Reviews - The Hitchhiker Trilogy

1.74k reviews for:

The Hitchhiker Trilogy

Douglas Adams

4.36 AVERAGE

cwg93's review against another edition

5.0

Overall 4.5

On this first run, Mostly Harmless is my favorite.

dim9000's review against another edition

4.0

funny

savmcclellan's review against another edition

2.0

slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I guess i shouldn't have but I found it mind numbingly boring. If it wasnt so short I would've dnfed

lowlevel's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous funny reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Years ago, I read the first book in the series and loved it.

Now that I have finished the entire series (excluding the sixth book, which was not written by Adams), I have a deeper sense of its nature and tone. The series becomes more existentialist and nihilistic towards the end.

While this evolution is not necessarily bad, it's important to point out the striking contrast between the dissacrating, absurd satire of society in the first two novels and the darker, bleaker tone that slowly builds until the end. What started as laugh-out-loud comedy ended as something that maximizes the sense of cosmic futility. I didn't exactly expect this from Adams, but I appreciated it nonetheless from a different perspective.

Though the series felt slow after the third book, it remains one of my favorite science fiction sagas and a must-have for any fan's bookshelf.

jenngilliland13's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous funny informative lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

sarahcatzim's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous funny medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was 3/5. There were lots of funny parts, but there were also a lot of rambling parts that my eyes read, but my brain did not take in any of the information. That might have been the point though…
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe was 3/5. I was laughing out loud at a lot of the absurdity, but I was also not soaking in every single thing being said. Plot-wise, I only really paid attention to the major points. It was more difficult to follow the small points connecting the more major ones. It’s really just a book that I was along for the ride during.
Life, The Universe and Everything was 2.5/5. I have no clue what I just read, but I read it and I laughed here and there. There were many times when I accidentally reread paragraphs and didn’t even realize that I had already read it until I got to the end of the page.
So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish was 2.5/5. I don’t really know what happened. There were dolphins and a fake Earth (maybe, idk) and a giant robot. I audiobooked this one, and definitely had no clue where we were sometimes.
Mostly Harmless was 3.25/5. The storyline was much easier to follow and I like how everything eventually came together. The ending was not my favorite, but it makes sense for the tone of the series.