Of all the books in the Hitchhiker's series, this one seems the darkest. There is a weird cynicism presented throughout which says, yes terrible thingOf all the books in the Hitchhiker's series, this one seems the darkest. There is a weird cynicism presented throughout which says, yes terrible things are happening in the universe and only the main characters seem to care. In this particular case, it's the wild and crazy Ford Prefect.
I might have forgotten about this book deliberately and pretended the series ended with Life, the Universe, and Everything if only because that would wrap up things for Arthur nicely, taking him from passive tourist to active participant in saving the galaxy.
Still, I like this book. Adams can’t really write a bad one; all the humor and bizarre story stuff is there. The bits with Arthur and his daughter are interesting, though I have a lot of questions about the character motivation on Trillian’s part that never get resolved. Selfishly having a daughter with Arthur’s DNA and without his permission, then sticking the responsibility on him seems out of character, but then we never learned much about her anyway. We get more here, with the story of her life in an alternate reality where she does not go off with Zaphod.
If you’re a die hard fan, it’s an entertaining book to read. If you’re casually interested in the old Hitchhiker's phenomenon, this one’s skippable....more
This is when the cynicism of the series might start to wear out a reader.
Terrible, frightening things happen that threaten all life in the Universe buThis is when the cynicism of the series might start to wear out a reader.
Terrible, frightening things happen that threaten all life in the Universe but all the people are either 1) to stupid to understand, 2) too self-involved to care, or 3) too inept to do anything about it.
The story of the planet Krikkit is quite tragic and sad if given consideration. Adams does this in a funny way of course.
Saving the day falls to Arthur, who is apparently the most ordinary man ever, but placed in the extraordinary position of being able to do something....more
Warning: below is more of a shared memory than a review.
Reread this recently as sort of a "buddy" read with my daughter. I feel pretty confident in sWarning: below is more of a shared memory than a review.
Reread this recently as sort of a "buddy" read with my daughter. I feel pretty confident in saying I still love this book. It's not nostalgia talking when I say it's one of the funniest books I'd ever read and probably formed a lot of the basis of my sense of humor and ways of thinking.
It is my standard for a humorous book and my eventual attraction to Discworld started with this series. There was a whole entire phenomenon in the early '80s with a radio show, PBS series, and of course the book. I'm happy to be old enough to remember all that even though I was too young to read the book at the time. I picked it up for the first time as young as the age of eleven, and a lot of it went over my head I'm sure, but I still enjoyed it.
It is more than just funny. There is great world-building, characters with huge personalities, and lots of philosophic ideas, and other stuff that just gets you thinking and laughing....more
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