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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
reflective
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:
No
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I didn't expect to get emotional finishing the last book in this series, but I was getting a little misty-eyed when I reached the end. It didn't help that my edition had a little section at the back with all the descriptions of the previous books and I got that feeling like I am never going to be able to read this series for the first time ever again.
Over the past few months I've done something I've never done before and actually, my god, finished a series within a year. I think it was a great way to experience the Hitchhiker's books because it was like one single, weird journey.
At the end, Mostly Harmless is not the best book in the series, but it was the perfect conclusion. There are a handful of things that could have been done better, (like story and character in general), but what really hooked me was that I fell in love with Adam's writing.
Adams writes the way people think when they just let their minds wander. Sometimes this can be headache inducing to read, but that is also part of what makes it so fun. It's not trying to be easy to digest, it's trying to be the tilt-a-whirl at an amusement park after too many funnel cakes. It's a stream of consciousness where the idea of consciousness is actually interesting. It's Monty Python meets Sci-Fi. It's technology as both the bane of our existence and also the coolest thing in the universe. It's anti-capitalism, anti-astrology and yet pro-bullshit.
I loved it, even when it went completely off the rails, which makes it harder now that it's over. I would say that looking at the series as a whole, I think that the first two books are my favourite. I might do a re-read of them sometime in the future and that thought is making finishing this ride a little bit easier.
Over the past few months I've done something I've never done before and actually, my god, finished a series within a year. I think it was a great way to experience the Hitchhiker's books because it was like one single, weird journey.
At the end, Mostly Harmless is not the best book in the series, but it was the perfect conclusion. There are a handful of things that could have been done better, (like story and character in general), but what really hooked me was that I fell in love with Adam's writing.
Adams writes the way people think when they just let their minds wander. Sometimes this can be headache inducing to read, but that is also part of what makes it so fun. It's not trying to be easy to digest, it's trying to be the tilt-a-whirl at an amusement park after too many funnel cakes. It's a stream of consciousness where the idea of consciousness is actually interesting. It's Monty Python meets Sci-Fi. It's technology as both the bane of our existence and also the coolest thing in the universe. It's anti-capitalism, anti-astrology and yet pro-bullshit.
I loved it, even when it went completely off the rails, which makes it harder now that it's over. I would say that looking at the series as a whole, I think that the first two books are my favourite. I might do a re-read of them sometime in the future and that thought is making finishing this ride a little bit easier.
Took a while to pick up, but stronger than So Long and Thanks for All the Fish. Better ending too.
My blog post about this book can be read at this link.
adventurous
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not as funny as the others but the characters were SO MUCH MORE CHARMING. Except maybe the feral emo child but damn that reveal was good! Also, Arthur is SO my favorite character ever and so is Ford. They are the two halves of my brain honestly but anyways. I love that this series finally got into the cliche parallel words sci-fi stuff. Did it very well!
Also the running joke with Ford hating geese but wanting to free all animals is amazing. Arthur finally arriving on the Strav-whatchuma call it beta made me laugh. Anyways, Arthur being happy with making sandwiches was cute and his whole tragic situation with the crash just made me love his character even more. There's so much growth here. Also Also, Ford repeated jumping out windows, jumping over tables and breaking through doors is the BEST.
But the ending was kinda trash. I mean, I hate hate hate ambiguous endings. Anyways. I'm glad there's a sixth book even if it's not written by Adam's. It has Zaphod in it too, which is A MASSIVE FLAW with these last few books. I mean, it mentions him at the party with Trillian and Arthur with his birdcage costume but that's all! Zaphod is my favorite dude! If he was more prominent I would call him the last third of my personality like Arthur and Ford are so important to me but sadly his character just doesn't have the chance to even appear here!!
Also the running joke with Ford hating geese but wanting to free all animals is amazing. Arthur finally arriving on the Strav-whatchuma call it beta made me laugh. Anyways, Arthur being happy with making sandwiches was cute and his whole tragic situation with the crash just made me love his character even more. There's so much growth here. Also Also, Ford repeated jumping out windows, jumping over tables and breaking through doors is the BEST.
But the ending was kinda trash. I mean, I hate hate hate ambiguous endings. Anyways. I'm glad there's a sixth book even if it's not written by Adam's. It has Zaphod in it too, which is A MASSIVE FLAW with these last few books. I mean, it mentions him at the party with Trillian and Arthur with his birdcage costume but that's all! Zaphod is my favorite dude! If he was more prominent I would call him the last third of my personality like Arthur and Ford are so important to me but sadly his character just doesn't have the chance to even appear here!!
In 1992 Douglas Adams released the fifth entry in what was, by his own admission the increasingly inaccurately titled Hitch Hikers trilogy.
Unfortunately it felt at the time like it was written with the intention of bringing the story arc to a close so that people would stop asking him to write another darn book. At its end 'Mostly Harmless' does the inverse of so many Hollywood block busters. Instead of setting up an obvious lead into a sequel the book sets about destroying any possible follow up.
I've since found out that the actual reason that the book feels so negative is that Douglas was going through a difficult period in his personal life!
So Douglas fans will want to read this because of its pedigree, but it just doesn't have the fun that the others do, especially the experimental playfullness of the previous book in the series 'So Long and Thanks for the Fish'.
Unfortunately it felt at the time like it was written with the intention of bringing the story arc to a close so that people would stop asking him to write another darn book. At its end 'Mostly Harmless' does the inverse of so many Hollywood block busters. Instead of setting up an obvious lead into a sequel the book sets about destroying any possible follow up.
I've since found out that the actual reason that the book feels so negative is that Douglas was going through a difficult period in his personal life!
So Douglas fans will want to read this because of its pedigree, but it just doesn't have the fun that the others do, especially the experimental playfullness of the previous book in the series 'So Long and Thanks for the Fish'.
“Mostly Harmless” has gotten some slack for being more depressing then the rest of the series, especially considering how “…Thanks for the Fish” was surprisingly optimistic, giving us the earth back and introducing Fenchurch to our poor pal Arthur. Marvin was even allowed to smile for once. It was all happy days, and a decent stopping point, there was no real need to go on. But that’s not how the universe works, is it? Things never really stop until everything stops, so in that case it was only logical that Douglas Adams would have to throw in one last part to this symphony, for it does not end with a crescendo, but a diminuendo (guess who learnt a new musical term today?).
The Hitchhiker’s Guide is a very funny series, that is true, but underneath it all, its really been about the incomprehensible nature of the universe, which doesn’t even understand itself half the time. Each book has toyed with a specific way of reacting to this, from maniacal absurdism, to mild interest, with “…Thanks for the Fish” finally choosing to accept wonder at what goes on around us. “Mostly Harmless” chooses something most people would call nihilism, but this shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone paying attention. This series was always going to end up being about corporations ruining the world, and the sudden rush of the end of life, it even had a restaurant with front row seats in the second book. “Mostly Harmless” just chooses to put its poignancy more front and centre then the humour (although this book is still very funny), and so it is oddly pleasant to read. It seems to say, “the world does not make sense, probably hates you, and will kill you, but at least we had some fun along the way”. I don’t know about you, but that to me seems to sum up what this series is really about, and that sentiment is possibly the most optimistic thing to come out of this series.
The answer was in front of us the whole time. A lot has been made about why Douglas Adams chose the number 42 to be the answer to everything. Was it a sincere attempt to understand things? A joke? A Lewis Carroll reference? It might be all of these things, or it could just be like in computer coding, where the number 42 is used as an asterisk, to mean “anything you want it to be”.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide is a very funny series, that is true, but underneath it all, its really been about the incomprehensible nature of the universe, which doesn’t even understand itself half the time. Each book has toyed with a specific way of reacting to this, from maniacal absurdism, to mild interest, with “…Thanks for the Fish” finally choosing to accept wonder at what goes on around us. “Mostly Harmless” chooses something most people would call nihilism, but this shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone paying attention. This series was always going to end up being about corporations ruining the world, and the sudden rush of the end of life, it even had a restaurant with front row seats in the second book. “Mostly Harmless” just chooses to put its poignancy more front and centre then the humour (although this book is still very funny), and so it is oddly pleasant to read. It seems to say, “the world does not make sense, probably hates you, and will kill you, but at least we had some fun along the way”. I don’t know about you, but that to me seems to sum up what this series is really about, and that sentiment is possibly the most optimistic thing to come out of this series.
The answer was in front of us the whole time. A lot has been made about why Douglas Adams chose the number 42 to be the answer to everything. Was it a sincere attempt to understand things? A joke? A Lewis Carroll reference? It might be all of these things, or it could just be like in computer coding, where the number 42 is used as an asterisk, to mean “anything you want it to be”.