Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
by Douglas Adams
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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has long been on my shelf of "frequent re-reads". So, for my 50th book of the year, I picked up Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, the first book of Douglas Adams' less well-known series. I use the word series loosely, as there are only two books. Adams left a third book, Salmon of Doubt unfinished at the time of his death.
The plot of this book is convoluted at best, but I'm going to try and describe it. The book starts with a series of u...more
The plot of this book is convoluted at best, but I'm going to try and describe it. The book starts with a series of u...more
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Read in March, 2004
After reading Douglas Adams' biography, Don't Panic, I decided to re-visit his body of work, starting with Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency.
It's a rather disjointed book, with the first chapter only making sense once you've reached the very end. Richard MacDuff, a computer programmer, is dating the sister of his employer, Gordon Way, and doing a lousy job of it. He's invited to a Coleridge memorial dinner at his alma mater. St. Cedd's, by Professor Urban Chronotis, his counselor.
...more
It's a rather disjointed book, with the first chapter only making sense once you've reached the very end. Richard MacDuff, a computer programmer, is dating the sister of his employer, Gordon Way, and doing a lousy job of it. He's invited to a Coleridge memorial dinner at his alma mater. St. Cedd's, by Professor Urban Chronotis, his counselor.
...more
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Read in January, 1989
recommends it for:
Douglas Adams fans
Adams' first fiction foray into a world other than the one(s) created for the Hitchhiker's Trilogy is a treat: a detective story filled with the same bizarre happenings and twists, described and narrated in Adams' inimitable comedic style. Unlike the Hitchhiker's books, however, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency was written to be a stand-alone story, with a definite beginning, middle, and end. In many ways, this was Adams' first attempt at writing a proper novel--and he succeeds wil...more
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Read in January, 2005
It's sad that most reviews of this novel start by stating the reviewer's feelings about Adams's other work, Hitchhikers Guide, but it is what he's famous for. I liked that series, but would hesitate to call it genius, as so many others have. I think it's overrated.
Conversely, I feel that the two Dirk Gently books are vastly underrated, and actually do reveal Adams's genius. These books are intelligent, devilishly clever and funnier than the other series. Some critics here have said it's ha...more
Conversely, I feel that the two Dirk Gently books are vastly underrated, and actually do reveal Adams's genius. These books are intelligent, devilishly clever and funnier than the other series. Some critics here have said it's ha...more
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Read in October, 2007
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency has many of the same elements as Adams's more well known Hitchhiker's Guide series: mentally ill robots, digital watches, time travel and the end of the earth.
Dirk Gently's story doesn't flow as evenly from scene to scene as the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy does but then there are so many different versions of the Guide that it's possible earlier versions were just as rough. It took me a while to get into the story and to piece together the differe...more
Dirk Gently's story doesn't flow as evenly from scene to scene as the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy does but then there are so many different versions of the Guide that it's possible earlier versions were just as rough. It took me a while to get into the story and to piece together the differe...more
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Read in January, 1987
recommends it for:
anyone
Douglas Adams' underated masterpiece leads Dirk Gently from a search for a missing cat to unlocking the secrets of time travel and saving the human race from total extinction.
I thought no-one could write a better comic novel than 'The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy' until I first read this. I've subsequently re-read this novel countless times and it never fails to entertain, I'm still finding references to literature and popular culture that I've previously missed.
That a novel can b...more
I thought no-one could write a better comic novel than 'The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy' until I first read this. I've subsequently re-read this novel countless times and it never fails to entertain, I'm still finding references to literature and popular culture that I've previously missed.
That a novel can b...more
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Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
adults
I decided a while ago that I have a hard time reading Douglas Adams stuff. I read too slowly. Listening to it is much better. Listening to Douglas Adams reading Douglas Adams is much much much better.
This book doesn't stray very far from what I consider to be stock DA. A lot of great witty banter. A decent amount of the strange and unbelievable. And space things. Or things from space. Outer space.
Still following this story, like most DA stories, is a bit like watching an episode...more
This book doesn't stray very far from what I consider to be stock DA. A lot of great witty banter. A decent amount of the strange and unbelievable. And space things. Or things from space. Outer space.
Still following this story, like most DA stories, is a bit like watching an episode...more
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Read in June, 2007
I have a hard time rereading the Hitchhiker's Guide books - the first one seems really funny, then they kind of taper off for me. Rereading Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, though, makes me remember why I like Douglas Adams so much. His style of writing kind of surprises you - makes you feel comfortable, but then jumps out with a turn of phrase that makes you think. Or laugh. Both of those, in equal measure.
Much like the Hitchhiker books, Dirk Gently's is the story of a pretty ordinary...more
Much like the Hitchhiker books, Dirk Gently's is the story of a pretty ordinary...more
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
British comedy fans
I recently re-read Dirk Gently, since the first time I read it was in the seventh or eighth grade, and so I really didn't remember much of it. I must say it is absolutely fantastic. It is one of the few books which as I read it I was imagining what you could do for a film version. I think it would be a fantastic work to bring to the big screen, particularly after the modest success of Hitchhiker's...
That said, I love Douglas Adams. The man was a genius at creating characters, and the Gently ...more
That said, I love Douglas Adams. The man was a genius at creating characters, and the Gently ...more
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Read in December, 2006
Primordial soup, what music looks like on a computer, the seemingly random murder of a millionaire businessman, a Cambridge don, an electric monk on horseback, and much more. Everything is connected. Or at least that is the way that Dirk gently would have us all believe. The problem is he just can't try to put all of these disparate elements together this time into one holistic piece. But he will. And you should find yourself laughing along the way. Be prepared for some unimaginable plot twists ...more
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Read in January, 2002
After the genius that is the entirety of The Hitchhiker's Guide (though they admittedly decline in quality, but never into mediocrity), I was super pumped to read this whimsical take on the detective genre, one of my favorite types of stories. Holy crap was I disappointed. I found it so plodding and self-indulgent that I actually never finished it - a rarity for me, especially considering this book is just over 300 pages. I've heard "The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul" - which is the s...more
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Read in May, 2008
I read The Salmon of Doubt which has an unfinished early draft of the last book that Adams was working on when he died. It was apparently supposed to be the third Dirk Gently book, and it was incredible. It was so sad that never finished because I was totally sucked into what there was of it and dying to read more. Because of that I decided to read the other Dirk Gently books. This one was very disappointing to me. I like Adam's style... quirky, random, clever, but this book was just too di...more
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If you liked The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, this is another humorous masterpiece from Douglas Adams. It's about a nearly bankrupt detective named Dirk Gently, who specializes in the extremely weird. It's a murder mystery, mixed in with alien robots, mythical gods, and time travel. Douglas Adams has a very unique writing style, and is able to describe things in a very unusual, but humous way. For anyone who is fond of English humor, and wants a good laugh. I first came across this boo...more
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I actually read this book AFTER The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul. If I hadn't I don't think I would have finished this. Tea Time was definitely better. This one had a very slow start and you don't actually meet Dirk until about halfway through the book. In the end I was glad I finished it, although I can't remember much about it now. Do yourself a favor, if you are a fan of Douglas Adams and have read - or tried to read - this book, be sure to read The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul, you ...more
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Read in December, 2007
I was a little disappointed. Although DA's wit and quirkiness were in abundance, there were several loose ends that didn't seem to get sorted out. Maybe it's because I read it while visiting family over the holidays and was groggy from too much rich food, but I don't understand why the Electric Monk was there in the first place. Or why Reg had to go back in time a billion years to put dust on his face (other than creating a way of getting the EM into the present so he/it could pull a trigger.)...more
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Read in July, 2007
Douglas Adams is an impressive writer. He was able to master the realms of comedy, satire, scifi/fantasy, and mystery. I have always enjoyed his writing style - fluid and subtly humorous. He always seems to be winking at the reader in his prose.
As a mystery, this book is quite good. I was unable to figure out what would happen before the end of the story. This particular mystery spans both time and space, and often ruminates on the fantastic invention of the catflap. As a general read,...more
As a mystery, this book is quite good. I was unable to figure out what would happen before the end of the story. This particular mystery spans both time and space, and often ruminates on the fantastic invention of the catflap. As a general read,...more
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such a comedic genius! how could he possibly keep so many hilarious situations rolling around a book all at once?
adams' portrayal of svlad cjelli, the main character, is awe inspiring. i can see oliver platt starring in the movie. adams whips out these outrageous scenes, silly subplots, and unbelieveable characters and just frictionlessly spins them into a story you can really jump into and live while you're reading it.
follow this one up immediately with it's sequal, the long dark tea...more
adams' portrayal of svlad cjelli, the main character, is awe inspiring. i can see oliver platt starring in the movie. adams whips out these outrageous scenes, silly subplots, and unbelieveable characters and just frictionlessly spins them into a story you can really jump into and live while you're reading it.
follow this one up immediately with it's sequal, the long dark tea...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
Fans looking for the spiritual grandfather of Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, or Piers Anthony.
Charming, witty, hilarious and swiftly-paced: all the hallmarks of a Douglas Adams book. The Dirk Gently series just may be (maybe) better than the Hitchhiker series. Okay, that's a bald-faced lie, but they are definitely quality reads. I am sad that I finally finished the last Adams that I had not read. I'm going to have to wait a few years until my memory of his works fades a little so that I can reread them with the same exuberant freshness with which I tore through this one.
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
Sci-Fi fans/Literary fiction fans
Okay, it's no secret that I'm a fan of Douglas Adams's work. But there's a good reason for that. I am extremely critical of the fiction I read, so when I find something I really like, it's a rare and joyous occasion. Adams had a way of turning a phrase that made me want to weep. The man had rare talent and a cunning intellect--an amazing combination. His writing skills really come through in the Dirk Gently books (Holistic Detective Agency and Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul).
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Read in January, 1996
Not as good as the Hitchhiker series, but just as hilarious nonetheless. While keeping with the typical quirky, Adams humour and being an easy, fast-paced read, it seems to be lacking something - but what?
I would recommend probably reading this before the Hitchhiker series as a good lead in, but then again, I wouldn't because at the same time, I don't think this is a good introduction to Adams' work. Still, it's a good book with good laughs.
I would recommend probably reading this before the Hitchhiker series as a good lead in, but then again, I wouldn't because at the same time, I don't think this is a good introduction to Adams' work. Still, it's a good book with good laughs.
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