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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
This is the closest thing to Douglas Adams that I've read since, well, Douglas Adams. But it's a Hitchhiker's Guide where Arthur Dent has been replaced by a human Zaphod Beeblebrox - sure, Decibel Jones is new and confused, but he's still far too glam to serve as a good foil or straight man for a parade of hypergalactic witty bits. I wanted a break from the zaniness, or possibly from the "I admire your ability to get this shit past a professional editor because my high school teachers were having none of it" sentences.
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
If you’re looking for a book that is a more frenetic, less charming, Douglass Adams then this is the book for you. It was very much not the book for me.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This one just didn't work for me. The prose is so maximalist for the entire novel that I'd say there's about five pages of an actual story and 284 pages of glib, tongue-in-cheek overwriting. For example, this is one sentence: "Give them the soggiest cast-off thigh-high stocking's worth of a tune and the most obnoxiously Campari-drunk open-mic-night-reject half-sucked raspberry lolly of a lyric, and in one night, Dess and Mira and Oort would turn around a glamgrind anthem perfectly crystallizing the despair of the young enslaved by the London real estate market crossbred with the desperate futuro-cosmic hope of murdering a Martian catwalk in a satin slip while guzzling a rubbish bin full of cheap ruby port, as sung by the comet-pummeled ghost of Oscar Wilde snorting stars like meth." And that's the entire book.
For some people, this will really be up their street. I thought it could be up mine. There were some jokes that really made me laugh. But the entire novel is written like this, and past a certain point, I just found it exhausting. I wanted plot to maybe happen a little bit, or genuine character development. I also felt like the socio-political commentary got lost somewhere in all the maximalist sauce. I was disappointed when all the aliens had the exact same way of speaking as the narrative voice.
Also, this is a minor point, but while this is generally at the higher end of Americans writing British characters, there were a couple of irritating slip-ups. What is it with Americans and a fondly exasperated "you arse"? Why do they love it so much? What Drarry fanfiction does this come from?
Overall, just not my cup of tea, sadly.
For some people, this will really be up their street. I thought it could be up mine. There were some jokes that really made me laugh. But the entire novel is written like this, and past a certain point, I just found it exhausting. I wanted plot to maybe happen a little bit, or genuine character development. I also felt like the socio-political commentary got lost somewhere in all the maximalist sauce. I was disappointed when all the aliens had the exact same way of speaking as the narrative voice.
Also, this is a minor point, but while this is generally at the higher end of Americans writing British characters, there were a couple of irritating slip-ups. What is it with Americans and a fondly exasperated "you arse"? Why do they love it so much? What Drarry fanfiction does this come from?
Overall, just not my cup of tea, sadly.
adventurous
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Douglas Adams would definitely have loved this! Only loses a star for having so many species and planets and stories that I struggled to keep track!
challenging
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This started strong. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Eurovision combined!? Heck yeah. I underline tons of fun quotes. BUT, this book was more world building than plot. And way more world building than was necessary. The book just lost sooo much steam toward the end that I couldn’t even really enjoy the ending. And waaaay too many characters to even keep them straight - especially many characters had multiple names used throughout! I had high hopes when I started, but in the end…it was ok.