The Sword and Laser discussion

Hi everyone!

I am back! And I loved revisiting Hitchhiker's this month. A real nostalgia trip with lots of fond memories (even though I forgot the book just kind of ends).

The humor was still great and I had to laugh out loud a couple of times. But as I have read lots of Dis world since the last time I read Adams' book, t really became clear to me what the differences are between the biggest humoristic genre authors:

And I feel it's the author's view of humanity. Pratchett has a way more hopeful or kind view of humanity and the universe we inhabit. Sure, we do the wrong stuff because we are lazy or set in our ways or just "human" but ultimately we are good and we can make some sense of it all.

While Adams sees his characters (and us by extension) in a "meaner" light. We are ultimately silly and life is maybe not meaningless but entirely out of our control for the most part. We are ultimately a bit silly in our attempts to navigate the world, the universe doesn't care and in the end we probably will be punished by it.

That sounds maybe a little more negative than I mean, but I do think that Pratchetts humor is a bit more "warm" and "understanding" while Adams' is a bit more cold and deconstructing.

What do you think?

I agree, though I feel much of Pratchett's work stems from a deep sense of anger. To me, it often seems as if he's railing against incompetence and inequity, yet skillfully wrapping that rage in the warmth and insight that make his writing so well loved.

As you say, Adams takes a more detached approach, highlighting the absurdities of the world/universe without appearing to push any particular agenda.

At least Pratchett seems to have characters that work a bit more for good. Vimes certainly seems to have a pretty robust understanding that the world is often crappy, always capricious, and that the people at the top are often wildly hypocritical. But he does more than go along for the ride even when he's dealt a really weird hand (like being slung 30 years in the past).

Maybe that's why I'm getting more joyless vibes from Hitchhiker's than I should be. Perhaps main characters make decisions in the later books that make them feel like they're trying to do something?

I don't know if it's fair to compare the incredible juggernaut of Pratchett's Discworld to, well, anything.

@Steve, I agree that Pratchett was a deeply angry person (see Vimes' righteous anger).

Pratchett and Adams are contemporaries, both born in post war England (which and probably grew up listening to comedy like the Goon show). English humour has a strong absurdist streak which Hitch Hikers fits neatly into (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British...).

The 70s were a pretty bleak period in Britain so it is not surprising Hitch Hikers is a bleak response.

(I have to add this, according to Google Adams was influenced by Neil Gaiman, snigger).

I agree with you Jan. In style the humour is absurdist, using a fantastical setting to hold a carnival mirror up to Western (mostly) society. Both employ word play in narration and dialogue. Both put there characters into comedy driven situations.

As you say the point of difference is character. Adams' characters are almost entirely incompetent. Ford and Zaphod are irresponsible hedonists just seeing where the ride takes them and hoping it's fun. Arthur is (at least in the first two books) is completely out of his depth and perpetually bewildered. Marvin seems hopelessly resigned to being unhappy through his existence. Worse they all seem to be not only unwilling to change but unaware of their faults. Trillian is the only character who seeks to actually improve her situation through her own agency.
I think the scene with the POV gun was one of the best inclusions in the film for this reason.

Conversely Pratchett's characters generally all exhibit generally high levels of competence and agency over their surroundings. Characters like Sam Vimes, Mustrum Ridcully, Esme Weatherwax and Moist Von Lipwig are deeply flawed but they all roll up their sleeves and get things done, sometimes even with a bit of character growth.

Iain wrote: "according to Google Adams was influenced by Neil Gaiman, snigger"

The other way around. Neil Gaiman was a reporter who interviewed Douglas Adams, then they became friends.
Gaiman wrote "Don't Panic", which is a Companion Book to the Hitchhicker's Guide books.