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A review by madmadmaddymad
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
It was kind of a bucket list read for me. I’ve had this book sitting on my shelf for YEARS.
Anyway; it’s wacky and absurd and very funny. When you read this book you will discover the answer of Life; the Universe, and Everything. Watch the Universe come to an end, and see it all come back around. Realize that the feeling that there’s something deeper going on is nothing more than perfectly normal paranoia, everyone has that.
I love the twists each new story brings. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a very solid standalone, and if you’ve seen the film, it does a pretty good job of covering the zany premise of the story in a 2 hour time slot. The real fun begins when we go to The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. The sequel expands upon the canon while keeping everything light. I also really enjoyed the third book, Life, the Universe, and Everything. My favorite bit was Arthur encountering Agrajag, (specifically the callback to the improbability drive and the bowl of petunias we met in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I never expected to meet the consciousness from the bowl of petunias and have it become a major antagonist three books into a series. Incredible.)
The final two books in the series were difficult for me to get through. I’m not sure if I actually lost interest or if the zany, weird storytelling really started to grate on me after a while… but I just feel like I would have enjoyed this series JUST AS MUCH if I had never read them.
Anyway this is a classic for a reason, it’s very good, I don’t think the sequels are ever really available commercially unless you buy this omnibus so, I honestly still recommend checking it out!
Five stars for being a bright, hilarious, scientific, and still whimsical journey through the galaxy.
Anyway; it’s wacky and absurd and very funny. When you read this book you will discover the answer of Life; the Universe, and Everything. Watch the Universe come to an end, and see it all come back around. Realize that the feeling that there’s something deeper going on is nothing more than perfectly normal paranoia, everyone has that.
I love the twists each new story brings. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a very solid standalone, and if you’ve seen the film, it does a pretty good job of covering the zany premise of the story in a 2 hour time slot. The real fun begins when we go to The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. The sequel expands upon the canon while keeping everything light. I also really enjoyed the third book, Life, the Universe, and Everything. My favorite bit was Arthur encountering Agrajag, (specifically the callback to the improbability drive and the bowl of petunias we met in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I never expected to meet the consciousness from the bowl of petunias and have it become a major antagonist three books into a series. Incredible.)
The final two books in the series were difficult for me to get through. I’m not sure if I actually lost interest or if the zany, weird storytelling really started to grate on me after a while… but I just feel like I would have enjoyed this series JUST AS MUCH if I had never read them.
Anyway this is a classic for a reason, it’s very good, I don’t think the sequels are ever really available commercially unless you buy this omnibus so, I honestly still recommend checking it out!
Five stars for being a bright, hilarious, scientific, and still whimsical journey through the galaxy.