Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers

Red Dwarf #1

by Grant Naylor

8 hours, 15 minutes

Nominated for the Audiobook Download of the Year, 2008.

When Lister got drunk, he really got drunk!

After celebrating his birthday with a Monopoly-board pub crawl around London, he came to in a burger bar on one of Saturn's moons, wearing a lady's pink crimplene hat and a pair of yellow fishing waders, with no money and a passport in the name of "Emily Berkenstein."

Joining the Space Corps seemed a good idea. Red Dwarf, a clapped out spaceship, was bound for Earth. It never made it, leaving Lister as the last remaining member of the human race, three million light years from Earth, with only a dead man, a senile computer, and a highly evolved cat for company.

They begin their journey home. On the way, they'll break the light barrier. They'll meet Einstein, Archimedes, God, and Norman Wisdom...and discover an alternative plane of reality.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Humor, Comedy, Audiobook, Science Fiction Fantasy, Fantasy

298 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Grant Naylor was the collective name used by writers Rob Grant and Doug Naylor for their collaboration, particularly the TV series, Red Dwarf. Grant and Naylor call their pseudonym a gestalt entity, something that is greater than the sum of its parts.


From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Na...

Reviews

[HaMiT · Rating 4 out of 5]

مادر بزرگم سعی کرد قضیه (مرگ بابا) رو برام توضیح بده. بهم گفت بابام رفته و دیگه برنمی‌گرده. منم می‌خواستم بدونم کجا رفته، و مامان‌بزرگم گفت بابام اونجا که هست خیلی شاده، و رفته همون‌جایی که ماهی‌قرمزم رفته
لیستر محو در عوالم خودش با کلاف بافته‌ شده ی موهای خودش بازی می‌کرد. این رو که گفت فکر کردم بابام رو هم عین ماهیه انداختن تو کاسه توالت و سیفون رو کشیدن. تا یه مدتی وای‌میستادم بالای کاسه توالت، زل می‌زدم ته سوراخ و با بابام حرف می‌زدم. همه‌ش فکر می‌کردم بابام بعدِ پیچِ اولِ چاه‌توالت نشسته داره گوش می‌ده

کتاب سه فصل داره و هر فصل بخش های کوتاهی داره. فصل اول خوب شروع میشه و بیشتر طنزش توی همین فصله، فصل دوم مقداری افت میکنه و توی فصل آخر عالی تموم میشه
کلا دوتا کتاب توی این ژانر علمی-تخیلیِ فضاییِ طنزآلود خوندم که یکیش راهنمای کهکشان بود و یکیشم همین. پس اگه از اون خوشتون اومده، احتمالش هست از این یکی هم خوشتون بیاد
موقع خوندن خیلی از قسمتهای کتاب همینطور لبخند به لب بودم و بعضی جاهاشم حسابی خندیدم
به علاوه شخصیت پردازی خوبی هم داره
یه سریال هم از روی این کتاب اقتباس شده که از بی بی سی پخش میشده و ظاهرا برای انگلیسی ها نوستالژی حساب میشه

اینم مود بیشتر جوانان وطن

لیستر سرش رو آروم کوبید به مانیتور ردیاب و آرزو کرد، ای کاش یه اسپرم دیگه به وصال تخمک مادرش رسیده بود

:))

[[ J o ] · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this on audiobook, mainly because I've always wanted to try out audiobooks and never really gotten around to it, but also because it is freely accesible on spotify. Huzzah for spotify.

However, I believe what I listened to was the abridged version, which is slightly upsetting but excites me also: more Chris Barrie doing Scouse and Cockney and every-other accent ever? Yes please.

My rating is partly for the book and partly for the audiobook. I thoroughly enjoyed Chris Barrie: he is an absolutely spectacular character actor and you don't always see that in Red Dwarf. A few moments spring to mind, however: the mechanoid he gets turned into during Mechocracy and the dress-wearing, Mr. Flibble-weilding, holo-virus Rimmer of Quarentine. Have I mentioned I love Red Dwarf ? No. Well, I do. More amazing old men that I love.

My childhood was Red Dwarf, Blackadder, Shooting Stars and Bottom. Poor parenting, maybe, but I can't thank them enough for that. Hence this review is probably a little biased and you can take what I say with a pinch of salt.

The story centres around the beginning of the TV programme, but with more canon added. We get a little more backstory of the main characters whilst we pretty much replay many scenes from the show, which for deepnerds is a really nice touch. You get to go beyond what Lister says on telly and find out that he wasn't stupid. Just rather lazy.

The main thing that sold this for me was Chris Barrie. He was superb and at times I forgot it was Chris and not Norman doing Hollie's voice. Even his Cat was impressive, though I notice he didn't attempt any Kochanski which might have been for the best. I think audiobooks are made by the people who read them, so if I ever pick up another it will be based purely on who is reading it.

[Dream.M · Rating 3 out of 5]

توی کتاب یک دستگاه بازی واقعیت مجازی خیلی واقعی وجود داره که مثل هدبند میذاری روی سرت و بعد وارد دنیای ساخته ذهنت میشی. (مثلش رو توی بلک میرر دیدید یا توی سریال ۱۰۰ هم بود که با نورون ها چفت میشن و دیگه نمیتونی ازش خلاص بشی.) و این دنیا چون دقیقا مطابق فانتزی هات و آرزوهای محالته، بیرون اومدن ازش تقریبا غیر ممکنه. اگر کسی هم بخواد دستگاه رو ازت جدا کنه، مغزت میپاشه و میمیری، اگر جدا نکنه هم انقدر غرق بازی میشی که از گشنگی میمیری، مگه اینکه یکی باشه بهت غذا بده:))
دقیقا مثل آدمهایی که انقدر غرق دنیای درونی خودشون میشن که ارتباطشون با واقعیت قطع میشه . و بنظر من این آدما دارن عشق دنیا رو میکنن. چون جایی زندگی میکنن که دوستش دارن و مطابق استانداردهاشونه.
از این دستگاههای بازی میخوام یدونه، لطفا!
برای تولدم یکی بخره ایکاش
....
عرض کنم که خیلی کتاب باحالی بود، آدم کیف میکنه از اینهمه خلاقیت توی نویسنده های فانتزی. چون درباره چیزی مینویسن که هیچ ایده قبلی و زیسته ای ازش وجود نداره و ربط دادنش به زندگی انسانی بنظر من خیلی کار خفنی عه و هوش خییییلی بالایی میخواد.
به احترام علمی تخیلی، فانتزی نویس ها تعظیم میکنم.
در مقایسه ای که با مجموعه راهنمای کهکشان شده، بچه ها اینو بیشتر دوس داشتن. ولی من اونو بیشتر دوست دارم. این مجموعه طنز تر بود ولی اون مجموعه بنظرم فلسفی تر و عمیق تر بود.
امااااااا بازم توصیه میکنم خونده بشه و حالتون رو خوب کنه.

[Daniel Clausen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a delightful book, casually passed on to me by a friend. Little did I know that I would be transported into a wacky universe of casual, not-so-casual, and highly British humoristic misadventures, a la Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

I suspect that many reviews will mention the connection between the style of Douglas Adams and this book. What shall I say about this book and its difference to the style of those books? One, the chapters are shorter (I think?). This makes it an excellent on the toilet, waiting for a train, or break up the work day sort of book. Second, while all the characters are highly wonderfulistic, this book has Arnold Rimmer...a classic, a legend, a narcissist, and a little man with a modicum of power...oh, and haven't we all had a little Rimmer in our life at some point, some small man whose insecurities drive him (it's usually a he) to make our lives miserable.

I don't know about you, but I've been Rimmed at work, Rimmed at the Department of Motor Vehicles, Rimmed while trying to get an answer from some medical bureaucrat...I'm sure I'll get Rimmed sometime next week by some functionary I wasn't even aware had some small bit of power over me...I once created a literary creature called "Edward Gray", a middle manager whose love of policy and forms could bend space and time, but I dare say that Rimmer defeats ol' Edward Gray in the horribly small, narcissistic and comically self-absorbed category.

As for the ending of this book, well, I suppose I must make another Hitchhiker comparison, for just as that book left us at a Restaurant at the End of the Universe, this book leaves me in a place where I absolutely must read book two. And though I vowed to take a break from reading this vile, unapologetically British absurdist, disposable literary compost...I couldn't. I read on into Red Dwarf #2...and so, the misadventure continues.

And though this book may be compared endlessly to the work of Douglas Adams (perhaps Monty Python too), let that not be a knock on the good character of this book. If anything, let that be a testament to its pedigree. For before there was Douglas Adams there was Voltaire's Candide and his absurd adventures...oh what an absurd, wonderful literary tradition we have inherited!

Now let me celebrate it by slapping my friend with a fish!

[Motahare Ghaderi · Rating 5 out of 5]

اگه اهل علمی‌تخیلی خوندن هستید و یا به طنز علاقه دارید و حتی از اون بهتر اگه به ترکیب این دو تا علاقه دارید، این کتاب اصل جنسه. اولین جلد از مجموعه ۴ جلدی کوتوله سرخ.
اگر "راهنمای کهکشان برای اتواستاپ‌زن‌ها" رو خونده باشید بی‌شک این کتاب احساس مشابهی رو بهتون میده البته با طنز و شخصیت پردازیِ شاید قوی‌تر ، بار فلسفی کمتر و البته روندی کم و بیش منطقی تر.
داستانیه که از حوالی قرن ۲۳ م آغاز میشه و طی یه اتفاق طنز و جذاب به ناگاه خواننده رو پرت می‌کنه به ۳ میلیون سال بعدتر.
کتابی که با ایده ی جذاب زندگی پس از مرگ به صورت هولوگرام شروع میشه و با نظریه تکامل، شخصیت فوق‌العاده دوست داشتنی گربه‌ای رو معرفی می‌کنه که پس از ۳ میلیون سال تکامل گربه‌ها رفتارهای انسان‌وار زیادی رو داره و در لحظه‌لحظه ی حضورش تو داستان، لبخند به لب مخاطب میاره

و اما ترجمه‌ی کتاب. از میزان وفاداری مترجم به متن اصلی بی‌خبرم اما بدون شک ترجمه‌ی روانیه با ادبیات رایج و محاوره‌ی فارسی که کتاب رو فوق‌العاده آشنا و خوندنی کرده.
خبر بد اینکه اگر اهل خوندن ترجمه هستید تا متن اصلی، باید بگم نشر سنگ بنا به اوضاع بازار کتاب ایران قصد نداره ادامه جلد‌های مجموعه کوتوله سرخ رو ترجمه کنه. ولی با توجه استقلال نسبی داستان جلدهای مختلف میشه از ادامه‌ی خوندن مجموعه منصرف بشید و به این کتاب به عنوان یک داستان مستقل و تک‌قسمتی نگاه کنید

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok this has been a blast of pure nostalgia for me - I loved the series when it first aired, it had for me the right mix or humour and science fiction. I guess for me I have always been suspicious of humour and SF simply because its been too easy to laugh at the genre and its fans rather than try and be clever and laugh with them. I will admit the likes of Douglas Adams has gone a long way to correct that yet still its sometimes all too easy to fall for the easy (and cheap gags).
For me Red Dwarf did not go for the cheap gag - okay the effects may be a little on the cheap (or at least limited by the technology the budget could afford) but the humour was there and it laughed good and hard at itself rather than at you.
So the book, this really told a condensed version of stories from the first and second series with a lot more detail and back story - so to find out more you will either need to read the book or watch the series - and either or both are fine by me.
This brings back memories of the series and the sheer stupidity of it - that and singing the end title song out loud

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was going to write a review for this book that I last read a few years ago, but I thought sod it, it must be time for a re-read.

This is where it all started, one of the greatest SciFi series ever, a brilliant cast of characters and funny as hell story. I've watched the series so many times now that when reading the books the characters voices come so easily to me. During this reading I kept getting glimpses of Douglas Adams writing, never noticed that previously, but the explanations about space travel and the descriptions of Red Dwarf reminded me of Hitchhikers guide.

There are so many great lines; "They're dead Dave" will have me laughing no matter how many times I hear/read it.

Brilliant comedy SciFi that has gotta be read by everybody.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Die abgefahrenste Serie aller Zeiten!

"Roter Zwerg" ist der erste Band einer vierteiligen Reihe. Ich las niemals vorher und auch danach ähnliches. Eventuell schrieb Douglas Adams in die Richtung. Es sind/waren Briten. Allerdings ist der Name Grant Naylor ein Pseudonym. Dahinter verbirgt sich das Autorenduo Rob Grant und Doug Naylor.
Es gibt übrigens eine gleichnamige TV-Serie des BBC, die allerdings nie dt. vertont wurde. Sehr schade.

[David Sarkies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gazpacgo Soup

I can't say exactly when I first encountered Red Dwarf – I was probably sitting at home one night, board out of my brains, and channel surfing, when suddenly I discovered this show that looked very science-fictiony on the ABC and was instantly intrigued. While I can't remember the first episode that I ever watched (though I believe it was the third season), I do remember instantly falling in love with it. In fact, at the time I was still really interested in film making and seeing what I could do with little to no funds (and this was the days before mobile phones, so a video camera cost something in the vicinity of $1000.00 – and I didn't have one). I was always particularly interested in low budget science-fiction shows: Blake's 7 and Doctor Who. When I stumbled serendipitously upon Red Dwarf my interest was immediately caught.



Anyway, Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers is basically the novelisation of the first two seasons of Red Dwarf, though it is drafted in a way that creates a much more seamless story. Those of us who have watched the early shows will be very familiar with the episodes that make their way into the books, including the one where they first meet Kryten, the one where Rimmer creates a duplicate of himself, and of course the pilot episode. However, unlike the series the authors (who also created the series – which was originally a radio show) did a brilliant job creating what is in effect a seamless story from a collection of disparate episodes. However, while the idea of a science-fiction sitcom in space is always appealing, it is the characters that really attract my attention.

The thing with the characters is that they are all extremes. Mind you, I am actually hesitant to suggest that Lister is an extreme because he just seems to be your everyday working class slob. Sure, they paint him as being somewhat of an extreme slob that lives on a diet of vindaloo and beer, however there is actually something realistic, and appealing, about him. I guess it has something to do with the fact that he really doesn't care. Sure, life as thrown its fair share of punches at him, and wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he seems to just roll with the punches and simply gets on with life. In a way he is carefree and really not worried about what people think of him, or what the next day would bring (and despite the fact that he is a working class slob, he is actually pretty smart, though these smarts would be considered street smarts).

Rimmer couldn't be the more opposite, which is probably why they suggest that Red Dwarf is the Odd Couple in space. Unlike Lister, Rimmer blames everybody else, but himself, for his short comings, and is always trying to impress the wrong sorts of people, which generally lands him up in a lot of trouble. In fact the friendships that he should be cultivating he actually rejects and he pretty obviously brown noses people that really couldn't care less about him. Rimmer is the classic example of the pointlessness of the career minded individual that seeks to elevate himself above others, which in the end earns their disdain. His repeated failure to pass the astronavigation examine (namely because he doesn't actually study for it) is a clear example of how all of his priorities are wrong (and let's not forget him spending his spare time in stasis so that by the end of the seven year tour, he is only six years older).

The Cat, however, is a rather enigmatic creature. In a way he is the opposite of Lister, for where Lister is a slob, he is incredibly stylish. In fact his attention to neatness and style puts him in the same camp as Rimmer, who always appears in an immaculate uniform. However, unlike Rimmer, he lives a carefree life which has no ambition beyond eating, sleeping, and looking for women (as well as making sure he looks incredibly stylish). Ironically it turns out that he relates to Lister much more than he does Rimmer (in fact nobody likes Rimmer, probably because he is just one enormous goit).

Red Dwarf is an incredibly existentialist piece of work. What we have are three (actually four if you count the computer Holly) characters stuck millions of miles from home, millions of years in the future. In fact from their vantage point there is unlikely to be any home left. As such anything, and everything, that gives them character – their home, their friends (if they have any), their goals and their dreams, have all been stripped from them leaving them alone without a world that can define them. As such they are in a situation where they are defined only by how they define themselves (though of course there is an element of creating a definition of each other: yes, Rimmer, you are a goit!). Of course, in this environment, where they are effectively on their own, they don't necessarily need accept what the other makes them out to be, which in a way gives them strength. Even though Rimmer still believes that he is in command, there is no formal command structure, which means that despite what he believes, there are only two things that Rimmer is in command of: Jack and shit, and unfortunately for Rimmer, Jack just left town. However, despite the fact that there are three people on the ship that all agree the Rimmer is a goit (and the reality is that Rimmer is a goit), that doesn't mean that he has to accept that. What Red Dwarf teaches us is that by stripping away all of society, and our peers, all we are left with is that which we have defined for ourselves (though of course, in Rimmer's case, this is completely delusional).

Of course, this all comes down to the scene with regards to the gazpacgo soup. When Rimmer first came on board the ship he was invited to the captains cabin for dinner and he saw this as his one big break, so he went out of his way to impressed them, and to say that it turned out to be a disaster is an understatement. The crux of the whole event was when he was served gazpacgo soup (which is supposed to be served cold – something that I didn't know until I watched the show) and Rimmer calls the waiter over to him and asks him to heat it up. This, allegedly (we are only going by Rimmers account here) the entire cabin burst out laughing and Rimmer was never invited back. A Lister points out, when Rimmer finally spills the beans, the only person that is holding onto that event, and letting it drag him down is him – even if it wasn't the case that everybody in that room has been dead for three million years, in any event, after a few days of chuckling, they would have got on with their lives, while Rimmer is forever kicking himself for that one mistake (or many mind you, but that is the one that haunts him – and it wasn't his fault by the way, they should have taught him in basic training).

[Someone Who Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

اول از همه بگم که من فصل اول سریال رو دیده بودم و تقریبا نیمی از کتاب رو تجربه کرده بودم. با اینکه برای من تکراری بود ولی باز هم لذت بردم ازش. چون بعضی چیزا قابلیت نمایش دادن روی تلویزیون رو ندارن (مخصوصا با توجه به امکانات بی بی سی در سال هشتاد و هشت) ولی با کلمات میشه هر کاری کرد. برای همین کتاب حتی از سریال هم دیوانه تر و جذاب تر بود.


https://taaghche.com/book/50392

[Tomislav · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, first let’s clarify that Grant Naylor is a pseudonym for Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, the creators of the BBC Two production Red Dwarf (1988-1999). This 1989 book and its sequel, Better than Life (1990), incorporate plot lines of several episodes of the first two seasons of the television series. After that, each wrote a completely different sequel third novel - Naylor’s is Last Human (1995), and Grant’s is Backwards (1996). In cribbage, we count that as a “double run of three” (8 points, with the pair); I’m not sure what the publishing term is.

Dave Lister is young loser, who wakes up on Mimas, a slum moon of Saturn, after a night of heavy drinking in London. Unable to raise the money to buy a return ticket he resorts to ridiculous schemes, which unintentionally catapult him through hilarious adventures through deep space and 3 million years of time. Nothing is worse than spoilers to this kind of comedy, so I’ll leave it there. I laughed out loud. Fortunately, the sequel is immediately available to me.

The only real comparison possible would be to Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which preceded Red Dwarf by about a decade. I found Grant & Naylor’s writing to be more in tune with the tropes of the science fiction genre. There are subtle references to 2001 A Space Odyssey, Dr. Who, etc., for those who know them. I enjoyed Red Dwarf more, but it is possible that after decades of familiarity, Hitchhiker’s Guide has just gotten stale, while this is fresh to me. So how did I manage to miss this when it came out? Well, it was the decade of three small children in my life. I’ve been catching up on the books of 1985-1995 ever since.

[Ubiquitousbastard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alright, so I'm kind of weird on this book. It sort of sent me in several directions emotionally, and I'm not sure a (semi) novelization of sci-fi comedy is supposed to do that. I mean, I did smile so much my face hurt (which also brought to me the realization that I don't smile very much) and also left me feeling extremely depressed (partly from that realization).

I think that the overall tone was more serious and dark than the show, which never at all left me feeling sad. This book was more introspective about personal failure and the demands of society which almost no one can meet. Then there's the fact that I can relate to everyone hating/disliking me despite how hard I try at anything. So, yeah, sad.

Also, the ending. Come on. You can't give me a downer book with a downer ending.

Despite all that, it was funnier than most of what I've read recently, it gave me some awesome background on Red Dwarf, which I can now go around lecturing people on. (See, that's probably part of the people disliking me thing). Really, Naylor could have just stuck them all in a telenovela and I would've been pleased...oh wait.

[Stonemagpie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fan-smegging-tastic! It's the boys from the Dwarf! I loved this book so much, and if you enjoyed the tv show you will too.

Rob Grant and Doug Naylor outdid themselves; this was the first book in years that has made me laugh out loud. It starts off explaining how Lister ended up on Red Dwarf and takes off from there.

Some of the plot is familiar, some is new. But the authors managed to gather together storylines from episodes into a whole that not only makes sense, but fills original episode plot holes at the same time.

Anyway, it's great. I inhaled it and you must go read it now.

p.s - And once you've done reading it, hunt down the audiobooks. Read by Chris Barrie (Rimmer) they are quite simply brilliant.

[نیما اکبرخانی · Rating 5 out of 5]

چقدر عالی بود. یه داستان طنز فوق العاده که من باهاش یه جاهایی قاه قاه خندیدم و در عین حال خالی از معنی هم نبود. از طرف دیگه یه پایان بندی شاخص و فوق العاده که قدرت صاحب اثر رو واقعا نشون داد.
یه خوش‌خوان تمام عیار. از دستش ندید و حتما بخونید خیلی خوش می‌گذره.

[David Sodergren]

DNF.
Started strongly, though Red Dwarf is at its best when the characters are interacting with each other, and this novel features an astonishing lack of dialogue, consisting mostly of expository backstory.

[The Joy of Erudition · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rated this 4 stars on the memory of the first time I read the book, but on my second reading it struck me more as a 3 star work, which is still a good score under Goodreads definitions. The characters, the prose, and the interesting ideas are all strengths, and there's often some very funny material here as well, but what brings it down as a novel is its episodic nature.

Possibly I would have reacted differently if it had been presented as a collection of short stories, but it's presented as a continuous narrative, and as such there are too-obvious separations in content that should logically have continued to be explored, and occasional contradictions. So the structure worked against it, unfortunately.

The best part of the novel, in my opinion, was the beginning, which seemed to be original material that took place prior to the show's first episode, and felt more like a proper novel. I'd love to see something from these authors that was designed as a novel from the beginning.

[Elentarri · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not so much funny or amusing as just plain and tediously silly. The blurb is the most interesting thing about this science fiction comedy novel. This is a prequel to the old TV series Red Dwarf.

[Walter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers
Authors: Grant Naylor (a genius hybrid of Rob Grant and Doug Naylor)
Danger Level: Extreme!

Listening to this audiobook while driving is a perilous endeavor. Why? Because you'll find yourself laughing so hard that keeping the car on the road feels like an impossible mission (sans Tom Cruise). The antics of Lister, Rimmer, Cat, and Kryten are hilariously absurd, and Chris Barrie’s narration? An intergalactic masterpiece.

The plot zips across the cosmos with all the grace of Lister's socks—chaotic, unpredictable, and entirely unforgettable. From the depths of Red Dwarf's smeg-stained corridors to the outrageous worlds they encounter, every moment brims with razor-sharp wit, irreverent humor, and just the right amount of heart.

Barrie’s vocal performance deserves a standing ovation—or a curry-filled banquet in his honor. His ability to embody each character, from Rimmer’s insufferable smugness to Cat’s flamboyant charm, is nothing short of astonishing. At times, you’ll swear the entire crew is in the car with you, though thankfully minus the Space Corps Directives.

If you value your life (and your license), listen to this masterpiece in a safe, stationary location. Because Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers isn’t just a title—it’s a warning. And ignoring it will leave you clutching your sides and swerving like a drunk mechanoid.

5/5 Stars. Recommended for smegheads, comedy fans, and anyone who needs to remember that sometimes, the best way to face the void is with a laugh.

[Angus McKeogh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just absolutely awesome stuff! Such a fun read and funny as hell. Reminiscent of Douglas Adams but certainly not a direct copy. If anything perhaps more brilliant in some areas and a bit inferior in others. The whole bit about Rimmer making a copy of himself was just phenomenal. Want to dive right into the sequel but I’m in the middle of too many other books at the moment. But grand. Highly recommended!

[Ashley Lister · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was entertaining from the first page through to the last. Written in a style that's reminiscent of Douglas Adams and his Hitchhikers Guide novels, it's witty, thought-provoking and embodies the spirit of a much beloved TV show.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second outing, this time via the audiobook. What can I say, the word, the video and now the audio... all perfect.

Chris Barrie, you are exceptional at relating an exceptional concept.

[Sandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lot like the television show episodes in book format so of course I love it! I've been a fan of the show since it started and was gleeful when I found there were actually novels! It tells the tale of the Red Dwarf crew from the start. It includes a lot of what was in the first two series as well as a ton of details that you wouldn't know if that was your only source. Then it throws in whole new story lines and tangents. Lister's back story of how he ended up on Red Dwarf was something I had wanted to know for a long time.

This is one book I would compare to Adams style and it holds its own admirably. Kudos to Grant and Naylor. I really must find the rest of the books they have written for Red Dwarf. I've also noted there are audiobooks of this and the other novels read by Chris Barrie! I would be a total smeghead if I didn't add then to my listening list as well.

[georgia (gnr’s version) (semi hiatus) 💐 · Rating 5 out of 5]

i feel like my opinion of this book is going to be very biased, as i love the tv show so much, but honestly, it was such an easy read, although at first it was a little slow, but it takes what’s already happened in the tv show, and create a whole new storyline, that they could have used for the later seasons. i loved the way it was written plus IT HAS SHORT CHAPTERS!! and short chapters are an absolute yes!! even if you haven’t watched the tv show i think you should read it, beacuse you don’t need to have watched the tv show to know what’s already happened. it starts at the beginning, even further back than the show does. although if you have watched the show there is a few different things in the book to the show that were written. still an absolute favourite, 5 stars for sure! 🫶🏻🫶🏻😍

also Rimmer = 🫶🏻❤️😍

[Nicki Markus · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a huge Red Dwarf fan, I naturally love the four books based on the series too. Chris Barrie is the perfect narrator for this story. Obviously, he *is* Rimmer, but as a former impressionist, he also does wonderful imitations of the other cast members' voices. Great fun for fans of the show, but this could also be enjoyed by those coming to the characters and story for the first time.

[jaroiva · Rating 5 out of 5]

No, pozdě, ale přece... neviděla jsem seriál a ke knížce jsem se dostala až teď. A možná, že se mi to líbí víc, než kdybych to znala od mala. Kromě specifického humoru se tu dají najít pasáže, které donutí k zamyšlení nad vlastními hodnotami. Určitě budu pokračovat s dalším dílem... a možná... , možná že se i podívám na seriál.

[Michelle (driftingsong) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well I certainly enjoyed it and do hope to see the show sometime, but it just seemed like a comedic boys party primarily. Still I loved some of the interactions and ideas behind this. I wonder if I'd enjoy the sitcom.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a hilarious find, perfect for a long roadtrip, very very talented narrator. This book has some one-liners I will never forget. Recommended to all A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy fans - that’s how we happened on it as well. Laugh out loud funny!

[Koen Crolla · Rating 1 out of 5]

I recently watched the first eight seasons of Red Dwarf (that is, the ones before the decade-long hiatus), and while it wasn't good or even entertaining much of the time, I can see why a certain kind of person would have become obsessed with it at the time, and it did have its moments.
That series creators Rob Grant and Doug Naylor didn't have a clue what those moments were became pretty obvious over the course of the show, as they kept stepping on old jokes and retconning things that absolutely did not need retconning because they no longer remembered why they were funny, or even that they were ever meant to be funny. This novel in many ways distils their worst tendencies.

Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers is a novelisation of the first two episodes of the first series (The End and Future Echoes, the ones that lay out the premise of the show) and the first of the second (Kryten, which introduces Kryten), and a freer adaptation of the last of the first series (Me², the one with two Rimmers) and the second of the second series (Better than Life).
Most of the obnoxiously pointless retcons that would make it into the show seem to have started here: Kochanski is no longer someone Lister was casually flirting with but an actual ex-girlfriend (because Grant & Naylor no longer realised someone getting sentimental over a crush is charming and humanising and instead just thought it was unrealistic), Rimmer no longer causes Red Dwarf's fate (because a low-ranking technician responsible for maintaining vending machines shouldn't have been able to do that—which was the joke), Lister deliberately brought the cat on board to get put into stasis, &c. There are some new ones: the Cat's vanity is now typical of his species instead of being a consequence of his parentage, for one.
Those aside, the adaptation tends to be laboriously literal, usually lifting dialogue word-for-word from the scripts—mostly a good choice. Where changes are made, they're always for the worse: the conversation between Lister and Holly at the start, for example, perhaps the single most memorable scene in the show ("Everybody's dead, Dave"), throws away Norman Lovett's excellent understated performance in favour of Holly screaming at Lister, and the Cat's first appearance has him lie in ambush and pound on Lister ("A pink blur flashed from the top of a hummock, pinning Lister to the floor[unnecessary comma] and sending the weapon skittering across the cobbles.") instead of just idly wandering the corridors, because being cat-like is more important than being funny.
Two parts are entirely new: the account of Lister's life on Mimas prior to ending up on Red Dwarf (which mostly became canon, but told, not shown), and a scene with Kryten's crew prior to the accident (which turned out to be his fault). I expect these were actually in the scripts for the original episodes, but had to be cut for time and pacing—they should have been cut for time and pacing here. Just leaving out all the jokes they could have put in was not a good compromise.

Even fans of the show have to realise this is absolute slop.



(Incidentally, in the Better Than Life simulation, Rimmer, who is at that point 34 (+ 3 million), ends up having been married to an exhibitionist 19-year-old Brazilian model for two years, last having had sex with her a year and a half prior. The shallowness of this fantasy is called out by the text, but not, of course, the other part. This wasn't in the Better than Life episode, but the show also had a fucking-a-child-in-virtual-reality moment later; there it was Lister instead ("She's not jailbait, she's 17.").)

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Lister got drunk, he got DRUNK and the last time he got drunk he somehow ended up on board a space ship, and so when the book opens up he has been stuck on one of Saturn's moons for six months with a woman's passport and has been sleeping in a storage locker. He manages to sign onto the Red Dwarf as a vending machine maintenance worker only to find that it was heading farther out before it returned to earth and it was going to take 4.5 years to get back. Finally, and this is in the blurb so is not a spoiler, he ends up 3 million light years away from earth after emerging from stasis to find he is alone on the ship with a hologram of a dead man and a highly evolved cat.

The book is funny and wacky. It is not the same as Hitchhiker's Galaxy in that there is more of a story and a plot, but it is that sort of silly humour and the authors (Grant Naylor is their pseudonym taken from their surnames) are script writers, similar to the author of that other series. I enjoyed this on audio and am certain that helped improve it.

[Bob Mackey · Rating 3 out of 5]

When it comes to cheap, cash-in books based on TV shows, this one is pretty good—and not particularly cheap. You get the sense that writers (and Red Dwarf creators) Rob Grant and Doug Naylor didn't necessarily want to waste any potential TV show premises here, so instead we get an attempt to stitch together the events of certain early episodes together into a cohesive narrative. And it kind of works! It's not all that novel to read a prose adaptation of your favorite scenes—though the dialogue still sings—but I really love how much Grant and Naylor fill in the gaps, describe things that could have never been shown on the show's low budget, and also attempt to rein in the rather loose continuity of the early years. In fact, I enjoy the original material so much, I'm looking forward to re-reading the next book (Better Than Life); from what I remember, it's much less of an adaptation.