Book Review Wednesday: Life, the Universe and Everything (Hitchhiker’s 3) 4 Stars

Here’s my review of the first book: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2015/10/21/book-review-we…-adams-5-stars/ ‎

And here’s the second: https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2015/11/04/book-review-we…kers-2-5-stars/

The third I didn’t enjoy as much as the other two. I found it funny, just not as much. It has a different feel to it, and in a chunk of the book nothing seems to happen. Our main characters spend a lot of the book split off from each other, and that wasn’t so fun. So that was what made this four instead of five stars.

For what I did like. There’s this great story behind planet Krikkit. They were peaceful folk who sang songs, and were very friendly to each other. Due to circumstances discussed in the book they believe they’re the only group of people in the universe. They find out they’re wrong, that there’s a whole universe of people out there. And of course, their natural reaction is to want to kill them all.

I wonder if this is Adams’s view of religion at play. Whether it is or not, there’s a whole other layer to think about beneath this idea. Consider the reaction of any invading group of people to the residents living there. Or any ingroup (for example most religious groups, most races of people) and their reactions to any outgroup (any other religious or non religious group, any race of people not their own). Think of hate crimes against minority groups like homosexuality, transgenders, disability. Some people too focused on their ingroups want to get rid of anything they dub as other.

Or, from another angle. Imagine a devout christian stumbling across unequivocal evidence there is no such being as god. It doesn’t add up with what they believe. They don’t want to understand it. They want to destroy it. And they’d probably put that down to a good work so others faith wouldn’t be shaken. (Note: I’m not saying every christian would do this. But I am saying there are some who would, much like anyone with a strong belief system based on faith).

I’ve said this in previous reviews, but I do like how Adams uses humor to allow us to look at aspects of our society in a different way.

So, a little slower than the other books, but there’s still some good stuff in here. Worth a try if you really liked the past books.

For more reviews on this book go to:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8694.Life_the_Universe_and_Everything

 

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Book Review Wednesday: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Hitchhiker’s 2) 5 Stars

This one followed on well from the first book (reviewed here): https://samaustinwriter.wordpress.com/2015/10/21/book-review-we…-adams-5-stars/

All the same quirky humor as the first one, so if you liked that one you should like this one. In this second book our characters decide to get something to eat, which as it does leads to a trip across time, space, and parallel dimensions on a mission to speak to the man who runs the universe.

This book scores slightly higher on the weirdness scale than the first book. Since that one involved super intelligent alien mice, you can safely say this is a weird book. Enjoyable, but weird.

A warning. Some dislike these books, and call them random and disorganized. If these things annoyed you about the first book, you can guarantee they’ll annoy you about the sequels. For me, I have a soft spot for random humor, so enjoyed these books a lot. I also love how the author manages to make very insightful points about culture and religion in a humorous way.

Don’t read these books for the plot. The plot is even more random than the last book, and we still get no concrete answers about 42. Don’t read these books for the characters. The characters are funny but quite flat, and undergo little to no development. Read these books for the humor, and maybe for Douglas Adam’s neat way of making you think twice about things you take for granted.

For more reviews on this book go to: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8695.The_Restaurant_at_the_End_of_the_Universe

Book Review Wednesday: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams) 5 Stars

I’ve been planning on reading this series for a while. There are so many references out there. I must’ve tripped across a few dozen before I decided ‘Ok, I’ll watch the film.’ I liked the film. So I decided ‘Ok, I’ll read the book.’

Guess what. I liked the book. Five stars. Adams has this irrelevant kind of humor. Or at least it can seem irrelevant. It’s kind of like that thought process you (or at least I) had as a kid. You think of something, then your mind goes on a tangent, or you hyper focus on some detail no one thinks is worth bothering about. I still think that way sometimes, so this humor was my kind of humor.

Some don’t like it. But if you’re the kind of people who regularly questions things in life; like why do we think we’re the most intelligent species on earth? What exactly is the function of a paper pusher in the great scheme of things? Is there a meaning behind all the dancing dolphins do? You’ll love it.

We start off with the world ending. Always a good way to start a book. It’s being destroyed to make way for a galactic superhighway. Something lazy humans should’ve bothered to look up in their local (read: light years away) planning office. Thankfully for one human, his best friend is a hitchhiking alien doing research for the guide named in the title. Cue one last second escape, and lots of adventures using the guide to help them out.

We also meet Marvin (a chronically depressed robot), Trillian (who our main character met at a party once), and Zaphod (a ex-hippie president of the galaxy following a plan he doesn’t know the plan for).

The plot is fast paced, and there’s humor in almost every sentence. The world (universe) building is awesome. Not as gripping as other books, but plenty going on. I really enjoyed it. Whether you do or not depends on your sense of humor. Give it a try, or go to the following link and look at some quotes to see if it appeals to you.

For more reviews on this book go to: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11.The_Hitchhiker_s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy