The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

Rating:
Summary: This CD is a Hack
Review: This is not a review of the material from the book or the author performance of it. Those are great.

The makers of this cd should be condemed. Not only are there no chapters, making it one long track on each disc, but there is a spot a few minutes into disc two where some audio is left from the tape version. It says "end of side two."

They made Hitchhikers discs with many tracks, did they become lazy. . . or cheap. . . or both. Damn irritating.

Rating:
Summary: Great Story but a Step Down From the 1st in the "Trilogy"
Review: When I was in elementary school, this was a common series read by the male nerds and geeks in my school. After reading it, I can now see how much it shaped their speech patterns and writing styles. I found myself smiling as clouds of nostalgia unexpectedly overtook me while reading the series. I was also surprised to find phrases original to this series that have worked their way into the American culture. For example, in order to understand people who speak other languages, the characters in this series simply put a "Babelfish" in their ear. In real life, Babel Fish is a language translation program available on the internet. Since the book it appears in was published in 1979, there's no question of which came first.

In THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, we found out that the earth was actually created as an organic supercomputer with the sole purpose of determining the answer to life, the universe and everything. Arthur Dent finds himself whisked away from the earth only moments before the earth is destroyed to make way for a intergalactic bypass highway. Unfortunately, this is right before the earth was to have computed the answer to the question. He and Ford (an alien that has been marooned on earth) hitch a ride on the unsuspecting spacecraft that has just caused the destruction of the earth. They continue their hitchhiking journey throughout the galaxy to a ship called the Heart of Gold (which is actually a stolen vehicle). There, they meet with a series of unlikely coincidences thanks to the ship's Infinite Improbability Drive.

THE RESTAURANT AT THE END OF THE UNIVERSE
The HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY ends as the Heart of Gold heads for a bite to eat at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe. Evidently this restaurant must be reached by traveling forward in time to the actual end of the universe. Every night, a big show is made of the big bang that ends the universe. Luckily, the restaurant is protected from the effects and can make a show of it night after night. The only disappointing thing is that Author Dent and his friends miss the show as they attempt to stow away and hitchhike yet another ride in entirely the wrong vehicle. To make a long story short, Arthur and Ford end up marooned on prehistoric earth with a bunch of cave men and some amazingly stupid people who have been exiled from their own planet. Could these idiotic hairdressers and phone sanitizers be our true ancestors? In this book, we also meet the man in charge of the universe. Strangely enough, he is a forgetful old hermit who spends most of his time in his shack talking to his cat and his table or pondering the use of a pencil.

This series is bizarre comic sarcasm at its best. A smile automatically paints itself on your face as you begin to read. The series reads like a highly improbable dream sequence. I sort of wonder if the author had any conclusion in mind when he wrote it or if he just let the story write itself (not unlike a dream). This, the second book in the "trilogy" isn't quite as fast-paced in the beginning, but things do pick up toward the end.

Rating:
Summary: End of the Universe Falls Short
Review: While this second book in the hitchhiker series is amusingly satirical, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe falls short of laugh-out-loud funny. Some lines will have you smiling at society's stupidity and your own conformity to it, but the overall feeling of the book is simply sci-fi run amuck. I admit that the themes that run throughout the series are intriguing, but the effort it takes to sort through the layers of insanity makes the read almost unworth it. If you have nothing to do, pick up a copy, but don't plan on joining the hitchhiker cult any time soon.

Rating:
Summary: The peak of hitch-hiker's series
Review: This is absolutely the best book in the Hitch-hiker's pentalogy. Even better than the first, and the others are on a downward spiral. But this is a maelstrom of inventions, of masterful marvelous satire, ranging from the Absurd, the outright demential and the satyrical. Almost every sentence will make you laugh, and the best of them will make you think! My favourite episodes? Zaphod's irritable personality at odds whit an emotive insect, an acrophobic elevator, a soul divorced from its body and the demented captain of an intergalactic ship waiting for lemon-soaked napkins! Then you have Millyway's Dinner, the Science Fiction answer to Petronius'Coena Trimalchionis, and later, after the encounter whit the man who rules(?) the Universe, the absurd fate of Ark B! Oh,we'll miss Douglas Adams! He was truly unique.

Rating:
Summary: Even better than a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: The book at the begining of the bestsellers list
Review: The book is pure genious it plunges you into an exciting rollercoaster of a ride, In this enthralling sequel you can rejoin with the bitter monkey based lifeform Arthur Dent and his betelguesian friend Ford Prefect, The criminal president of the galaxy Zaphod Beblebrox, Trillian and of course Marvin the manically depressed paranoid android. In this book we meet Zarniwoop the president of the hitch hikers guide to the galaxy.And also nosh at the restaurant at the end of the universe.

Rating:
Summary: More fun, more laughs...
Review: Picking up right where "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" left off, we are propelled into a quest set out by President of the Galaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox, friend of our heroes from the first, Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect. Halfway through the novel, Zaphod catches up with our heroes and the fun with Ford and Arthur returns with just as much humor and timing as the first novel. This is a highly entertaining book that continues to explore the silliness of the human race and exploit us terrans for what we really are: dumber than mice. Douglas Adams is one of the great literature writers of the 20th century, and this book proves it.

Rating:
Summary: ABSOLUTELY FAB & HISTERICAL
Review: Best book I ever read. Itll cheer you like no other-the world is a wacky place-best to make fun ot it.

Rating:
Summary: marvin's marvelous moment
Review: Book two in the Hitchhiker's trilogy--"The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" is a very good follow up to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Very funny in its own right, it still fails to achieve the brilliance yet to come in Books three and four.

That said, I'll take not-yet-quite-absolutely brilliant writing by Douglas Adams any day over most of the writers out there.

Marvin is the big scene stealer of book two...he comes darn close to hijacking the whole story. His conversation with the tank-like robot from Frogstar is a piece of comedic writing for the ages. Were it not for the insanity of Zaphod, the brilliance of Adams' depressed robot might stolen the whole show.

But oh--the mighty creation that is Zaphod Beeblebrox. Literature rarely produces such maniacal, unforgettable characters. His disdain for Arthur, his asides to Ford, his complete ineptitude in dealing with Trillian, and most of all--his strained relations with his ancestors. No, Marvin steals some scenes here...but this is Zaphod's book.

The range of Adams' satiric gifts never fails to astound me. The scene in Milliways speaks more effectively to the human condition than many sets of other volumes ever could. We all sit at the edge of oblivion every day. Are we to be mere spectators? Or will we work to create something more?

I give "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" my heartfelt recommendation.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome Book!
Review: This book rules! If you like the sarcastic, ironic events that took place in The Hitchiker's Guide to The Galaxy, this book's for you! Even with the addition of a few new characters, this book tells what life must be like for planets other than earth.