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The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Life, the Universe and Everything (Hitchhikers Guide to/Galaxy) Price

In reviewing Douglas Adams’ first two Hitchhikers books I said they were perhaps the only books I’d read where I wouldn’t change a thing; not a sentence, not a comma, nothing. In the case of Life, The Universe and Everything I can’t make such a bold statement. Make no mistake, Douglas Adams could probably write a book on changing your oil and make it humorous but there’s a difference between humorous and hilarious. The first two books are hilarious. This one is just a bit less so. I had the feeling that Adams began the series with a head full of brilliant ideas and now we’ve gotten to the ideas and plots that didn’t make the cut in the first two books. Now mind you I’m rating this book on the Douglas Adams scale which reaches a much higher level than your average writer.

Life, The Universe and Everything starts up where The Restaurant at the End of the Universe left off, with Ford and Arthur stuck on prehistoric Earth. Here is where the first problem occurs. Arthur has always been the main character of the series but he’s far less interesting then the supporting cast including Zaphod Beeblebrox and Marvin the Robot but those two really get pushed to the side. Even when Zaphod appears he seemed like a watered down, less interesting version. I would go even further and say that unlike the first two books Adams spends far less time on developing any of the characters. An argument could be made that the first two books established the characters but to me it felt like the author was just coasting.

After escaping from the past, Ford and Arthur naturally find themselves embroiled in a plot that threatens to destroy the entire universe. It seems that millions of years ago some happy, carefree life forms on planet Krikkit discovered that the universe contains intelligent beings besides themselves and in the all time greatest surge of xenophobia decide to wipe out every other living sentient being in existence. Before you can say Kumbaya the Krittets have traded in their folk songs and campfires for warships and very nearly succeed in their plan of universal genocide before being imprisoned in a slo-time envelope. Between their imprisonment and the present day the Krikkits have only experienced five years of actual time, more than enough to develop a final universe ending doomsday weapon. Now someone is trying to break them out.

The idea of the Krikkits being so incredibly, mind bendingly motivated that they were able to rapidly advance their technologically and challenge the rest of the universe was awesome. Unfortunately things turn out not to be as they seem and this is where I kind of wish Douglas Adams hadn’t taken the story where he did. The conclusion of the book is far far far from poor but given the sheer perfection of the first two books I couldn’t help but wish it had been slightly different. It also features a tacked on ending disconnected from the rest of the book as if it suddenly occurred to Douglas Adams that he forgot to put in the obligatory `almost finding the secret of the universe’ so he quickly slapped something together.

There are no weak links in the Hitchhikers chain but some are stronger than other and I did have a feeling that Douglas Adams creativity tank wasn’t at full capacity when he wrote this one. I still highly recommend it and wouldn’t hesitate to give it five stars.

Overview

In consequence of a number of stunning catastrophes, Arthur Dent is surprised to find himself living in a hideously miserable cave on prehistoric Earth. And then, just as he thinks things cannot possibly get any worse, they suddenly do. Discover the origins of life on Earth - and don’t be shocked if it’s not what they taught you at school.

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Customer Reviews

How to Fly - TSabonis - Sioux City, IA, USA
This is another fine tale from Douglas Adams, taking us on wild adventures with Arthur, and the rest. The difference in this one is that Arthur is finally starting to actually do things. rather than jsut standing around saying what. In this one we get to see Arthur and Trillian save the universe, and we learn to fly, which was my favorite part of the novel. The key is to throw yourself at the ground and miss. I enjoyed it. I am in the process of reading the entire trilogy, but I am putting it down after each book because, not being a fan of Sci - Fi, I do get a little tired of the names and ridiculous situations. If you are going to read the trilogy and you are not a big sci fi fan, take a break in between each novel.

Great book, but not as great as the first two in the series. - Ryan Ordille - Connecticut, USA
I am a new fan of the Hitchhiker series, and I’m about halfway through the 4th book in the “trilogy”. Adams uses the same techniques and humor that made the other books in the series so great, and I would say overall this is a very good book. However, I found this book to be my least favorite in the series - there doesn’t seem to be as much action and humor in “Life, the Universe, and Everything” as there was in the first two books in the series. The story line was good, but not as compelling as the other story lines. Don’t get me wrong, the book is very good and I would recommend it to anyone, but it seems to have suffered from the “middle child syndrome”. I’ll give the book 3 stars out of 5, although compared to most sequels, the book is still very, very good.

For the Love of Towel! - Fredric Burke - NYC
These books are incredibly fun, a little mind-bending, and a richly entertaining peek into a world free of Klingons and Storm Troopers and other people bent on ruining the fun. Yes there are villains, but they’re more of the Snidely Whiplash variety, and generally undone by their own foibles, not photon torpedoes. It’s a far gentler, less dystopian view of the universe, and such a better place to be.
Product Information : Mar 16, 2010 07:00:17

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