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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
lighthearted
fast-paced
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Dirk Gently is a "holistic detective" who makes use of "the fundamental interconnectedness of all things" to solve the whole crime, and find the whole person. He bills for everything but claims that he cannot be considered to have ripped anybody off, because none of his clients ever pay him. I can't speak for the first book, since I read out of order, but he certainly doesn't get paid in this one.
I so wanted to give this book five stars. I love Douglas Adams' humor, and his Hitchhiker's series will always be one of my favorites and a go-to. This, however, fell flat after the first half. The set up was pure Adams' British humor. Ridiculousness for ridiculousness' sake, but then when we get to a point where things must be explained it just falls apart.
It seems the Dirk books are about seemingly unconnected narrative threads eventually meeting up and becoming connected, but that didn't happen here. There is an ending of sorts. This was about Thor and Odin, Norse Gods, who have been misplaced and have lost, not only their powers, but also their marbles! Adams attempt to pull the threads together simply caused more confusion for me and the novel felt very unfinished.
I think there are parts of this book that could be read alone as an example of Adams' genius, but the novel, taken as a whole, was not successful. I will still read the first because I am a bit of a completest and it was a mistake on my part to read out of order, but I won't be expecting much.
I so wanted to give this book five stars. I love Douglas Adams' humor, and his Hitchhiker's series will always be one of my favorites and a go-to. This, however, fell flat after the first half. The set up was pure Adams' British humor. Ridiculousness for ridiculousness' sake, but then when we get to a point where things must be explained it just falls apart.
It seems the Dirk books are about seemingly unconnected narrative threads eventually meeting up and becoming connected, but that didn't happen here. There is an ending of sorts. This was about Thor and Odin, Norse Gods, who have been misplaced and have lost, not only their powers, but also their marbles! Adams attempt to pull the threads together simply caused more confusion for me and the novel felt very unfinished.
I think there are parts of this book that could be read alone as an example of Adams' genius, but the novel, taken as a whole, was not successful. I will still read the first because I am a bit of a completest and it was a mistake on my part to read out of order, but I won't be expecting much.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Not as good as the first Dirk Gently book, but Adams seems to be doing better at writing female characters this time, which is a plus. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2023/09/24/the-douglas-adams-core-canon/
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No