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

Member Name: Pingu

Product:	Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - Douglas Adams
Date:	29/06/00 (21 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Witty

Disadvantages: see above

I waited for this one with baited breath, coming as it did from my favourite author at the time. I even managed to get my copy signed. But I think I was waiting for more Hitchhiker's Guide, which this isn't.

Dirk Gently runs a detective agency which is holistic in the sense that he assumes a link between everything in the universe. This is his excuse for doing more or less whatever he wants, and calling it investigation, and still charging the client. The premise is a good one, and the plot is very good. But the humour is darker and more cynical than it was in the Hitchhiker's set. What's more Adams has tried Pratchett's trick of leaving things unsaid and letting the imagination fill in the detail. Whereas for Pratchett this somehow makes his imagery stronger, for Adams it just leaves gaping hole in the plot, which you can't actually work out at all. It's a bit like one of the more obscure X-files.

A really good read, but not everyone's cup of tea.

Summary: