reaching And yeah, so I thought today it would be good. to just highlight BIPOC and LGBTQIA authors that we love and that you can hopefully spend money on at independent booksellers potentially independent independ independent indndependent booksellers that owned and run by marginalized communities would be great. Just, you know Put your money where your mouth is and support people who need extra support right now. Yeah. Actually, I'd put the money on the table and pay for the book That would be a better place. where your mouth is, that would be better money. They might be like, I don't want that now. You're going to have to use a c c car I agree. You know, I take that back. Definitely put the money on the table or use your credit card. Don't put it in directly in your mouth. Samsung pay, whatever Yeah, yeah, whatever you got. So also, yeah, we don't know where that money has been Honestly And the way we've been getting sick, the way we've been getting sick, you know, you really don't want to take any chance for right now U But yes, when you when you texted me with this idea, I was immediately supportive Yeah I think it's literally the least we can do . You know It's pretty close. It's pretty. In terms of being a podcast and being people on a podcast, you know, this is one of those things that we can we can do to spread support and spread knowledge about amazing authors who are out there in our wheelhouse. manyany of whom we've read previously or have had on the show in the past, but just want to put a reminder out there that they have many more books even than the ones we've read. so you can continue to collect them all, like wonderful Delicious Pokemon. donon't eat the Pokemon either actually. eat the Pokemon Dellicious That was but not the Pokemon. I'm sorry.' Pokemon bread They have that that we feed the South Korea. they have Pokemon bread You buy the Pokemon bread and then you get a little Pokemon card in the Pokemon bread and then people collect the cards and trade What if you accidentally eat the card? Don't eat the card? Well, that's wrapped. So it wouldd be kind of hard to accidentally eat it share It's separately. Yeah So we did ping we did ping the discord to throw in their suggestions for authors that they especially love. And yeah, we'll chat about them a little bit. And as Tom mentioned, chat room, if you've got extra extra comments about why you selected these picks or what you loved about them, please let us know. But yeah, let's kick it off with Jason Reeds, who said asalm for the Wild Bilt and a prayer for the Crown Shy by Becky Chambers Um, I have seen asalm for the Wild Built on so many best of lists Since it's been out, and I'm talking like all time top one hundred kind of lists. Yes And Oh no. J just like what? Really embarrassing for me Um I I know. I know everyveryone's like, whoa I know, I hear you I will give it another shot. T great great books. There's just too many good books. So I didn't say I lemmed it. Right. I said I backburnered it. will I will return But I did, unless I'm thinking of a different one. there was one of hers that I did backburner. So I'll have to I'll have to check and see which one it is. Maybe someone in the chat room can give me like a real brief synopsis so I can figure out if that is the one I actually backburnered But I have read so many of her books and loved them So I will I will continue on and just I met her where did where did we did wereere you with me when we met No 'cause I would have been super excited because I met her at Comicon and she it was right after her first her first book kind of blew up O way to a small angry planet. long way to a small angry planet. and I just went up to her and I was like I love you. This is who I am. like you're amazing. like thank you. And she was so sweet and so kind and humble and amazing. And so definitely would love to continue supporting all of her works. moving forward. I find ucky Chambers books to bef comfort reads for me. you know, like and I don't mean to say they're cozy. I just mean, I always enjoy it. I know I feel like I can settle in and just know I'm going to have a great time every time she has a book come out. And some for the Wild Bils only like four hours on audiob books. So it's it's quick read I do love that and we will talk more about that a little bit later too. When we get into the book kickoff category Um Yeah, so that's that's I do love a quick read as well U Go ahead, G to read the talk about the next one. Crochet Chrissy says, I recommend C L Pulk Yeah. So CL Pke is another another great author She's got CL Pke, did we not You know, I think that they were on, um The March Madness. I don't think that read Is that her book? Confusing. Okay. Yeah m, because she got her the books that I I've seen of hers Even though I knew the end, the midnight bargain. witchmark Storm song Soul star It's fantasy though, so you'll have to fix that Okay, fair enough, fair enough. But shes that's a name that I've heard come up on many great Yeah yeah recommendation lists throughout the years as well. So And obviously y'all love hers too because you keep putting her on the March Madness pick and guys, you got to Got to be the change you want to see in the world. There's only, you know, you can't have all you can only have one win That's the problem. You put sixteen great authors up there, you're going to have fifteen greatade authors not get chosen. Crochet Chrissie says Wishmark is good for sure. The covers make it look like middle grade for some reason. And I kind of agree. I think they are a little bit the wrong cover looks a little bit but maybe missing. think I think she means like middle school, maybe. Like YA, I'm not sure she's typing so she'll probably tell me exactly what she meant But yeah, the coververs fy more belly a more adult content younger than YA, she says middle school, middle grade. Yeah, yeah. That's what she meant. Okay, Not like poor, not like less than A grade. Right This is what we're And again middle grade the middle grade fiction may be your jam U but that's not what this is. so you don't want to be Ricardo says Moon of the Crusted Snow by Wab Geshig Rice. a sequel also came out recently and The Magic Fish by Chong Lin Wuen, which is a graphic novel Very cool. Yeah, not familiar with either of those authors. Yeah, this is this is why we do the show is for this right here when we're like, wait, who is this Why have I not heard of them? Ricardo, tell us more. whyy do you like them? That's awesome. So we're going to go look those up Ricardo is not in the live chat, so he cannot actively tell us right now. But he can get back to Yeahah, get back to us and we'll pass it along on the show. But that's great. Ian suggested Charlie Jane Anders and Analie Newitz and you can't go wrong with either or both of them. They both have wonderful, wonderful books and different styles, you know, V Yeah Ver good very good stuff and award winning too on top of it. Theery awward winning, amazing podcasters. Um Award winning podcasters beat our asses U Wh has th so I mean That's damning them with faint praise right there. like that's Hey, we want a parseack. We did at one time. We did. We won a p second and we got nominated for a huge It was an honor. Thereere we go It was an honor just to be know. Yeah. And Ian also did recommend Charlie Straass, who I didn't include because he because I think the books that he writes probably have that meet these requirements for this discussion, but he himself and oh, he's not straight. Okay. there you go. That's why not ask. Are you sure he's straight? So thank you for clarifying that Um So yeah, Charlie Stoss, Charles Stras, great author. We have read We have read that was rule thirty four, right? Yeah. Yeah. was ye backack in the day We read we read read Rule thirty and that book was crazy. That was really crazy. That was a great one. That was a good one. yeah,'s very, very well renowned author as well Scott M suggested that they deeply loved Mia Johnson's The Space betweenetween Worlds and thoseose Beyond the Wall Blood gift duology by Annie Davenport was also really good And probably something for those who like fourth wing, according to Scott Kight's Edge by Liz Karn for quQeer sci fi superhero Romance I love Molly J. Bragg's Heart of Heroes series starting with Scatter. So again, if you want sci fi superhero romance quQeer sci fi superhero romance, check out Heart of Heroes by Molly Jay Bryright I've really heard a lot of good things about any Davenport. She's definitely been on my TBR for a while of one that I want to pick up So I will have to check that out because I have oh, well, you know, Scott did say probably something those who liked fourth wing would enjoy. Yeahah. so I hear y loud and clear. good point. That's probably why she was wr in my wheelhouse. Oh yeah, that makes sense says we read a memory called Empire by our Katie Martine, but her spouse, Vivian Shaw is also an author. She has an urban fantasy series set in London that's entertaining Dctor Gre, doctor Greing. Heelsing. Like a van Heelsing? ing or just a Helsing Is Mark Marks Mark's with us. Mark is it like Helsing Hsing or like just a coincidence heelsing? I mean, there's a lot of dead looking things on the covers of these books. strange practice, dreadful company. He says, yes, Vin Helsink related. Very cool. Okay veryery cool really enjoy And we have read a number of these like Feminine on classic characters and tropes U I think particularly did I ever make you read The Beekeeper's Apprentice? Bekeeper's apprentice we read? Yeah Did we read that as a pick? I'm pretty That was a homes homesyianake. Yeah ye yeah. Feminine perspective, homesy and takeake Um, So and then there's, you know, the u the N't it. We didn't read it. We didn't read it. What is you know what I'm trying to say? You guys know the u with all the different My brain doesn't work anymore. I'm so sorry. We need more words. It's the COVID, the apothecary. H Cy series The apothecarum, the girls, the girls who are All related to Yes monsters and u Isn't it opposite a library Chat room is failing me this time. Come onick chat room. Geez. Oh, I can picture the cover perfectly and it's just not happening in my life. Yeah There's like a Frankenstein and and a Jack the Ripper maybe or maybe I'm getting my my My RogerZas crossed with the Zelazney. The strange case of the alchemists daughter Thank you. Alchemist daght., Not apotecarium. Yeah.. I loveved that one. There we go All right, and then Chris Kay recommends TJ Klon and Gell Carriger. Also, Alice Osman, author of the Heart Stopper graphic novels TJ Klon is great. L, I mean I love Gail Carager too. G Cargter is great I They are both great They are both great. Also Alx Ooseman. I don't know, but probably could be great. Probably also great. Yeah U and graphic novels, which I've always drawn the line because once you get into graphic novels, then you're suddenly in mission creep and you're talking about a whole other world. It It's like how video games is to technology actually. It is in our world of reading, you know genre fiction, but it's also its own thing So that's not me saying I have a problem with graphic novels at all. I just I feel like it's its own art form Yeah, and I'm just, u I love I haven't gotten into that world yet, so I do like getting recommendations because I mean in a lot of ways. I don't even know how to get into that world at this point anymore. You just st don't read and stuff Yeah, I guess, ye. I've read a lot of graphic novels in my time. I haven't read it any in a while though I used to read them quite. I went through a phase Yeah. I went through a phase when there was what was that that app that was on iPad?omxology Comicsology, yeah Yeah Ralph got me really into comicsology. and so I was wr same. That was when I started yeah same thing. Yeah. And then Amazoned to Kindle Yeah figure out what I want to do with my Kindle situation Y what what's your Kindle situation I don't know, like I don't really want to be supporting Amazon all that much these days. You know, it's tough because we're on good reads and everything's on Kindle and it's just it's verys it's a complicated Web that we are stuck in at this moment. Well it's one of the reasons extxtricating ourselves is possible, but complicated. It's one of the reasons I use bookshop . org links in addition to Amazon because I know a lot of people do want to use Amazon So we keep those links in there too. But if you're not wanting to use Amazon or you're just like, oh, I didn't know there was another place to get a book bookshop. org partners with independent bookstores to source their books, it means their catalog is not as big to, you know, just just to be completely honest. When you buy from them, you know that you're buying from, you know, a small business. So if that's your thing, it's a really great way to direct that For sure For sure Um And then Crochet Chrissie said V Schwab is notable. same with Shana MagGuire. Oh yeah. Two authors I also really, really love. excellent points. V Schwab is an author who I would to get back and read more of. We read one of their books for our pick U and it's just, you know, I just haven't had the time to get back. There's there's only so many hours in a day, but I think of those quite fondly Yeah, I do believe I read all of those that series. Did you I think I continued on Yeah, I really, really liked that And Shana Mcuire, I pick up books here and there and I always really like them, but I haven't read her entire disgraphy at this point. The book we read by V Ishwab is a darker shade of magic Yeah, really good.. Re, really fun Weve read Seanon and McGuire, but under one of her other names, right? No, I think we read we didn't we didnt haven't read Mirag Grant So we haven't read any Shot in McGuire Have we not we've had this conversation recently actually. and it was and it was Mirarant was a we interviewed Shaannon and Miragrant was an alt pick one time Okay. like a rabble. I had feed on my shelf for like five or six years and I never got around to reading it for Mira Grant. And yeah, Tomahome mentions that the Invisible life of Addie Laaroux was Vie Schwab's probably biggest, most famous novel. At this point that came out after obviously we read the one for our pic. Well, not obviously, but it she really blew up with that novel. That was that was a big she hadn'titten it yet Yeah We hadn't exactly day yet. Maybe she had written it I read it, I listened to the audioobook and so specifically I have such and I feel like I've talked about this on the show before. I very specifically remember Listening to that novel like right after I gave birth to Julian, like during the pandemic. and I used it as like my bottle washing audiob book. It funny. Like I was just constantly hand wasashing bottles from pumping and it was like the saddest yeah, it was like the most ike I would be sobbing listening to this book. Also my hormones were I mean sure. but yeah Just crazy hormones and postpartum anxiety. Yeah. So you just mixed in the perfect book for that what you're saying Oh yeah yeah, yeah, ye. I never trust me I don't do a great job of picking novels based on my mood. I'm like, what's gonna to take me deeper into this hole? Let me do that U Dwango suggested Shelley Parker Chan, She who became the son. Parker Chan is an Australian fantasy novelist and she who became the son was the debut novel U It big winner reimagining of the rise to power of the Hongwu emmperor in the fourteenth century I have almost picked it numerous times as well It is very much on the on the cusp of being a bookpick and I just haven't I've always found other things that I've wanted to pick for whatever reason, but it's definitely a top contender. If you're thinking like, why why is this one never make it?s there's always going to be that book It's there's going be a book that is that book You can only pick one book at a time. I got a pocket of them for sure. We We only pick one ither way we could do whatever we want You can read as many as you want. Yeah Tassie Dave noted we read Terra Nulus back in twenty twenty one by Aussie Indigenous transgender woman Claire G. Coleman. I think I still have that on my shelf. Yeah That one was wild I bought it in print and kept it. cover I found the covered very eye catching. the black half the sun that's like half red, half black Yeah, like the rising sun or something like that. It's very it's very eye catching as I said Sery says to shape a dragon's breath by Monoquil Black Goose I have heard of this one, but I don't know much about it. So Sere, if you want to Oh, she Wow. She beat me to it. I hadn't even gotten the words out of my mouth A young indigenous woman enters a colonizer run Dragon Academy and quickly finds herself at odds with the approved way of doing things in the first book of this brilliant new fantasy series. Fantastic. Oh and Duangoes in the chat and added Nivo as another one, which we have also. Oh, yes, yes. We have read Nivu for sure And then I did kind of a speed round of incredible black writers and authors, some of whom we've read, some of wh we have not, but Nila Hopkinson, so we read the Salt Roads, but she has so many others. Neti Akorapor with Binti, Akada Warrior, and so, so many more. defefinitely one of my top favorites The incomparable NK Jemison, you know what more can be said about NK Jemison at this point? Three time Hugo winner? for her trilogy just So amazing and brilliant. River Solomon with an Unkindness of ghosts, which was our pick, which I also absolutely adored. Tomy Adiyemi, author of Children and of Blood and Bone, which has another one that's been on my TBR forever. and I think we're going to get to that one this year for sure P. Jelly Clark, author of the one hundredth and fifty fifth selection of the Sword and Laser book Club, a Master of Gin. hundred fif. And that just kind of blew my mind. because we it's a hundred we don't We don't talk about the number that the bookpick is And so for me, that was like I just like I had Googled it and it came up and it was like, this was the one hundred fifty fifth selection of the Sord and Laser book Club. And I was like, wow, we've read a lot of books. You know, just just looking back at our recent picks, Sar that cuts through water. Simon Jimenz. Oh yeah. cursed curursed bunny, Bora Chung Sort of Kagan, ML Wong Um, yeah There's a lot ofects. Iron widow is your N Ja Ziaao Yeah. Marlon James Black Leopard, Red wolf. Yeah That was an intense novel but a little bit. J incredibly incredibly visioned and just executed so well. and so with so much What's the word I'm trying to think L what is a word that means like it affected me greatly? Impact Impact is a good one. Yeah, so much impact I wanted something a little more subtle. But yeah, I think that was that's in the right vein of what I'm thinking of and punch is not very. I guess it's less subtle notot more subtle. Yeah. so ye. So those are let's keep the list going. Maybe we can copy this into into good reads or back into the discord. Let's definitely keep the conversation going and Yeah. There's incredible authors out there that are so deserving of broad attention and worord of mouth praise. so Let's do that thing. Yeah it keepe it in the meantime We're gonna to talk about Douglas Adam. We're to talk about a white guy, Douglas Adams. The most British white guy. Yeah. Douglas Adams. We picked the Hitchhikers's guuide to the Galaxy for this month's pick partly because, you know, we I consider it among the pantheon of sci fi, right? I think it is the It is considered the pinnacle of sci fi comedy for sure. It is meastic to this day. You say forty two and half the people in the room are going to be like, oh, you mean the answer to life, the universe and everything Yeah If you've been reading it or when you read it, if you haven't started it yet, you'll rediscover all kinds of things that you forgot came from this book. one hundred percent. Th that you hear all the time And so It's something we needed to get around to. It's been in the tournament the March tournament quite often I never never won. So I wanted to check it off the list. And personally for me, I I probably put it number two to the Man in the High Castle as far as books that were impactful on me growing up. because and this one, if you had asked me before I read The Man in the High Castle in nineteen ninety one or whenever I read it, I would have said Hitchcker's Gide is my favorite sci fi book because I put this in the book briefing, but I picked it up off the shelf without knowing what it was dropped off my sister college in nineteen eighty four. And we went to either a Walden books or a B Dalton. I don't remember which one it was, but it was one of those mall bookstores. And my parents were like, you can buy a book to read on the way home U So I just went to the sci fi section, as I quite often did. and I was just like, oh, this looks interesting No idea This is back when there there was no internet. there was no web There was no there were very few people I knew who read sci fi in fantasy that I could have that could have recommended this to me. So I had no idea what it was. And I think I finished it on the car ride because I was so engrossed in it. It was an hour and a half car ride And I would go and I would put Allright. How every time I read it, I would note in the front of the paperback copy in pencil. you know, like if it was there was a six when I was done reading, I'd make it a seven. Like I just kept reading it over and over and over again. And anybody who doesn't know it's based on radio scripts. It was originally a radio play for the BBC. Douglas Adams had written some doctor Who episodes. They asked him to write some radio plays. and he wrote this. It was such a hit. They decided to publish the radio plays, which sold well. and then they decided, well, let's make it into a full novel. novel actually A derivative work. It's not even the original. This is the novelization of the radio play, if you will And then listening to the audio book, it kind of comes back around a little bit. I was looking for actually a the dramatization performance perhaps and I couldn't find one, but maybe I need to go the original radio Original radio plays if you want that. I don't know if there's I feel like there's a dramatization of the book too out there somewhere, but that I couldn't find. That's what I was looking for. Right U But Stephen Fry reads the audiobook. so it is it's a classic in and of itself, right? Like the narration of Stephen Fry doing hitchhikers's guide is like unknown things being just genenius. One of the top level like audiobook narrations of all. I don't understand why They weren't able to get him to read the others series. Martin Freeman does a fine job. I'm not trying to you know undercut Martin Freeman, but It's not that Martin Freeman does a fine bad job. It's that Wait, did he play Arthur Dent in the movie? He did. Yeah. did, didnidn't he? in the more recent movie Yeah Yeah, Which the movie kind of pulls things from multiple books into the Hitchhg. I remember it not being completely. It's It's not faithful to the book itself, although pulling things from like restaurant and life, the universe and everything and putting them together It's wild. I don't dislike it I think I think I always feel like, o, but I want to watch a movie of the hitch of the book, not This is a movie based on the book, you know? so It's more like a movie based on the idea of hitchhiker S sky. Yeah. It's like if you took concepts of these of the series and said let's make a movie, then yeah, that's how that's how the movie seems to come around. If I remember correctly, I mean was it was a long time ago. I so my my f my famous to me Hitchhiker's guide story is that it is the my yearbook quote for my Cretbook. Nice. is In the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad. a bad bad idea And that was that was my little That's awesome It felt very punk rock. Yeah' some re. Yeah. put that in my earbook quote. that was one of the reasons I liked it when I read it in eighty four is like nobody talked like that. Like a lot of these things seem tame now considering, you know, what gets thrown around on the internet. But you know, the idea that you know, there's a book called Some of God's Greatest Mistakes U is is probably less less impactful now than it was back then. but I was like, okay, that's funny You know what's fun, John Nvtzts and Chat says, but none of the versions are faithful to each other. and And that's the way Adams li like them. Yeah That's a good point. That's a really great fair enough. Yeah yeah. Um I Yeah, so it's it's a I guess I kind of forgot that it is a series and that the whole big story isn't just in one book And so like when the book ended, I was like, oh, wait, but they didn't get to the restaurant. And I was like, oh yeah, this is pretty short So I might have to continue. I started a bating restaurant at the end of the universe It's funny. I think what's really interesting going into restaurant, which I haven't read in a long time. I think I've read Hitchhiker's Guide more recently on its own U but Restaurant There is a distinct change of tone Oh ye I clearly like wrote Hitchhiker's guuide off the back of the radio scripts then went about writing restaurant later. Like it's not It's not discontinuous or anything. It's not like Zehod Biebelbrox doesn't sound like himself or anything, but it's like, oh, oh, he decided to do a few things different when he decided when made restaurant at the end of theise into a novel. it's interesting I was I remember I think on like last Wednesday, I went for a walk to go look for mushrooms. and I was listening to the audioobook, you know, as one does on a rainy day. Yeah, when you're looking for mushoms U, and I was like cracking up on the triil. Yeah. it's like I Yeah had for Giden jokes hold up They're only dated because everyone knows them now. They're not dated in their concept, if that makes sense Yes, I understand. ye. like it's still like the references are dated, but the funny is still there. And I want to save this for the wrap up because I know we're not there yet. This is a very late ickviously obviously. But it's like every single line is funny. Yeah. Like every single line is either the run up to a joke or the punchline of a joke. Yeah. And so it's almost in that side, in that respect, it's almost too much sometimes. Yeah.'s likeatinging room O something ye It's like you have to listen very carefully everything is part of a very witty, very clever joke. And so you have to be paying attention. And he's the master of the unexpected turn. You know,, one of my favorite examples of that is early in the book when he says, you know, the Vogon spaceships M hung in the air exactly the way that gold bricks don't Right? And the don't is what I'm talking like where you're like exactly the way the Gld Bricks do, Well, that wouldn't make any sense. And it's like, o, no, exactly the way they don't. And it's like, Yeah, that doesn't make any sense, but also I totally get it. I now can picture it perfectly. like it's genius. That was a very funny. That was a very funny line too Yeah. Um in in Chat sayss obvious influence of Ely Pratchet, one hundred percent. Oh yeah. I mean just like Yeah So so in that vein, which is one of the reasons I also love Pratchet. I specialize in fjords. Yeah, I want to talk about that guy because that guy is like one of my favorite characters and I can't remember his name. Slardy Bart fast. Slardy Bart Fart Slardy Bart fast. Slardy Bart fast. You'll be late, as in the late Arthur Dent, It's sort of a threat, you see. slarty part ike I'd forgotten that guy's name and when they said it, I just started I started dying and I was calling Julian Sty Barkfast. L it's just so fun to say. this is not a wrap up. I don't wantan to get too far into. No, no, no. And trust us, if you've never read the book I its that's not spoiled. I'm glad that's a good point. It is definitely some comic relief for folks. U If you haven't started it, now is a good time. and it is a good time It is a good time. It is for sure a good time Well, thank you, everyone for listening as always. Next time is episode five hundred. Really That happened and will happen We' have something spectacular planned, I'm sure. Yeah U five hundred authors will join us for an interview. Are you booking that? Are you booking that I thought you were Did you start that? Aady? Let's start. You didn't start that? Wasn't Becca supposed to do that? Rebecca No Bec is living the time of their life in L.A. They have no time for Sorry, I have no time for this silliness. Sorry Be. I will email Skullzy. I'll see if what I can do. I don't know It is Thanksgiving Week, the next episode. American Thanksgiving Week. lightly say, Hey, Skullzy, can you do sword and lasers Oh my gosh. Yeah beice. He's not on X anymore. so you have to do it on threads or blue sky or one of the other things. Oh my go, please do that. That' be so funny. Be be nice, don't jerky, you know, just like. Yeah, hit him up on mastodon. That's right. If you hit him up on work to do it gotta do' done a fetti verse. he's gotta do it. Yeah