Rating: 
Summary: contractually obliged
Review: Two things must be said:(1) Douglas Adams shouldn't write sequels. "The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and "The Resteraunt at the End of the Universe" are equal in quality because they really comprise one book; later books in the series, the true sequels, rapidly go downhill. "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" was genuinely fresh and funny; the first sequel has gone downhill already. The book is NOT about Dirk Gently's holistic detective agency. At any rate, it oughtn't be. Strange things happen but no holistic explanation is to be found. Try Dirk Gently's Ad Hoc Detective Agency instead. (PS: "The Meaning of Lif," another original work, is also worth acquiring.) (2) Adams should start thinking up new titles that aren't pinched from the two hitch-hiker books mentioned above. Honestly! He might as well have a sticker on the cover saying, "No New Ideas". The second star is awarded because Adams is still funny (although he was much funnier in the previous book), certainly more so than his immitator, Terry Pratchett. It's just that I've never seen him be funny in the service of so little.
Rating: 
Summary: a favorable review
Review: This book is simply hilarious. This novel brings about the return of Svald, infamously known as Dirk, Gently, who must contend with a coca-cola machine, a client's head found revolving on a record, and an angry thunder god. Don't miss it!
Rating:
Summary: Douglas Adams' best
Review: Although the HitchHiker's series was good, this novel truly surpasses all of Adams' other works. "The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul" is far more suttle than most of his other books, and it contains some truly classic moments. I especially enjoyed the bit about the eagle. This is BY FAR THE FUNNIEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ. If you don't have it, get it.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun, unpredictable, distracting
Review: I only heard this one on a book-on-tape. I was so impressed with the production quality I just had to comment. If Amazon.com can't get it, you should hunt to find it. Its great for long trips.
Rating:
Summary: Nowhere near as good as Hitchhiker's
Review: There were funny parts in this story, but they were few and far between, and the plot was intersting on those few occasions when it actually made any sense. The plot is very confusing and takes more than one read-through to understand, but I found the book too boring to re-read, so while reading the book my thoughts were, "When am I going to get to another funny part?" and upon finishing it, "Oh. Okay." To summarize, the plot is too convoluted and boring to be a good mystery, and not funny enough to be good humor.
Rating:
Summary: Douglas Adams does it again!!!!
Review: Douglas Adams has done it again. In this sequal to Dirk Gently, are goos old detective is out to solve another baffling case. Adams takes every thing in this book and makes it make sense in the end. One of his best. As humorus as Dirk Gently but with it's own twists. Adams is one of the BEST writers in the world and and can make anything a good read. What are you doing sitting here reading what I have to say. ORDER THIS BOOK. You won't be disappointed. I wasn't
Rating: 
Summary: A huge Adams fan finally must face reality.
Review: As a long-time Douglas Adams fanatic (read all 5 of the trilogy, at least a dozen time, even wrote down every noun in all 5 for a database,) I read both Last Chance to See and DGHDA and loved them. Then I read this sequel and had to admit that it was likely the worst book I'd ever encountered. I didn't laugh once and literally had to force myself through it with several lapses between readings. Odin and Thor bored me senseless. I can now understand why there's been no third addition to the series. Time wasted on this could have been much better spent working on yet another HHG novel.
Rating:
Summary: D. Adams manages to increase the suspense in the reader.
Review: The story opens with an explosion at Heathrow Airport. This introduces the female main character Kate Schechter trying to find the Norwegian man she met there just before the explosion. At the same time, Dirk Gently gets involved in that case. He, as a private detective, firstly wants to find out what has happened to his ex-secretary Janice Smith. Soon, while the plot is unfolding, the Norse gods become the main theme because their power has decreased in modern society. So, one of the gods makes a contract with two human beings in order to be able to enjoy human comfort although he loses his immortal soul. As Dirk Gently believes in the "fundamental interconnectedness of all things", it all makes sense in the end. Douglas Adams does not hand you the answer on a silver platter, though, so that some parts have to be reread. The single events of the storyline are unpredictable, which makes the book so exciting, and the reader is guided by Kate and Dirk. With great skill the author changes the levels of language where necessary and uses his English sense of humour. In the end, Dirk and Kate have improved their knowledge about the workings of the universe. What I liked best while reading were the various lines of action.
Rating:
Summary: Yes and Yes!
Review: Actually an improvement over the first Dirk Gently, the stakes not being so high improves the telling of the tale. Whereas the Hitchhiker ultimately disappointed in the last book, Dirk seems to improve and increase. Why Douglas has neglected him since then I wish I knew! There is an odd disjointed beauty in the overall structure, details such as the mental ward Dirk visits, the mystery of Harold Bell, the truck driver followed by a lovesick rain cloud stick in the mind. I found the tape version cleared up some of the more British details (the eagle with RAF marks on its wings, for example) without distracting from the whole. The only writer who seems to whet my appetite for more Adams isthe Japanese Haruki Murakami, who may have drunk from the same spring as Adams. But its not the same! Will Dirk ever solve the mystery of what happened to Fenchurch, from Hitchhikers? Mrsmishima
Rating:
Summary: a hard read, but worth it
Review: The first time I read this book, I hardly could understand anything about it, and I left it, pining for the old Dirk Gently. But I picked it up again a month ago, and when I reread it, I loved it. I got more of the jokes and I finally figured out most of the plot. It's not his best, but it's pretty funny. And if you like this book, read Ye Gods! by Tom Holt. Very close premise, except with Greek Gods.
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