Life, the Universe and Everything

by Douglas Adams

Book Overview

"Wild satire . . . The feckless protagonist, Arthur Dent, is reminiscent of Vonnegut heroes."--Chicago Tribune

The unhappy inhabitants of planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky above their heads--so they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals stand between the killer robots of Krikkit and their goal of total annihilation.

They are Arthur Dent, a mild-mannered space and time traveler...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345391829
• ISBN13: 9780345391827
• Release Date: September 1995
• Publisher: Del Rey Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

The synthesized genius of Adams is here again

This is the third book from the famous 'trilogy' (actually consisting of five books) written by his high majesty - Mr. Douglas Adams. Quite an interesting read after all, with no similarities to other famous books. The writing style of Douglas Adams is something that has been (and surely will be) one of the most popular topics when people sit around the table. There are numerous famous citations from his books that act (and will surely act) like pieces of wisdom for rebellios generations. Here is one of my favourites: 'Sounds bad. With little more of luck I hope I will be drunk enough, so that I don't notice it.' This book is somehow innovative from the previous two, mainly due to the fact that it has a plot and after finishing it you have a story in your head, unlike after reading previous two. Is this bad or good - everyone decides for himself. I like it. The story is about our guys Ford Prefect, Arthur Dent, Zaphod Beeblebrox and the girl Trillian being lead on a mission by the old man Slartibartfast to save the Universe from being distinguished by the people of Krikkit who are as funny as well as every other character in the book (including the thunder god from the Scandinavian mythology - Thor). You will get an alternative look to the popular english sport game cricket after you finish the book. There are a lot of funny tales that are not directly connected to the main story but add additional absurd humour that sometimes made me laugh histerically while reading. One of my favourite was about Zaphod getting drunk on his ship and Trillian leaving him, as well as the one about the poet Lallafa and his famous poems that after time travelling was discovered were used for marketing purposes and that changed the past so that these poems had never been written. And not to forget Wowbagger who insists on insulting every living creature personally. I had great fun while reading this book and am quite enthusiastic to read the forth and fifth part of the 'trilogy'. Douglas Adams proved once again to me that he is unique and his stories are unpredictable.

42!

I have no idea why no one seems to give this book good reviews! It is uber funny, just as much as the first two. I liked the exclusive terms for the actions of matresses and the whole Agrajag thing, which was honestly the funniest thing I have ever read! As for the Krikkit peoples, this line is one of Adam's most memorable, besides the number 42: "It's got to go." Also, I have established Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged as an all time favorite literary personality, because, well, seriously people, his dream is to insult the universe! Original. Personally, I don't see what all the fuss is about.

At last we have a plot...

It is some time after the second in this great sci-fi/comedy series. Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect are marooned on Earth during the caveman times. It seems they will die in this time period, but this suits them. But suddenly there appears a travelling couch that whisks them away to save the Universe from an evil race of aliens bent on universal destruction. While the first two books are excellent comedy gems, they consist of no real plot. This book does, and also maintains the deadpan humor and absurd realities. It's barrells of fun and a great, quick read. When the book needs to be suspensful, it is. When it needs to be funny, it's hilarious. This is Douglas Adams' very best work and this book is the best in the series.

Strong Continuation

Though many criticize this book for not being as strong as the first two, this is an excellent book. For starters, this book has some of the most memorable moments of the entire trilogy: Agrajag(a brilliant idea to have, absolutely hilarious), Arthur learning to fly(another wonderfully hilarious idea to have flying actually just "Falling and missing the ground"), Marvin's conversation with Zem, Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged's quest, and Slartibartifast's new ship. The novel shows some of the character's personalities very well and develops them further(particularly the poor, neglected Trillian). Ford is wonderfully displayed by showing that he doesn't care about saving the universe when he can attend a party. Zaphod's drinking habits was a very nice little section. Marvin's unhappiness was further displayed by showing it infecting an entire army of robots. Arthur is still as dumbfounded by everything as ever, but at least shows some guts and sensibility. And I've always been a big Slartibartfast fan, and thought it was nice to see him back. I particularly likes his dialogue in this novel, where he will begin a very short sentence and after a large amount of description he will finish it. His "Bistromathic" ship was a funny idea also. The book adds well to the series and provides the major events for the next books(So Long, thanks for All the Fish = God's Last Words; Mostly Harmless = Arthur, Ford, and Trillian's final resting place). It's an excellent read and rests well in my heart because it was the first book in the 5-part trilogy that I ever read(I didn't understand much of it, but loved it anyway). And I believe this is the only Adams novel that a character from another SERIES of his novels comes into play(The Thunder God in this may very well be Thor from "The Long, Dark Tea-time of the Soul," which also got its title from this book!)

A hilarious satire for the open-minded reader.

With the exception of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" this is, in my opinion, Adams' most talented work. The story is amazing, but definitely not for skeptical readers. To fully appreciate his books you should not be asking questions such as "What does an italian restaurant have to do with mathematics?" In short: a great book for those who do not think long and hard about every event in the tale.