Vallhalla and the exploding check-in desk. (The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul - Douglas Adams)

Name: Azurel

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Product:	The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul - Douglas Adams
Date:	07/04/02 (133 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very entertaining read

Disadvantages: Not as good as theHitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series

This book is the second that Douglas Adams has written about Dirk Gently (the first was Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency). It was written after the 5 part trilogy(?) of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and although the humour is similar its definitely not the same sort of idea.

Kate Schechter first meets the rather angry, not to mention lost, Norse god (Thor) at the check-in desk at Heathrow Airport. Kate then misses her plane to Oslo and just as she is about to leave the airport the check-in desk she and Thor were at explodes, leaving her in a bruised heap on the floor and the Norse god no where to be seen. Of course no one realises that the god is responsible and so the usual suspects rush forward to claim responsibility before having to admit it had nothing to do with them.

Mr Anstey becomes Dirks client because believes that a green-eyed monster is going to try and kill him. He is so sure of this fact that he is willing to pay Dirk £300 a day plus any expenses that may arise from Dirks extremely unusual approach. Dirk believes that all things are fundamentally interconnected, and using this line he hopes to place the cost of a new fridge on expenses. Unfortunately Mr Anstey is murdered before Dirk is paid and Dirk wants to find out why.

The story serves to illustrate that Dirks theory of interconnectedness is true as he meets Kate and then discovers the link between Mr Anstey, the green-eyed monster, The gods of Valhalla and a red cola machine.

I enjoyed this book more than the first because the character of Dirk Gently was already established, so its probably a good idea to read them in order. The book is funny throughout with certain bits sticking in the memory, the battle of the fridge between Dirk and his cleaner is very funny and is eventually resolved resulting in the creation of a guilt god.

Summary: