Back on Earth with nothing more to show for his long, strange trip through time and space than a ratty towel and a plastic shopping bag, Arthur Den...
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Aug 20, 2008
Vincent
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Jun 09, 2008
Sean T
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If any of the inappropriately named Hitchhiker's Guide Trilogy could be called "best", I think this is it. I see two elements setting it apart from the other books in the HHGG series: its tight plot, and the fact that it is at heart a romantic comedy more than a farcical satire of the Science Fiction genre.
As one would expect, the focus of the storyline is the continued pursuit of the Ultimate Question, to which we already know that the Ultimate Answer is "Forty-two" More...
As one would expect, the focus of the storyline is the continued pursuit of the Ultimate Question, to which we already know that the Ultimate Answer is "Forty-two" More...
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Mar 13, 2011
Running on empty: Following a highly productive breakthrough period when he was simultaneously knocking out scripts for both Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Doctor Who, Douglas Adams famously struggled with writer's block during the later half of his career as a novelist. Previous Hitchhiker novel Life, the Universe and Everything was itself a re-worked Doctor Who story, and by the time of 4th Hitchhiker novel So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish you can feel the author struggling to find a
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Nov 30, 2011
Emma
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So, I don't like this one. For me, Hitchhikers charm lies in the fact that it's just some guy randomly stumbling through the galaxy gaping at things. This book isn't like that. It's a kind of flat love story. For some reason the Earth is bath. Arthur returns and meets a girl who he immediatley falls in love with for no apparent reason. He had a dream that they are deeply connected on a spiritual level. He meets her again and they have sex in the clouds. About the only thing I did like about this
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Aug 07, 2011
Becky
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Out of the "trilogy of five," this one was actually my favorite. I understand that for many people it's the least popular, because almost the whole thing takes place on earth and it focuses mainly just on Arthur Dent and not the other characters. However, that's why I liked it. After the somewhat overwhelming third book, it was a relief to have a novel that didn't keep jumping around between characters and plot, and just focus on one thing at a time.
Plus, this story had a More...
Plus, this story had a More...
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Jul 22, 2011
Amanda
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For the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed this installment of the Hitchhiker series. In fact, out of the first four books (as I haven't read the last one yet), I'd say it is second only to the original book. It is a short but satisfying read, in part because this is the first book with some actual character development. Arthur, for once, is not portrayed solely as some clueless, bumbling oaf that only cares about tea. He takes some initiative and follows through with the plans he makes. I also lik
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Nov 15, 2010
Olivia
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Jun 19, 2010
Cecily
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Hitchhiker's, volume 4.
This is noticeably less good than it's three predecessors, particularly in terms of plot, but it still has plenty of splashes of brilliance:
Arthur and Fenchurch fly.
Wonko the Sane declaring the world beyond his inside-out house is an asylum.
Rob McKenna is a rain god but doesn't know it - only that it always rains wherever he goes - the loving clouds just want to water him.
"All eyes were on Ford Prefect. Som More...
This is noticeably less good than it's three predecessors, particularly in terms of plot, but it still has plenty of splashes of brilliance:
Arthur and Fenchurch fly.
Wonko the Sane declaring the world beyond his inside-out house is an asylum.
Rob McKenna is a rain god but doesn't know it - only that it always rains wherever he goes - the loving clouds just want to water him.
"All eyes were on Ford Prefect. Som More...
Jun 18, 2010
Mimi
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This one definitely had a different feel to it than the first three. The focus was on Arthur Dent and his supposed return to Earth (or a reasonable facsimile thereof!)...and whaddyaknow...he finally "gets lucky", and does so while flying of course!
Although I liked the first three books better, I thought the whole twist on the "Save Endangered Species" (with a reversal on the human/dolphin relationship)theme was sort of cute. Nerd alert! Visions of "Star T More...
Although I liked the first three books better, I thought the whole twist on the "Save Endangered Species" (with a reversal on the human/dolphin relationship)theme was sort of cute. Nerd alert! Visions of "Star T More...
Oct 28, 2011
Penelope
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I actually was pleasantly surprised by this book. After finishing the third book, I was losing my faith in the series and its ability to be really funny. I loved the first book. The second book was definitely not as good, but I still liked it. The third book was just "bleh" and I've already mostly erased it from my mind. I really wasn't sure where this one was going to go. I don't think it feels "tacked on" at all. After reading the first three books, it still seemed l
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Sep 20, 2010
David
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Nov 26, 2011
PenNPaper52
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This was one of the most weirdest of all the books I have read so far by Douglas Adams. I did cheer a bit when I learned Arthur was going to get a girl friend... about time... although Trillian was around, she wasn't a proper girl friend. She was more like one of those blown up dolls... no romance in the strictest sense. So Arthur gets a girl friend just as weird as him named Fenchurch... like the railway station on monopoly boards. The thing about Fenchurch is she remembers when the Earth actua
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Aug 14, 2011
Brian
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Perhaps it is just me, but the humor is beginning to lose its appeal to me. I don't know if his style changed or if I simply became sick of it, but I simply didn't laugh nearly as much in this installment. Even the reveal of God's Final Message to his Creation didn't really give me a chuckle, maybe because of the specific method in which the writer gave us the information. Amusing, yes, but the Ultimate Question reveal had some intellectual meat to it as well as some quality tongue-and-cheekines
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Jul 30, 2011
Kurt
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I know, it's cool among nerds to love the first book of the "trilogy," like the next two, and dislike the final two, so I tried to like this book out of spite, but it's just not very good. The real strengths of the first three books come from a unique madcap zaniness, with snide comments about the state of the universe and exotic characters making brief and memorable appearances. This book carries a few characters over from the earlier works, but almost everything else is a change for
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Jul 28, 2010
Dalton
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Jan 23, 2009
Ron
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The further adventures of at least some of our Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy friends. This one focuses mainly focuses mainly on Arthur Dent, who finds himself once again on Earth, which was supposed to have been destroyed eight years earlier before he set off on adventures around the Galaxy.
Although my finite mind was slightly confused at times, I chalked all of this up to the vagaries and complexities of time travel. At any rate, Arthur makes good use of his return to Earth, meeti More...
Although my finite mind was slightly confused at times, I chalked all of this up to the vagaries and complexities of time travel. At any rate, Arthur makes good use of his return to Earth, meeti More...
Jan 10, 2010
Travis
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I was surprised with this one. I don't mean that in a bad way, nor do it I mean it in a good way, really. Douglas Adams knew how to right, there's no doubt about it. He is an incredible writer and his short bibliography could demolish most of the stuff resting on the shelves in bookstores.
But, is this one his best?
No.
Is this the best one in the Hitchhiker's "trilogy"?
No.
Is this still a good book?
You bet.
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But, is this one his best?
No.
Is this the best one in the Hitchhiker's "trilogy"?
No.
Is this still a good book?
You bet.
More...
Feb 05, 2012
Lauren
rated it:
There were high points and low points.
High points being Arthur is a complete and utter dork and so for him to fall in love with someone who gets the whole dolphin thing is pretty major. Their romance, to some, was just flat...I for one sort of enjoyed it.
Wacko the Sane was fantastic. A wonderful addition to the book.
Low points being Ford was not present a great deal. And even when he was...he felt off to me.
Zaphod and Trillian were not really all that present either. Marv More...
High points being Arthur is a complete and utter dork and so for him to fall in love with someone who gets the whole dolphin thing is pretty major. Their romance, to some, was just flat...I for one sort of enjoyed it.
Wacko the Sane was fantastic. A wonderful addition to the book.
Low points being Ford was not present a great deal. And even when he was...he felt off to me.
Zaphod and Trillian were not really all that present either. Marv More...
Jul 15, 2007
Jeni
rated it:
I love Douglas Adams' books.. They are SO RANDOM, which is my kind of funny, so I found them hilarious! They contain a lot of spaceship/science talk which for the most part doesn't make sense, but if you have any background in physics and can understand what he's implying, it makes it all the funnier. But no matter your background, you will finish with a big fat "WHAT THE...??"
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Dec 08, 2011
Julio Cesar
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Arthur Dent llega haciendo autostop a la tierra meses despues de su destruccion(atribuida a histeria y alucinacion colectiva)y conoce a Fenchurch,una extraña joven cuyos pies no pisan el suelo y que es tratada por su hermano como enferma mental.Arthur extravia su numero pero logra encontrar su casa justo encima de la cueva que habito 10millones de años antes.Con Fenny trata de responder a las interrogantes ya que ambos olvidan algo o pierden el punto de algo que no termina de cuadrar.Arthur ense
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Jun 13, 2010
Jason_W.
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This book is about the protaganist Arthur and his alien friend named Ford. Going back in time they go back onto an Earth that was destoried in Arthur's time. He's prepared to believe it was nothing but then he meets a girl named Fenchurch. With her they see that the dolphins have been leaving the Earth. They've left with an eerie message bowl. So Long and Thanks For All The Fish.
I can connect to text about Artemis Fowl where he once went back in time. In this book Arthur went back in More...
I can connect to text about Artemis Fowl where he once went back in time. In this book Arthur went back in More...
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May 03, 2009
Iggy
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This is a strange series for me which I love. I came across the 1st book while in Harris county jail. Read part of So long, and Thanks for All the Fish during my last 3 days in jail. It was not until 96 when living in Dallas that book 2;The Restaurant at the End of the Universe was given to me as a Secret Santa gift. Book 3;Life the Universe and Everything I have never read. I finally finished book for in 2004 which was a gift from a nun who I met at a Muay Thai smoker fight.
I don't More...
I don't More...
Dec 18, 2011
Ensiform
rated it:
The most optimistic of the series, in which Dent returns to a miraculously restored Earth, falls in love with Fenchurch, and learns God's final message to His creation. Even the Rain God gets rich and famous. The only bum note is the unnecessarily depressing death of Marvin, who really was maltreated by his living owners.
This entry is very good, but not quite up to par with the original trilogy, being more in the line of human interest stories than irreverent, balls-out parody. I al More...
This entry is very good, but not quite up to par with the original trilogy, being more in the line of human interest stories than irreverent, balls-out parody. I al More...
Apr 11, 2011
Michelle
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This is the book where something nice finally happens to Arthur Dent. Actually, a lot of nice things happen to him.
First and foremost: Earth is back. I never really liked the way the Earth went out in the first book, but I liked the direction it went afterward. Now, though, I think I understand why Adams brought the Vogons in. Earth can be a little dull. This book, of the four books in the trilogy I've read--and yes, that is a funny gimmick--is the least science fiction-like. More...
First and foremost: Earth is back. I never really liked the way the Earth went out in the first book, but I liked the direction it went afterward. Now, though, I think I understand why Adams brought the Vogons in. Earth can be a little dull. This book, of the four books in the trilogy I've read--and yes, that is a funny gimmick--is the least science fiction-like. More...
Mar 18, 2009
Brandon
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Okay, I just really didn't care for this book, for starters it is set almost exclusively on Earth, which shouldn't be possible and is never really explained, although I am pretty sure I get it. Arthur is really the only character from the series here, Ford plays a small part throughout, but way too small. Zaphod and Trillian are not here at all, and even Marvin only makes a small cameo at the end.
It is a sci-fi book, but man is it boring. It is a romance between Arthur and a woman n More...
It is a sci-fi book, but man is it boring. It is a romance between Arthur and a woman n More...
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Feb 18, 2009
Kelly
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This is the fourth book in the trilogy, so you start off with a little bit of absurdity. And of course this is Adams, so it continues even in the book itself. But, alas, it's just not as good as the first three (but to be fair it was a hard act to follow). I just wasn't as interested in what was happening in this one. It got a little serious and moved away from rampant goofiness. Part of this may come from the fact that it takes place almost entirely on earth. The other thing is that a key featu
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Jan 10, 2012
Naomi
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Unfortunately started off rather sceptically as Life, The Universe, And Everything seemed to exhausted my imaginative mindbank and I couldn't really see where Adams could go with the story that wouldn't make it even harder to understand. Before reading I felt I'd gotten to the point in the series of books where I don't know where I am in the story, what the characters are doing, where in time I am, or where any of the characters are. After the first few chapters however, everything starts to bec
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Feb 15, 2009
Greg
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I picked this up because it was sitting on my kitchen table looking lonesome. It is the fourth book in the Hitchhiker's series but I have never read any of them.
I liked the narration and imgagination of Douglas Adams. But what I first thought was a comparison to Vonnegut soon became a contrast because Adams never goes far enough with a joke to make it as true and sad like Vonnegut can. He also reminded me of Tom Robbins, but without the caffeine.
I kept reading though More...
I liked the narration and imgagination of Douglas Adams. But what I first thought was a comparison to Vonnegut soon became a contrast because Adams never goes far enough with a joke to make it as true and sad like Vonnegut can. He also reminded me of Tom Robbins, but without the caffeine.
I kept reading though More...
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Jan 12, 2011
Craig
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Wow, I never thought I could dislike anything by Douglas Adams after enjoying the first three books in the Hitchhiker series so much, but then again, I never thought I'd enjoy the show Glee, and four episodes later, I'm on the edge of Gleekdom. Life is full of surprises, as I'm sure Douglas Adams would agree.
I found this book to be kind of boring, but that's probably because it mostly takes place on Earth (or some kind of parallel Earth, it's never really explained) and the plot invol More...
I found this book to be kind of boring, but that's probably because it mostly takes place on Earth (or some kind of parallel Earth, it's never really explained) and the plot invol More...
Oct 21, 2010
K
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This was looking like it was going to be my favorite in the series, until Ford showed up. On the other hand, he wasn't (quite) as annoying as usual, and I did rather like the ending, except for the epilogue, which even Adams himself admitted was basically pointless. Fenchurch was a fun character, and it's nice to see a new face that sticks around for a while and isn't obnoxious. I also appreciated the break from Zaphod. Good GRIEF did I appreciate the break from Zaphod. Marvin's appearance was a
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