Douglas Adams’s 1979 adaptation of his popular BBC radio drama spawned a cult following that persisted through four sequels, a TV series, and a movie and continues to thrive eight years after his death. The sometimes witty, often satirical, and always humorous quasi-science-fiction/fantasy story about a young man traveling the galaxy on an involuntary quest for the meaning of existence has managed to survive and remain startlingly current through an entire generation of changes in technology and literary trends.

Arthur Dent doesn’t have a lot on his mind other than surviving his hangover when he wakes up one morning to find that his house is about to be bulldozed to make way for a bypass. His objections are met with sympathetic indifference by the crew chief until he lies down in the mud in front of the offending bulldozer. What he doesn’t realize is that the earth itself has been slated for destruction by the evil Vogons as part of the development of a hyperspatial express route. Moments before the earth disintegrates, Arthur and his secretly alien friend Ford Prefect escape by hitching a ride on one of the Vogon ships, and their journey begins.

As Arthur and Ford and the improbable gang of galactic characters they join up with travel from system to system in search of the mythical planet Magrathea and the Question to the Ultimate Answer, they are guided by The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, an e-book that offers such insightful wisdom as “Don’t panic” and contains articles on subjects such as the importance of towels as well as helpful information about various planets and species. Along the way, Adams hilariously lambasts everything from religion to art to politics to human nature.

The story, while mildly entertaining, is not what makes the book work. Rather, Adam’s sardonic narration and ultra-dry humor are what make it worth reading. Virtually every page contains at least one description or parodic exposition that makes you want to either laugh out loud or groan.

Since the book doesn’t have a message or even much of a plot, it might be hard for some to find a reason to read it. But those who enjoy British humor (think Monty Python) or want to see how the destruction of the earth can be so funny may well enjoy it. The good news is, if you really like it, there are four sequels, so you could potentially be laughing for a long time. ( )

I know that these are considered classics of the genre, and have been massively influential on two decades of genre writing and TV. Yet try as I might when I read them, I just couldn't see why. Creative, yes, imaginative, yes, and occasionally very sharp. But the characters just seemed flat to me, and I couldn't understand why anyone who wasn't a fourteen year old boy would find this more than sporadically amusing. ( )

I thought this was cute! I'm admittedly a little late to the party on this book--I saw the film first, and then only after it had been making the rounds on TV for a couple of years. I'm sure I would have fallen in love with this if I had been introduced to the book when I was younger, but unfortunately I kept comparing the book to the film in my mind as I read descriptions of surroundings. Well, that's one lesson learned: book first, film later!

Of course the undeniably British snarkiness in the book is a delight, and the world that Adams created is certainly engrossing enough to get lost in. What was actually really remarkable to me is how well the book holds up in 2009. Aside from some comments about digital watches, I couldn't believe the book was originally published in 1979! The characters are well-formed, and in general it was a good show...but I guess I still felt a little underwhelmed at the end. I can certainly understand how it gained a huge following, but I guess I didn't go as nuts over it as people did thirty years ago. I understand it's part of a series, but I felt like the ending was a little too abrupt and neat.

I have the film-tie-in version; this makes for a snazzy cover but I couldn't bring myself to wade through the "93 pages!" of material about the making of the film. Having almost another entire book to read at the end of the actual book is probably what prompted my surprise in suddenly reaching the end.

In all: a cute, irreverent book which got me reading sci-fi (which I don't usually go for), but I guess I missed the boat on falling in love with it, which makes me a little sad. In all, I don't think I'm going to invest myself in the rest of the series. ( )

What a fun read this is. It's not what I would normally pick up but I heard a lot of good things about it and have been meaning to read this series for a long time now so recently I got the first book. I wasn't sure what to expect from it but found myself really enjoying it. It is an odd story and a very silly one too, but what I really liked about it is that it's so funny at times.

The characters have great personalities that are so amusing especially that of Arthur. One of my favorite quotes in the book is made by Zaphod Beeblebrox though, "If there's anything more important than my ego around, I want it caught and shot now." And then there's Marvin, he has got to be the most depressed robot that ever existed, the poor fellow just can't see any light at the end of the tunnel but it's funny how his depressing mood saved them in the end. The concept that we are all part of an experiment is quite interesting too, who knows maybe we really are after all!

Put together, the great characters, their journey through space on the Heart of Gold and their adventures make for a witty and fun book. I am definitely going to read the rest of the books in the series. ( )

read too many times falling apart ( )