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It's safe to say that The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is one of the funniest science fiction novels ever written. Adams spoofs many core science fiction tropes: space travel, aliens, interstellar war--stripping away all sense of wonder and repainting them as commonplace, even silly.
This omnibus edition begins with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in which Arthur Dent is introduced to the galaxy at large when he is rescued by an alien friend seconds before Earth's destruction. Then in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Arthur and his new friends travel to the end of time and discover the true reason for Earth's existence. In Life, the Universe, and Everything, the gang goes on a mission to save the entire universe. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish recounts how Arthur finds true love and "God's Final Message to His Creation." Finally, Mostly Harmless is the story of Arthur's continuing search for home, in which he instead encounters his estranged daughter, who is on her own quest. There's also a bonus short story, "Young Zaphod Plays It Safe," more of a vignette than a full story, which wraps up this completist's package of the Don't Panic chronicles. As the series progresses, its wackier elements diminish, but the satire of human life and foibles is ever present. --Brooks Peck
At last, the complete Hitchhiker series in one volume! Five novels, including the new bestseller Mostly Harmless -- plus a bonus story, Young Zaphod Plays It Safe!
Outstanding Sci-Fi
Satire w/out equal, March 22, 2000
Reviewer: egovirus
(see more about me) from Albuquerque,
NM
Few books have caused me to laugh out loud. Catch-22, Dostoevskys'
notes from underground. This was the first. English humor, wit, and bizarreness
at it's most dry, desiccated state. Adams grasp of physics is also to be
commended, in that he understands quite enough to imagine impossibly improbable
scenarios, propulsion systems, characters, and dilemas. The stories contained
within are nothing short of utterly rediculous, ludicrously asinine, and
outlandishly preposterous. With a cast of characters like the terribly
arrogant two headed Zaphod Beblebrox, the dramatically inept Arthur Dent,
and star wandering future hippie Ford Prefect, you will be left in stitches.
This is the best version to buy too, as it has all of the volumes in the
series in one conveniently located geometric space. Just remember that
humans are only the 3rd most intelligent creatures on planet Earth, which
is, after all, mostly harmless anyways...
As I was recently told, it would be impossible to incompass, in one small review, the shere magnitude of this book. All I can say is that I haven't looked at humor, sci-fi, or satire the same since I picked it up some 6 years ago. I have read it twice now, and it has lost nothing in humor, cleverness, or strangeness. I highly, highly recommend it to anyone.
