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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The finale of the Hitchhiker's Series. You've come this far, so why not finish it?
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
adventurous
medium-paced
DO NOT READ THIS BOOK! STOP AT #4, STOP AT "SO LONG, AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH", TURN BACK NOW. THERE IS NOTHING HERE FOR YOU, BUT DESPAIR, MISERY AND REGRET. DO NOT PROCEED.
...but if you have to...
This is a strange, depressing book, where no-one appears to be having much fun existing in the galaxy and the story written out for them. Trillian is busy chasing around her glitzy reporting career and doesn't seem to be enjoying it - and for inexplicable reasons has a daughter, Random, and spends most of her time neglecting her and eventually dumps her with Arthur, turning his own life upside down. Random is unhappy for existing, and is perpetually insufferable throughout. Ford, meanwhile, is unhappy with the marked changes and dulling up of the Guide. Marvin and Zaphod are nowhere here, and Fenchurch has been written out of existence by one passing remark - a baffling decision that makes the previous book functionally worthless.
The irreverent, whimsical and absurdist take on the Galaxy, the very thing that made the series so enjoyable and fun to read to begin with, has been completely supplanted with a sense of melancholy, dread, and nihilism. Achieves the rare feat of not only being a unenjoyable book, but putting a great damper on the entire preceding series simply by existing, especially due to the ending where, surprise!, the Earth blows up yet again - but no one escapes akin to the first book. Everyone is presumably dead. Gone. Kaput. The Vogons win.
I did not heed warnings from similar reviews not to read this book, and did not heed said warning. For that, I can only repent by warning others, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK!
...but if you have to...
This is a strange, depressing book, where no-one appears to be having much fun existing in the galaxy and the story written out for them. Trillian is busy chasing around her glitzy reporting career and doesn't seem to be enjoying it - and for inexplicable reasons has a daughter, Random, and spends most of her time neglecting her and eventually dumps her with Arthur, turning his own life upside down. Random is unhappy for existing, and is perpetually insufferable throughout. Ford, meanwhile, is unhappy with the marked changes and dulling up of the Guide. Marvin and Zaphod are nowhere here, and Fenchurch has been written out of existence by one passing remark - a baffling decision that makes the previous book functionally worthless.
The irreverent, whimsical and absurdist take on the Galaxy, the very thing that made the series so enjoyable and fun to read to begin with, has been completely supplanted with a sense of melancholy, dread, and nihilism. Achieves the rare feat of not only being a unenjoyable book, but putting a great damper on the entire preceding series simply by existing, especially due to the ending where, surprise!, the Earth blows up yet again - but no one escapes akin to the first book. Everyone is presumably dead. Gone. Kaput. The Vogons win.
I did not heed warnings from similar reviews not to read this book, and did not heed said warning. For that, I can only repent by warning others, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK!
Time to check off another part of my 2017 Reading for Growth Challenge: three books by the same author. You can read my [b:Life, the Universe and Everything|8694|Life, the Universe and Everything (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #3)|Douglas Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1333577589s/8694.jpg|74123] review if you want to know more about why I chose these books for that checkbox... Long story short, I wanted to finish [b:The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide|16094002|The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #1-5)|Douglas Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1405123103s/16094002.jpg|135328] which has been on my "Currently Reading" shelf for 4.5 years...
This book felt the least familiar of all five books of the "trilogy." I read it over a decade ago in college when I first bought the Ultimate Guide but I barely remember the introduction of Random (Arthur's biological daughter through the miracle of sperm banks), the new multidimensional Guide Ford stumbles upon, or the pair of Trillians/Tricias who appear. However, I do remember the ending—or at least I did once I read it. As I was reaching the final few pages I wondered if we were ever going to get that Stavromula Beta thing introduced back in LTUAE straightened out. Then I remembered it!
So, while it was nice reading this for what felt like the first time, it was still just as disappointing as I remember [b:The Restaurant at the End of the Universe|8695|The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #2)|Douglas Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1390234660s/8695.jpg|1877624] being. While this book has a few LOL lines, it seems to lack the true [a:Douglas Adams|4|Douglas Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1189120061p2/4.jpg] zaniness. The chapters all felt much longer and slower—when Arthur was first introduced, I had to flip back through the first six chapters to double check that we hadn't been re-introduced to him yet in this book. It felt so strange having the "main" character pushed back to Chapter 7, but the whole book felt disjointed and difficult to read over the course of <2 weeks.
The book is probably short enough to read over a weekend, and perhaps it's best enjoyed that way. With the long chapters and four separate storylines, it was harder getting back into the story day after day. I didn't have that problem with the past two books and I don't remember having that problem with the original [b:H2G2|11|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)|Douglas Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327656754s/11.jpg|3078186]. [b:Mostly Harmless|569429|Mostly Harmless (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #5)|Douglas Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1397933521s/569429.jpg|2842984] almost feels like it was written by a double who had mastered some of Adams's writing style, but changed gear and wrote everything with an entirely different flow...
I rewatched the 2005 film, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy midway through reading this book—partially because I remember loving it and I wanted to bring some joy back into my reading (which was becoming less and less joyful) and partially because my wife had never seen it before. It was a bad decision—my wife thought it was "strange" & my old 4.5* rating of the film dropped to a measly 2.5*. I just didn't find very much funny about the whole thing...
Which kind of sums up my feelings about the "trilogy"—it used to be near perfect in my memory of my first reading, but now that I've finally finished a second read-thru (that took almost five years), it's really just kind of mediocre...
This book felt the least familiar of all five books of the "trilogy." I read it over a decade ago in college when I first bought the Ultimate Guide but I barely remember the introduction of Random (Arthur's biological daughter through the miracle of sperm banks), the new multidimensional Guide Ford stumbles upon, or the pair of Trillians/Tricias who appear. However, I do remember the ending—or at least I did once I read it. As I was reaching the final few pages I wondered if we were ever going to get that Stavromula Beta thing introduced back in LTUAE straightened out. Then
Spoiler
on the second-to-last page, after it was revealedSo, while it was nice reading this for what felt like the first time, it was still just as disappointing as I remember [b:The Restaurant at the End of the Universe|8695|The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #2)|Douglas Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1390234660s/8695.jpg|1877624] being. While this book has a few LOL lines, it seems to lack the true [a:Douglas Adams|4|Douglas Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1189120061p2/4.jpg] zaniness. The chapters all felt much longer and slower—when Arthur was first introduced, I had to flip back through the first six chapters to double check that we hadn't been re-introduced to him yet in this book. It felt so strange having the "main" character pushed back to Chapter 7, but the whole book felt disjointed and difficult to read over the course of <2 weeks.
The book is probably short enough to read over a weekend, and perhaps it's best enjoyed that way. With the long chapters and four separate storylines, it was harder getting back into the story day after day. I didn't have that problem with the past two books and I don't remember having that problem with the original [b:H2G2|11|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)|Douglas Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327656754s/11.jpg|3078186]. [b:Mostly Harmless|569429|Mostly Harmless (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #5)|Douglas Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1397933521s/569429.jpg|2842984] almost feels like it was written by a double who had mastered some of Adams's writing style, but changed gear and wrote everything with an entirely different flow...
I rewatched the 2005 film, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy midway through reading this book—partially because I remember loving it and I wanted to bring some joy back into my reading (which was becoming less and less joyful) and partially because my wife had never seen it before. It was a bad decision—my wife thought it was "strange" & my old 4.5* rating of the film dropped to a measly 2.5*. I just didn't find very much funny about the whole thing...
Which kind of sums up my feelings about the "trilogy"—it used to be near perfect in my memory of my first reading, but now that I've finally finished a second read-thru (that took almost five years), it's really just kind of mediocre...
adventurous
funny
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:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No