This book seems oddly displaced in the series, but from other reviews I've read, the series may be losing steam. I fully enjoyed the premise (even though I didn't get any of the cricket references) of the Krikket people wanting to annihilate everyone else in the universe and the explanation behind it at the end. Arthur being confronted by a soul he continuously kills by accident also prompted an interesting examination of the problem of reincarnation. And, yes, it was nice to see Slartibartfast and Trillium have more of a role in this book and Zaphod a little less. (I honestly hoped that he'd be gone once Trillium ditched him.) But it's still just a vehicle for silly jokes and bizarre situations, which is what you get with Adams. Definitely not as strong as its predecessors because this novel shies away from more of the bigger questions to tackle the absurd instead.