The Gently Touch (Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - Douglas Adams)

Member Name: Nomad

Product:	Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - Douglas Adams
Date:	15/09/00 (87 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well written

Disadvantages: You are occasionally left to fill in the blanks yourself.

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The following review was written in September 2000. I have left the review untouched but have placed an update at the end to cover any changes since it was written.
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I must admit I came across this book somewhat by accident. I had heard of Douglas Adams for his 'Hitch Hikers Guide to The Galaxy' books (a five-part trilogy !) although I wasn't a big fan of the tv series and I have (still) never read any of these books.

It was about seven years ago while I was wandering around a Bristol bookshop that I discovered 'Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency' and bought it on impulse. I have never looked back. This is an extremely entertaining read and very, very funny.

It concerns the exploits of one Svlad Cjelli currently going by the name of Dirk Gently, a low rent private investigator who has a tendency to use some of the more unusual methods to solve his cases. He believes in the fundamental interconnectedness of all things, that somehow by answering a seemingly unrelated question he will find the answer to his problem. OK so it's not very easy to describe but it can be pretty useful when you have to deal with ghosts, time machines and electric monks. In fact it's damn near invaluable when you find yourself with the fate of all mankind in your hands.

I've read this book several times and each reading reveals something that I missed the last time. The plot does take a little thinking about and while most of it falls nicely into place as you work your way through, Adams does leave you to do a little of your own thinking and fill in a couple of the blanks yourself. This is perhaps the only real complaint I have but don't let it put you off because, as I have already said, this is a very funny book.

It's the little details such as Gently's phone conversations with both prospective and current clients that prove to be so entertaining. The electric monk and his horse also provide plenty of humour as does the ghost of Gordon Way and his attempts at dealing with the more impractical side of the afterlife.

While it may be science fiction, it's set in the here and now (mostly) which makes the humour all the more effective. Most of the characters are well fleshed out and the plot provides plenty of interesting twists and turns. I don't hesitate in recommending this to anyone who is in need of a good laugh. I can't say how well it performs against the hitch hikers books as I've not read them yet but it easily manages to stand tall on it's own merits.

Released in 1987 a further Dirk Gently novel, 'The Long Dark Tea-Time Of The Soul' followed a year later.

Thanks for reading.
© Nomad 2000


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Update - August 2005

Tragically Douglas Adams died suddenly of a heart attack on 11th May 2001. He was 49.

He was mid way through a third Dirk Gently novel and this unfinished story along with a selection of unpublished work that was found on his computer was put together and released as "The Salmon Of Doubt" and it's well worth a read.

As a final point, I have now read all five parts of the Hitch Hikers trilogy but, good as they were, Dirk Gently still rules.
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Summary: The Douglas Adams series you've never even heard of.