Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #79548 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 199 pages

About the Author
Douglas Adams created all the various and contradictory manifestations of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: radio, novels, TV computer game, stage adaptation, comic book, bath towel and major movie. He lectured and broadcast around the world and was a patron of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and Save the Rhino International.
He was bron in Cambridge and lived with his wife and daughter in Santa Barbara, California, where he died suddenly on 11 May 2001.
For more information, visit douglasadams.com

Customer Reviews

Another very funny and warped look at the universe.
THE STORY:
Having escaped Earth shortly before it's destruction, Arthur Dent finds himself travelling in the company of the work-dodging journalist Ford Prefect, the insane adventurer Zaphon Beeblebrox, Tricia Macmillan (aka Trillian) a girl he met at a party and the morbidly depressed robot Marvin. Together they pull up a seat in the establishment of the title and prepare to watch the destruction of the universe.

WHAT'S GOOD:
More of the same from Adams, with wonderfully twisted logic combines with the insightfully witty entries in the Guide to provide alot of clever ideas and more clever humour. As always, Arthur's slightly bemused take on the events of his life add a tone to the story that rings amusingly true for a fellow Englishman. By now we all know that the answer to the Ultimate Question About Life, The Universe And Everything is 42. In this book (in another wonderful twist of logic) we discover that though the answer is correct, the question itself is wrong. Best of all is when Arthur and Ford find themselves on a spaceship full of insufferable middlemen, beauraucrats and hair dressers, who turn out to be the founders of the human race.

WHAT'S BAD:
I found that Adams' disposal of the supporting cast was a bit casual and poorly explained. Also, the description of the Restaurant is pretty nausating (but that's probably intentional).

Even better than a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe begins where The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy left off, only Zaphod Beeblebrox's idea of stopping for dinner at the aforementioned restaurant is delayed a bit (or an incredibly long bit, depending on your upcoming temporal location). Having escaped the legendary planet Magrathea without having been killed by intergalactic policemen or, in the case of Arthur Dent, having his brain slicked up and studied for the inherent Question of the Life, the Universe, and Everything which is undoubtedly hardwired into it somewhere, the hoopiest cast of space travelers in the galaxy thought their troubles were over, or at least greatly lessened. They were completely wrong. The Vogon ship that destroyed the earth shows up to destroy the last two remnants of that now-dead world, namely Arthur Dent and Trillian McMillian. Unfortunately, Arthur's increasingly strident demands for a cup of real tea have the entire computer system on board the Heart of Gold focused on that task rather than anything as silly as escaping imminent destruction. This is just the beginning of this particular set of adventures. Other highlights include a visit by Zaphod's dead great-grandfather, a night of drinks and food at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Zaphod's experience inside the universally-feared Total Perspective Vortex, a trip in the mega-rock band Danger Area's stunt ship into a sun, a meeting with the real Ruler of the Universe, and a return trip to the Earth-sort of.

Nobody crams as much comedy per page as Douglas Adams. While The Restaurant at the End of the Universe isn't quite as amazing as its predecessor, this is only because its predecessor was so amazingly original and different from everything that came before it. The satire Adams employs, often quite subtle, is as brilliant as always; anyone who reads this book will laugh, but only some will realize that he/she is really laughing at himself and the absurdity of human life that Adams is playing off of. These characters are more real to me than many of the people I know in real life. Best of all, they don't change: Arthur Dent remains the rather bemused, clueless soul he has always been; Ford Prefect is just Ford, only more so; Zaphod-well, Zaphod's just this guy, you know; and poor longsuffering Marvin the Paranoid Android is still the most depressing (yet hilarious) robotically engineered life form in the galaxy. If these crazy characters and Adams' brilliantly comedic narrative don't make you laugh, you would be well advised to don a pair of Joo Janta 200 Super-Chromatic Peril Sensitive Sunglasses because you are headed smack dab into big trouble indeed.

Do you have a reservation, Sir?
It was always going to be difficult to write a sequel to the phenomenally successful Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, but do you know, I think Mr Adams just about pulls it off. If the reviews on this page are anything to go by, opinion is greatly varied on the matter, but I believe all the warmth, wit and sci-fi jargon from its predecessor spills over into the Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

We begin the story where the Hitchhikers Guide left off, with the Arthur and his strange new friends hurtling through space on the stolen ship, the Heart of Gold. No sooner has the book begun however, a familiar set of poetry-loving aliens reappear - the dreaded (yet hugely entertaining) Vogons. The circumstances surrounding their attack on the Heart of Gold ship is tremendously amusing in itself as all computer intelligence aboard Arthur's spacecraft is currently preoccupied with the character's request for a decent cup of tea. It takes a while, but a cup of the finest China hot drink finally appears. As the title suggests, the set of characters eventually find their way to the curious restaurant Milliways, situated - rather obviously - at the end of the Universe. Within this particular section of the story, I greatly enjoyed the wealth of description regarding the interior of the eatery. Douglas Adams takes the opportunity to let his imagination run wild, and the reader is allowed to learn of the "five tons of glitter alone" that "covered every available surface... The other surfaces were encrusted with jewels, precious seashells from Santraginus, gold leaf, mosaic tiles, lizard skins and a million unidentifiable embellishments and decorations. Arthur glanced round, half expecting to see someone making an American Express commercial."

Needless to say, Adams continues his much loved writing style and goes on to introduce a batch of brilliantly comical characters, including intergalactic rock star Hotblack Desiato, (who is spending a year dead for tax reasons) and the dim-witted Captain of an unusual aircraft, who has spent the last three years conducting meetings with his crew from the comfort of his bath. One character I missed from the first book however, was the amusingly annoying (if that's at all possible) Eddie, the ship's computer. That is not to say that he doesn't appear, but only briefly. Marvin the paranoid android is depressed as usual, and kept me entertained in his loathing of everything. I felt that the ending was rather lacking though, as some of the characters seem to just disappear and we do not get to find out what becomes of them (not until the follow up novel, 'Life, the Universe and Everything' that is).

There are plenty of unforgettably sharp lines: "Trin Tragula - for that was his name - was a dreamer, a thinker, a speculative philosopher or, as his wife would have it, an idiot." The section involving the hunt for the man who rules the Universe (an idiot who lives in a shack in the middle of nowhere) is especially enjoyable, as is the usual banter between the chief characters, who are on top form. Overall, I would have no hesitation on recommending the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, but do be sure to read the Hitchhikers Guide first. This truly is the stuff that cults are made of.