Science Fiction Books > Douglas Adams Science Fiction Books

Advantages: Fantastically funny, very original.
Disadvantages: There's a 90:10 ratio of words that are really funny, and then really not...

...only 5 and it had the word 'fuck' in it. But i found it on a shelf one day, and opened the front cover, and saw a note to my dad - "Dear Paul, may you never be bothered by Scrabsters!". From that point on I decided I liked this book! I've never read it all the way through, but I've probably seen all of it by looking at random pages, and it's not the sort of book you read all the way through. For anyone who has never heard of this book, it is basically ...
...(Who you'll probably know as the creator of The Hitch-Hikers Guide To The Galaxy) has taken hundreds of funny-sounding place names across the United Kingdom, and attached them to a meaning of something that doesn't yet have a word attached to it! The writers, Douglas Adams and John Lloyd, start off the book by saying; "In Life, there are many hundreds of common experiences, feelings, situations and even objects which we all know and recognize, ... Read review

Advantages: hilarious
Disadvantages: none

Even better then the film, Hitch-hikers delivers more of Douglas Adams hilarious humour to the audience. Follow Ford Prefect, Arthur Dent and co. on their adventures through the Universe. From the destruction of Earth to wondering around Stone Age England with a talking sofa. Discover the final fate of the characters you meet; Slartibartfast, Marvin, Zaphod Beeblebrox and Trinian. This book is not just for those who like science-fiction as it brings ... Read review

Advantages: funny story, very well written
Disadvantages: no disadvantages

...because I feel they are the chief books of Trampers to the galaxy. The CBOTTG are books that when the words are read the writing marks you in a thrilling and funny way. I never cause an almost terrible thing to happen like the reading of the Hitchhiker books to pass from my life. That is a most unverifiable thing I would be doing. Although the writer of this book was reputed to be a crotchety writer, I found his ideas were very substantial. His books ...
...With the five novels, belonging to the Hitchhikers guide trilogy, Douglas Adam gave his life to writing them in a very different way to other books which was to first begin in 1979 and to finish in 1992. The books have been read by millions of readers and they have been a very pleasant read, so I hope they will be read for hundreds of years. I am not sure, if future novels will ever be written like this but I had never once actually seen something ... Read review

Advantages: It is by the late, great Douglas Adams
Disadvantages: Difficult to find in my bookshop - wasn't sure where to look and had to ask an assistant.

This is an inspiring and truly great book, told with Adams' trademark quirky sense of humour. This book is partly great travel writing, partly natural history, partly brilliant comedy and partly committed environmentalism. Even if you are not into saving the planet, this book is still worth reading due to Adams' great gift for telling a story. It is a wonderful evocation of the terrible damage we are doing to the environment, as well as containing ...
...his travels and the hardships - bureaucratic as well as physical -Adams encounters in accessing some of the remotest parts of the globe. Adams sets out to discover the rarest animals on theplanet, with the help of a biologist Mark Carwardine. There are many stand-out moments from the book. The brilliant description of the Komodo dragon's island home, followed by the devastating anti-climax when we realise that it has been made into a tourist trap, ... Read review

Advantages: As eclectic a mix as you can imagine, a fitting tribute.
Disadvantages: Not what it first appears.

From the beginning with an enthusiastic note from the Editor you can see that the "Salmon of Doubt" is a book that has been collected by fans of Adams's work, for fans. I must admit to being sceptical of the foreword by Stephen Fry and was surprised to learn this intelligent, yet ultimately irritating Actor come Presenter was a close friend to Adams. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised that Fry writes a superb introduction and indeed tribute ...
...Python star at Cambridge to the man of the "perfect metaphor". The foreword is both an insightful look into Adams's psyche and, in a tale of reverence provides almost a mini-eulogy to the man. "The Salmon of Doubt" is a book that both excited and surprised me. Published posthumously following the unexpected death of Douglas Adams I and presumably many others expected it to be another instalment of "The Hitchhikers Guide To the Galaxy". This, the ... Read review