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From: br@cstvax.UUCP (Brian Ritchie)
Newsgroups: net.books,net.sf-lovers
Subject: Fourth in a trilogy
Message-ID: <35@cstvax.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 18-Dec-85 12:35:54 EST
Article-I.D.: cstvax.35
Posted: Wed Dec 18 12:35:54 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 21-Dec-85 06:30:05 EST
References: <5015@stolaf.UUCP> <1766@utcsri.UUCP>
Reply-To: br@cstvax.UUCP (Brian Ritchie)
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In article <1766@utcsri.UUCP> tom@utcsri.UUCP (Tom Nadas) writes:
>
>Credit where credit is due.

Indeed!

>  It was Isaac Asimov who thought up
>the "fourth book in the trilogy" joke for his Foundation series,
>which predates Douglas Adams fourth book, however his publisher
>Judy Lynn del Rey talked him out of it.
>

    Spike Milligan's WWII trilogy was the first example I came across of
that by-now-rather-tired-and-much-overused phrase.  This was YONKS before
Foundation's Edge and The Guide.  I remember because I thought it was
funny then.

    -- Brian Ritchie.