1.75k reviews for:

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Series Douglas Adams Collection 5 Books Bundle

Douglas Adams

4.36 AVERAGE

tempera's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

katricem's review against another edition

4.25

slow-paced

rlg214's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

hgoravec's review against another edition

3.5

So I loved this book when I was high school. It's been a while since I've read the series, and I kinda wish I had done reviews as I went of each individual book, especially since I finished this a while ago and so have forgotten many of the details. But, at the same time so much of the wit has stuck with me for decades.

The first two books are, to me, really one big book. The original Hitchhiker's really ends quite abruptly, so I consider the story spanning both books.

The Krikkit book reads like an episode of Doctor Who. The flying is the best bit.

Fenchurch is not great, and one of the areas that we really see an older style of science fiction writing.

And Mostly Harmless, I do love Arthur the sandwich maker. The ending is something I'm still processing, but I think it was the right one. I wish Random got more character development, and I don't think we see Zaphod again after Krikkit?

lawg4j's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

jayesmee's review against another edition

3.0

The Hitchhikers's Guide was funny, especially since it was all so strange. However, it was hard to keep track of certain characters, names and planets.

furismo's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

it's sweet*

*(has many interpretations)

[i'm also counting this as 5 books read]

jappoco's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous funny relaxing medium-paced

4.25 solo perché tutti i 5 libri guidano al 42. Fantastico. altrimenti lo voterei 5 stelle per 42 volte

karin_cc's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous challenging funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams

817 pages | 5 novels + 1 short story | absurdist sci-fi existentialism with a towel 🪐🌌

In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.

I did it! 💥 I finished The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide. All five novels and the bonus short story. 817 pages of intergalactic absurdity, philosophical nonsense, aliens with questionable agendas, and brain cartwheels. What a ride! 🛸

At first, my brain was mush – just a total mishmash of “what is happening?” But I adjusted quickly, and once I got into the rhythm, I was hooked. It’s chaotic, hilarious, weirdly profound. The first half had me absolutely flying through it. I read huge chunks in one sitting - high-energy, full of ensemble chaos and galactic detours. Whatever this specific genre is... I’m into it. 🌀

But then the pace shifted. The tone softened. Less adventure, more reflection. More “what does it all mean?” and fewer towel jokes. My reading slowed, but not because I lost interest – it just became a different kind of story. And honestly? I liked that too. It made me realize I like consistency… but I also appreciate when a book challenges that. This one bends itself – in theme, structure, tone – and somehow teaches your brain to flex with it. I feel like I walked away more open-minded. I found wonder in simple things, and simplicity in complex things. A total paradox. A total vibe. 🌈

In a way, The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide isn’t just a book about a guide - it kind of is a guide, in disguise. A ridiculous, sarcastic, wildly cosmic one. A guide to absurdity, to curiosity, to accepting the unknowable. It did its job. And I let it.

Although reading this felt like my brain was doing somersaults and folding into quantum origami, somehow it all fit and somewhere along the way you get so used to it that it becomes normal. From complex to simple, wonderous all around! There’s so much packed into it and yet, it never felt bloated. Every concept, every ridiculous situation, seemed to carry some deeper truth underneath the chaos. 🧠✨

Everything you see or hear or experience in any way at all is specific to you. You create a universe by perceiving it, so everything in the universe you perceive is specific to you.

And then came the ending.

That final scene in the club? It felt like the story was getting sewn shut. The last few stitches pulled tight before the universe (and the book) closed. I didn’t know whether to cry or smile or just sit in silence. It wasn’t even sadness. It was acceptance. That strange calm when you know: this is the end, in every way that matters.
Strangely enough, I didn’t crave more. Not because it wasn’t good, but because it was enough. It ended right. (Maybe because there was nothing left... But hey, no need for sequels or spin-offs!) Just a quiet mental nod. My brain, which had been expanding and twisting through galaxies of nonsense and philosophy, folded itself up and went: "Yeah. I got it." ☄️

Anything that happens, happens.
Anything that, in happening, causes something else to happen, causes something else to happen.
Anything that, in happening, causes itself to happen again, happens again.
It doesn't necessarily do it in chronological order, though.

Every character brought something strange and singular to the table – ridiculous, tragic, hopeful, petty, brilliant. They shouldn't make sense together, but they do. The scope is massive: character-wise, lore-wise, existence-wise, but somehow, the book never loses its pulse. 🫀

Sometimes if you receive an answer, the question might be taken away.

So yeah. I finished it. And I liked it. I liked it a lot. It was ridiculous. And brilliant. And, in its own odd way, deeply human. Mostly harmless! 😉💫

Let the past hold on to itself and let the present move forward into the future.

Content Warnings

countingbabaas's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

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