"A Wholly Remarkable Book" (The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams)

Member Name: Midrange

Product:	The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
Date:	06/08/08 (20 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well crafted and humorous science-fiction adventure series, excellent read

Disadvantages: The narrative can be baffling at times!

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has been incarnated, and indeed reincarnated, in many, many forms over the years.

It kicked off as a quirky BBC Radio show which ran for two series. Douglas Adams then brought his humorous science fiction adventures to television, print, stage and the "big screen". Each time the plot has evolved slightly, or taken a new direction altogether. One of the delights of the series is how Douglas Adams seamlessly weaves his narrative together - leaping through time and space, but always retaining the core characters and always maintaining a high level of wit, ingenuity and insight. This book may be getting old, but it sure isn't getting tired!

This book, part one of a trilogy (Adams always delighted in the fact that his "trilogy" has five parts!), tells the story of an average man who's humdrum life is thrown into complete chaos when, completely unexpectedly, the Earth is demolished to make way from a new hyperspace bypass. He is saved from this catastrophe by his long standing friend, Ford Prefect who suddenly turns out to be from somewhere in the vicinity of Beetlejoose (that is, a complete other world) and not from Guildford, as he had hitherto claimed.

The book is filled with wonderful observational humour and a complex plot that both thrills, intrigues and (admittedly) confuses! Ford and Arthur meet Zaphod Beeblebrox, the President of the Galaxy, who is on a mission to find the planet of all planets. They are also meet Marvin (the paranoid android) and Trillion (who's story is so mindfrazzlingly complex, I won't go into detail - just wait till you get to book five!)

Improbability Drives, hyper-intelligent pan-dimensional mice, Slarty Bartfast, sperm whales and cups of tea are just some of the things/people that the heroic quintet encounter on their travels. If you're worrying that this all sounds a bit "zainy" - have no fear. Douglas Adams portrays it all in such a well considered and engaging fashion that it all becomes thoroughly engaging (if not believable)

One final things I would say is:
If you saw the film just a few years back PLEASE don't be put off reading the book. As they say, "The book's always better than the movie" and, in this case, it is perfectly true.

Summary: Extremely well written / observed / worth it.