Book: Dirk Gentley Series

[AllanO]

http://sfdebris.com/videos/special/dirkgently.php

I can't help but notice that Chuck attributes Dirk's Holistic (Interconnectedness of All Things) schtick to quantum mechanics. However I think it is pretty clearly inspired by Chaos Theory. Dirk goes on about how "The beating of a butterfly’s wings in China can affect the course of an Atlantic hurricane." (checking Google in Long Dark Teatime). This is a reference to the Chaos Theory idea, the Butterfly Effect, the extreme dependence of things like weather on initial conditions (the beating of the butterflies wings can change the initial conditions enough to totally change later developments, relatively quickly).

Interestingly I recall Richard Dawkins was a big fan of Dirk Gently and the invocation of Chaos Theory and the like.

This is also a reference to chaos theory in pop culture that predates James Gleick's Chaos (a popular account of chaos theory, both it and Dirk were published in 1987 I think) which is often seen to be the source of a lot of popular interest in it (including Jurassic Park and the Tom Stoppard play Arcadia). Although I guess Dirk does not make the butterfly reference until the second book, but I really think this was the idea at play more than quantum theory.

Anyway I like both books and although it has been a long time since I read any of them, I think I like Dirk Gently more as books than the Hitchhiker Series.

Chuck is giving a pretty good review of the books so far, I think he has a good bead on the character dynamics, plot and basic structural issues etc. I just got hung up on that one point.

[Independent George]

Haven't had the time to watch the review yet, but I am actually much bigger fan of the Dirk Gently series than Hitchiker's. It's not as quotable, but the characters, the stories, and the ideas all connected for me in a way that Hitchiker's didn't. I look forward to Chuck's commentary.

[PerrySimm]

Dirk Gently >> Arthur Dent. The Holistic Detective duology has got to be one of the best reads ever. Go! Do it!

[Darmani]

I could barely get the character Dirk gently until this video series broke it down. And The Long Dark tea-time of the Soul totally lost me. If I understand correctly at some point they felt that they needed a God in order to deal with the modern day but still allow them some level Mythic ability and dignity in this time. Basically much like Neil Diamond and others people were playing with the idea of magic fairies or the Gods coming back or hiding out. It seems as if Walt Simon since Rhonda on Thor was very far-reaching even in printing in a noted researcher like Adams the idea of Thor being blond and so on.

I never remembered who the eagle actually was I remember the soda machine being Dirk secretary. I did love the interplay between the lady character and Thor. Particularly when she sets him up a bath and order to help soothe his wounds. I also like the fact that technically we see the equivalent of modern-day urban fantasy Gamers evil lawyers were able to lock into a god contract where they come out on top but they out of that admit they didn't use God power to get super greedy they just wanted to live absolutely secure upper-middle-class lifestyle.

It was just I didn't understand how everything wrapped up. Also I didn't know that there was an actual villain. I guess technically that's toerag and his contract Enforcer. But I have no problem with the idea of his motos I just assumed that he likes things the way that they were and much like the lawyers himself got power out of being middle management while Odin had a lot of power as a source didn't really know how to handle things. Toerag was sharp but couldn't handle responsibility and was well a goblin. He wanted to enforce the contract and keep things going. That and 2 degree I thought it was a commentary on how evil in the world isn't perpetuated by supervillains as it is by often privileged people being kind of self-absorbed arrogant assholes who often have more power than they know what to do with and use irresponsibly. Much Akin how the gods have either ended up over reactionary and Thor's case or suicidal in the case of the lady who lays out the current Mythos in its state of affairs