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The Milky Way Galaxy is in a state of confusion the dozen Universes, ( you didn't know there are more than one?) have collided into each other. Nothing is as it was, no wonder historians quit, what's the point, everything keeps on changing since history is so fluid. Tricia McMillan (Trillian , in another existence) is not happy, the British television anchor is back in England after an unsuccessful job interview, in New York City at ten times more money ! Dead tired from the overnight flight, sh...
(mild spoilers ahead)It's terribly amusing that the majority of reviewers have tossed this fifth part to the trilogy aside, banished it from their mental schemata of the series so as to acknowledge only that which ends well. I think it says a lot about the readership that they took in the entirety of the first four books without picking up on the melancholy and nihilistic subtext to Adams' writing. I mean, the first book ends with the discovery that the meaning of life is 42.... how much clearer...
Mostly Harmless was, for many people, a disappointing end to a fantastic series. Adams admitted that he was having a "bad year" when he wrote this book, and it shows: the usual humor and manic pacing are largely gone, replaced by long tracts about actual theoretical science (as opposed to the lunatic-inspired science that created, say, the starship Bistromath), and the tone overall is far darker and more depressive. There are still glimpses of Adams' comedic genius, but the book as a whole is a
“Let the past hold on to itself and let the present move forward into the future.” This was not the ending I was hoping for.But since we have parallel universes; is this truly the end?I finally read them all! I read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy when I was younger but never read more than the first book.I enjoy the humor and sarcasm and the unexpectedly outrages things that can happen quite out of the blue. The wacky relationship between Arthur and Ford is also one of the reasons that ke...
Sadly, the five-part Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy “trilogy” ends not with a bang, but a whimper. With four storylines — displaced earthman Arthur Dent, reckless Hitchhiker’s Guide correspondent Ford Prefect; Trillian, the earth woman once named Tricia McMillan who dumped Arthur at a party to go into space with Zaphod Beeblebrox, and Tricia McMillan in a parallel universe where she stayed on earth — Mostly Harmless reads like a frenzied ride on the bumper cars, with storylines beginning and st...
2005 will always be the year in which, personally I recognised that Douglas Adams was not only not my cup of tea, he wasn't my digestive biscuit, sugar lump or afternoon nap. His infantile rudimentary mid 20th century humour just doesn't work for me on any level... I have no doubt he strikes a chord with many readers around the world, but alas not I..My one good deed, is that I stuck with the series and gave it a chance to melt my cold dark heart.. which it obviously didn't. 3 out of 12.
Mostly Harmless (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #5), Douglas AdamsFinally, in Mostly Harmless (published in 1992), Vogons take over The Hitchhiker's Guide (under the name of InfiniDim Enterprises), to finish, once and for all, the task of obliterating the Earth. After abruptly losing Fenchurch and travelling around the galaxy despondently, Arthur's spaceship crashes on the planet Lamuella, where he settles in happily as the official sandwich-maker for a small village of simple, peaceful peopl...
Out of all the Hitchhiker's Gude to the Galaxy books, I think I must digress and say that 'Mostly Harmless' does not, in fact, refer to the Earth, but to itself.The book is mostly harmless except when it isn't. In fact, it isn't mostly harmless at all.There are many humorous passages and lots of quirky zingers and a sensation of the penultimate plotless surreality of life, the universe, and everything, but like LIFE, itself, it just feels like an accumulation of STUFF THAT HAPPENS. Trying to fin...
The Encyclopedia Galactica, that venerable compendium, has a lot to say about the works of Douglas Adams. In particular, the first four books of his 'Hitchhiker's' series have over 7 million words dedicated to them. This includes synopses, critical analyses, research projects, philosophical treatises, and Babel-fish fan-fiction. But the fifth book in the series has not enjoyed this level of attention. Until recently, the Galactica article regarding this novel comprised a single word; 'pointless...
The fifth and final installment in the Hitchhiker “trilogy” is generally regarded as the weakest in the series (it’s the lowest rated on this site, for example). The story is focused on Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect. Poor Arthur, who finally found happiness at the end of book four, has the love of his life whisked away from him senselessly and is back to wandering the galaxy alone. He finally settles down to a life that many would find mind-numbingly dull but that suits Arthur just fine. Just as
Hitchhiker's, volume 5.There are some good lines in this, but I can't help feeling it would have been better if Adams had left it unwritten, or at least unpublished. It is very disjointed, with Ford, Arthur and Trillian mostly in separate stories. It starts in what would be a parallel universe - if such things existed, which they don't, because "it makes as much sense as the sea being parallel". "If there was one thing life had taught her it was that there are times when you do not go back for y...
Brilliant! I don’t know if I was just into the right mood or what, but this last book of The Hitchhiker’s Guide series made me laugh so much. It was hilarious! The ending was perhaps too abrupt for me, and I’m still not sure if I liked it or not, so I was about to give 4 stars. But all the funny dialogues and situations throughout the book made definitely the 5 stars worth. I’m sure I will reread the whole series sometime, they just put me in such a good mood. I love the so British, witty humor
Blechh! Worst. Ending. Ever! I've heard that Douglas Adams wrote this book during a bad time in his life (hey, we all have 'em), but this book more or less stinks. I have chosen to forget that this book was ever written, and that the series ended on a definite high note with "So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish". Those of you who have not had your minds poisoned with this bit of tripe would do well to skip it altogether.
Randal: Which did you like better? Jedi or The Empire Strikes Back?Dante: Empire.Randal: Blasphemy!Dante: Empire had the better ending. I mean, Luke gets his hand cut off, finds out Vader's his father, Han gets frozen and taken away by Boba Fett. It ends on such a down note. I mean, that's what life is, a series of down endings. All Jedi had was a bunch of Muppets.
A great end, though I'm sad it's over.
Douglas Adams has always had such a massive influence on my writing. I don’t think there’s any other author out there who does madcap, irreverent and downright silly as well as he does. This book, the fifth in the series, continues the craziness of Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect and Trillion, but with the usual unexpected twists and turns, ranging from random daughters (literally called Random) to multi-universes and holy sandwich makers. Blissfully bonkers stuff.
"Where do I fit?"Content warning: mental illness.In the midst of episodes of depression, an essential sense of isolation and desolation hits me. Nihilism roots itself in my brain and will not be dislodged. There's a loneliness that, perhaps ironically, can't be palliated by the presence of other people. Certainly not strangers, who are unworthy of trust and are motivated by nothing but petty self-interest and dominance displays.This kind of thinking pervades a huge chunk of this book, and as som...
The universe is a joke. Even before I was shown the meaning of life in a dream at 17 (then promptly forgot it because I thought I smelled pancakes), I knew this to be true--and yet, I have always felt a need to search for the truth, that nebulous, ill-treated creature. Adams has always been, to me, to be a welcome companion in that journey. Between the search for meaning and the recognition that it's all a joke in poor taste lies Douglas Adams, and, luckily for us, he doesn't seem to mind if you...
I love this series and the intrepid Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, and Trillian. Arthur finds himself on a planet called Now What (found by settlers that didn't know what to do) in a city called Oh Well. Douglas Adams wit is so good.
I can't highlight all the passages that I like in this book because I would end up highlighting the entire book. I enjoy slipping things in that are quotes from any of the Hitchhikker's guide books into conversations with people just because it makes me smile. There is just so much wit to choose from.A couple good ones from Mostly Harmless:“A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.” “Nothing travels...