Author: Douglas Adams
Plot:
Arthur Dent is an Earth man, living a quite and perfectly ordinary life in the English countryside. He is somewhat inconvenienced by the local planning committee trying to build a bypass through his house. This particular fact soon becomes of lesser importance when he finds out his eccentric friend Ford Prefect is not, in fact, from Earth, but rather from the distant star Betelgeuse. This particular fact also takes a back seat when Arthur learns that the Earth is about to be destroyed in order to make room for an interstellar hyperspace bypass. Escaping at the last instant by hitchhiking aboard an alien demolition ship, with Ford Prefect, Arthur must learn how to survive in a universe with no Earth.
The Vogons, upon whose ship Arthur and Ford are hitching, do not take kindly to their presence and throw them out of an airlock, though not before torturing them with some Vogon poetry, reputed to be the third worst in the galaxy. Against all odds they are picked up by an incredible new ship which uses the manipulation of probability itself to leap across galaxies. Even more incredibly, the ship is captained by the president of the galaxy, who also happens to be a fugitive after stealing the ship at the christening, and is Ford's best friend to boot. Also aboard is Marvin, a manically depressed android, and Trillion, the last Earth women in the universe, and also the women Arthur last totally blew it with at a very nice party in Islington a few weeks earlier.
Together, this intrepid band of unlikely characters take on the galaxy, sometimes being separated by vast interstellar distances, vast gaps in probability, and vast gaps in time, in pursuit of happiness, a place to call home, or just a simple cup of tea. Together they discover the answer to life, the question of life, gods last words to his creation, and how to eat a guilt free steak at the restaurant at the end of the universe.*
*not all of these things happen in the first book. There are five books in this critically acclaimed "trilogy".
Opinion:
I think this is my favorite series of books of all time. But its a really close second to Terry Pratchett's discworld series. Douglas Adams is an amazing writer, with a fantastic imagination. His meandering plot, absurd scenarios, and witty, often cynically accurate humor will have you laughing. The characters are simply amazing, and their unique takes on life are amazingly hilarious. This book makes fun of everything- politics, economics, religion, evolution, mankind, appliances, computers, mice, and more- a constantly inventive and delightful satire. I have the full series bound edition, and I love just turning to a random page and reading. I've likely read it three times over, and many more times in random pieces. In my opinion the first three volumes are the best, but the whole series is completely worth the read.
Who would like it:
This is a science fiction book, but all of the science is absurd and fantastic, so if you don't like or care about science, I think this book is still worth a go. This is an absolute cult classic science fiction book. Younger readers probably will not understand alot of the satire. I read it in high school and loved it, and am now in my twenty and still a huge fan.
Buy complete series on:
Amazon Kindle
Amazon Paperback
Or Watch the Movie! (pretty good, although they changed some things, and the book is still better)
Amazon Instant Video
Or even listen to the original radio series , before the book, which is also amazingly well done, for some real nerd cred.
DVD
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