Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams > Reviews > One of the BEST and FUNNIEST books ever

Author's product rating:   

Advantages:	Amazing logic, makes you laugh like you've never laughed before, the best ending ever
Disadvantages:	It's long, but that shouldn't bother you  -  100 pages and you're hooked and begging for more .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was written by the late, great Douglas Adams, who passed away recently. As it currently stands, there are 5 volumes (‘A trilogy in five parts’). These books are

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe,
Life, the Universe and Everything,
So Long and Thanks for All the Fish, and
Mostly Harmless

Each is a compelling and original outlook on life. Adams is one of the few authors that REALLY makes you laugh. The level of humour and wit is only matched by the amazing interaction between the volumes and the sheer logic that lies behind Adams’ ideas.

I’m going to attempt to wrap up the introduction with out giving things away. The book begins with our hero – Arthur Dent, a typical middle-aged man living in a depressed environment. We meet him standing in front of his house trying to stop his house being bulldozed to make room for a new highway. Eventually, his friend, Ford Prefect emerges, and battles his wit against the bulldozer man to let them leave for a while. Unknown to Arthur, Ford Prefect is actually an Alien from a planet far away and is simply on Earth to do research for ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ (he picked his name upon arriving on the planet after having mistaken the intelligent life form for being cars – thereby having a perfectly normal name). As it Ford reveals to Arthur, the Earth apparently only has about 5 minutes before it too is destroyed - ironically, so that a super hyperspace-way can be built. So Arthur and Dent leave Earth and travel for five books in the galaxy.

I’m not going to give away any more of the story as it is extremely surprising, and would be unfair. I would however have to say that this book has the best ending ever written. Although it took me several reads to fully understand it, the ending is an extraordinary climax and finishes the book well.

There are so many characters in the book that it's not worth me writing them here. They leave and return to the story often and it is sometimes hard to keep track of them. I can assure you however, that each character is amazingly unique and you'll fall in love with them all.

I currently own the 775 page hardback copy, which costs just £15, not much compared to other hardbacks. It is available in any half-decent bookstore, and an absolute classic. Even if you don’t like the general Sci-Fi theme (I hate it personally), you will still LOVE this book. You may decide to read it twice to fully absorb the information – I suppose I should do this but I can’t be bothered yet. The logic behind the book is extremely well devised and will make you scratch your head from time to time.

Overall, this book is amazing, and I recommend it to EVERYONE everywhere. And, as an added incentive, the book contains the full answer to life, the universe and everything. READ THIS NOW.