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A review by chrisdavis
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
5.0
This book is timeless. It really just doesn’t seem to age at all. If you are one of the few that has not read this yet, then please get on it soon. If nothing else, you will understand where many pop culture references are from and will know why the answer to most questions is 42!
Arthur Dent wakes up one morning with his house about to be demolished. His friend, Ford Prefect, drags him off to the pub and tells him a story that puts Arthur’s house problems into perspective a bit. Turns out Ford is an alien, and the Earth is about to be destroyed to make way for an intergalactic highway. This first section of the book is just constantly hilarious and worth reading more than once. Ford introduces Arthur to the infamous Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and they hitchhike a ride off Earth just before it explodes. The rest of the story is a fast paced adventure through space.
The book is really a transcription of the radio show and therefore it does move at a really quick pace. It is fair to say that this is not your typical sci-fi. Imagine a short story, sci-fi version of Discworld. That’s the best way I can think to describe it. You will find that the book is slightly low on explanation and description. Adams is no worldbuilder (although ironically one of the characters is!!), but that is not what the book is supposed to be about.
All the books in the 5 book trilogy are short enough to make the whole thing readable in one go. This time round though, I am reading one at a time and reading other books in between. I think it is better that way. The style of writing is best in small doses, because otherwise you read it too quickly and miss lots of the subtle references. Well, I do anyway.
9/10
Arthur Dent wakes up one morning with his house about to be demolished. His friend, Ford Prefect, drags him off to the pub and tells him a story that puts Arthur’s house problems into perspective a bit. Turns out Ford is an alien, and the Earth is about to be destroyed to make way for an intergalactic highway. This first section of the book is just constantly hilarious and worth reading more than once. Ford introduces Arthur to the infamous Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and they hitchhike a ride off Earth just before it explodes. The rest of the story is a fast paced adventure through space.
The book is really a transcription of the radio show and therefore it does move at a really quick pace. It is fair to say that this is not your typical sci-fi. Imagine a short story, sci-fi version of Discworld. That’s the best way I can think to describe it. You will find that the book is slightly low on explanation and description. Adams is no worldbuilder (although ironically one of the characters is!!), but that is not what the book is supposed to be about.
All the books in the 5 book trilogy are short enough to make the whole thing readable in one go. This time round though, I am reading one at a time and reading other books in between. I think it is better that way. The style of writing is best in small doses, because otherwise you read it too quickly and miss lots of the subtle references. Well, I do anyway.
9/10