The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Reader reviewed by Davis

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a book by british author Douglas Adams, written in the third person about a man who is forced to leave Earth and travel through space with his companions.
 
Arthur Dent is an average man whose life is turned upside down when the Earth is destroyed and he is saved by his friend Ford, who is actually an alien intergalactic hitchhiker. He now travels through space with Ford, Ford's friend Zaphod, and Zaphod's friend Trillian.

This book has a complex and diverse plot that keeps the reader guessing as to what will happen next, which allows the reader to be more engaged in the book. Adams writes in a very comedic style, and has a lot of character development and interlocking storylines. This book is a must read if you enjoy zany humor and overall great writing

Reader reviewed by Spam

A great book and it had me in tears laughing so hard at many points throughout the book. I have also seen the movie, which, I can't tell if the book is written so well or if the movie followed the book so closley, I found them identical. I definitely reccomend this for any reader

Reader reviewed by Flak Monkey

No matter how many times I read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and I've read it quite a few times already, it never fails to thrill me and induce bouts of almost uncontrollably hearty laughter. With this novel, Douglas Adams gave life to a phenomenon that will long outlive his tragically short life, delighting millions of readers for untold years to come. I'm not sure if science fiction had ever seen anything like this before 1979. This is science fiction made to laugh at itself while honoring its rich tradition, but it is much more than that. Adams' peculiarly dead-on humor also draws deeply from the well of sociology, philosophy, and of course science. Whenever Adams encountered a sacred cow of any sort, he milked it dry before moving on. Beneath the surface of utter hilarity, Adams actually used his sarcasm and wit to make some rather poignant statements about this silly thing called life and the manner in which we are going about living it. This is one reason the book is so well-suited for multiple readings-a high level of enjoyment is guaranteed each time around, and there are always new insights to be gained from Adams' underlying, oftentimes subtle, ideas and approach.
Arthur Dent is your normal human being, and so he naturally is more concerned about his house being knocked down than facing the fact that the world is about to end. His friend Ford Prefect, he comes to learn, is actually a researcher from a planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse, but before he can even begin to comprehend this fact, he finds himself zipped up into the confines of the Vogon space cruiser that has just destroyed the planet Earth. Things become even trickier for him when he discovers the great usefulness of sticking a Babel fish into his ear and then meets the singular President of the Galaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox and his shipmate Trillian, both of whom Arthur actually met months before at a party. Such impossible coincidences are explained by the fact that Beeblebrox's ship is powered by the new Infinite Improbability Drive. Dent grows more and more confused during his travels on board the Heart of Gold, and the story eventually culminates with an amazing visit to an astronomically improbable world.

Much of the humor here is impossible to describe; this novel must be read to be appreciated. It seems like every single line holds a joke of some kind within it. The characters are also terrific: the unfortunate Arthur Dent, who basically has no idea what is going on; Ford Prefect, Arthur's remarkable friend from Betelgeuse; Zaphod Beeblebrox, with his two heads, three arms, and cavalier attitude; Trillian the lovely Earth girl who basically flies the Heart of Gold; Slartibartfast the planet builder and fjord-make extraordinaire; and my favorite character of all, Marvin the eternally depressed robot. Life-"loathe it or ignore it, you can't like it" is the Paranoid Android's philosophy. One brilliant thing that Adams does is to step away from the action every so often to present interesting facts about the universe as recorded in the Hitchhiker's Guide; here we learn about Vogon poetry, the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal, Trans Galactic Gargle Blasters, and other fascinating tidbits about life in the crazy universe Adams created. He even gives the reader the ultimate answer to the question of Life, the Universe, and Everything in these pages.

This novel is just an amazingly hilarious read that will leave you yearning for more; to our great fortune, Adams indeed left us more in the form of four subsequent books in the Hitchhiker's "trilogy." If you don't like science fiction, it doesn't matter; read this book just for the laughs. The most amazing thing about Adams' humor is the fact that everyone seems to "get" it. Adams broke all the rules in writing a novel quite unlike any that had come before it, and he succeeded in spades. This may well be the funniest novel ever written.

Reader reviewed by Emily Wooden

This is a book that is so comical you start laughing in the frist sentence.

The book has recently been made into a movie and I recommend both for a good laugh.

At the time of reading the book I was fairly deppressed and I was surprised when a giggle -Yes a Giggle- escaped my lips.

READ THIS BOOK!!!! Is the best thing I can say it is just so good. :]

Reader reviewed by starjammer

Have towel will travel is this books motto. Travel the galaxy in the Heart of Gold with a crazy cast of characters. Listen to Vorgon poetry at it's best and chat with the most depressed droid ever created.

Definately a most read for anyone who has ever wondered what else is out there... past the cloud... beyond the moon... Hail fellow travelers and a grand 42 to you!

Reader reviewed by Dino_girl

Just before earth is blown up, Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect hitchhike on a Vogon spacecraft and got as far away from there as they possibly could. I feel so sorry for Marvin and Arthur, but you just have to laugh at them. It is an excellent book. Some of the places that they visit are hilarious.


Trapped in a place that he has no knowledge of, Arthur and Ford struggle to survive against missiles, and the weirdest things you could possibly think of. Until recently Arthur had been quite happy with his life, although it was not much of a life he had still enjoyed it. Having been stranded on Earth, Ford found things to do in his spare time, like researching things for the electronic book called The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and going for a drink or two. Together these two face untold dangers and funny creatures.


Out of all the characters in the book, I think I would choose Marvin the Robot, well its more like Marvin the severely depressed Robot. He was the funniest of them all. He could kill a space ship just talking about how everyone and everything hated him. Marvin was rarely happy, and when he was happy it only lasted about three seconds. He was more depressed then anyone I have ever met.

If you think being tortured by poetry and launched into space arent bad enough, just wait until you read the rest of the book. It was a hoot. I would suggest this book to people who love comedy. I know that I had a lot of fun reading this. If you like this book you would probably like the second and third books, too, The Restaurant at the end of the Universe and Mostly Harmless. Every morning when I wake up I think of one thing, the number Forty-two.

Reader reviewed by John Greenheck

The single most significant series of books I have ever read.

I owe so much of who I am to this series, today is indeed a dark day. A moment of silence for Douglas Adams, died May 12, 2001, age 49.

I am only hopeful that he has his towel with him in the afterlife, it will no doubt be the singularly important tool on his future adventure in the great gig in the sky.

John Greenheck, Wandering Idiot.

Forty-Two!.

Reader reviewed by Philip

The main character, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy who for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor, right before the Earth is about to be destroyed. Together they search for a planet that was thought not to be in existence for over 100 million years.

My favorite character was Zaphod Beeblebrox- the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the Galaxy. I enjoyed this book basically because it made me laugh. I have never been able to understand how people can laugh when they read a book... Now I can understand.

This book should be recommended to anyone with an open mind. It is still a Sci-fi book, but it makes up for that with its really funny parts. Basically there is no age or gender specifically for this book. It's good for everyone.