http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today...00/7619708.stm

All the characters have been blown to pieces, and the trilogy is already two books too long.

But the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has never had a problem with highly improbable events.

Douglas Adams died in 2001, having written five of the enduringly popular Hitchhiker books - still inaccurately dubbed a trilogy.

About 16 million copies of the books have been sold worldwide, but fans were left disappointed when it seemed as though Adams' early death ended the series with all the main characters seemingly meeting a grizzly end.

Adams himself said: "I suspect at some point in the future I will write a sixth Hitchhiker book…I would love to finish Hitchhiker on a slightly more upbeat note.

"Five seems to be a wrong kind of number, six is a better kind of number."


Now it seems Adams' wish has come true. Children's author Eoin Colfer has been chosen to write the sixth of the series by Adams' widow Jane Belson. He writes of his joy at being able to continue the series with the new book And Another Thing.