Adams was an imperfect writer. His plotting was lax, partly a result of a notorious procrastination habit which required him to rush at the last moment, but which helped make him an imaginative improviser. (“I love deadlines,” he wrote. “I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.”) His female characters are flimsy. But he excelled at bringing a human scale and sensibility to the vastness of the cosmos, and vice-versa, often via a deftly executed one-liner.
Also not in the least bit surprised to find that Terry Pratchett (one of my faves) was a rival to Douglas.
Also not in the least bit surprised to find that Terry Pratchett (one of my faves) was a rival to Douglas.