Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

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Summary: i read the book version.
Review: the book version of this is strange as hell. half the time i really dont get whats going on because it keeps going from like 2 different stories every chapter. i had to skip like 2 chapters to read what i was reading in one chapter. so i never read those cahpters that i missed. some of it is funny, but i dont think its hilarious. if you want something funny, go play "starship titanic" the game. ive never read the book by douglas adams, but the game is really good. this is not the best book in the world. but its still a pretty good book.

Rating:
Summary: Depth to accompany the humor
Review: I listened to the unabridged audiobook version (the printed version is out of print) and found the book to be an absolutely delightful surprise. I have not been a huge fan of the Hitchhiker series; I find much of Douglas Adams' humor to be silly, overly dependent on absurd non-sequiturs. This book started out that way it appeared. But part way through, some of the nonsense began to click, and the process continued until the narrative had painstakingly picked up all the loose ends and weaved all of the non-sequiturs into one coherent and delightful whole! The end result is a facinating and intriguing story that is -- far more than the Hitchhiker books -- intellectually stimulating and profoundly satisfying. While I knew Adams for his impish irreverence, this masterwork clearly reveals his genius.

Rating:
Summary: Superlative humour
Review: This book is extremely funny. Simple. It is also extremely unusual. No surprise there, this is an Adams book. It is also one of the best books i've read.. ever. I personally think it is better than the Hitch-Hiker books because we can all relate to the environment. Read it.... now.

Rating:
Summary: Plug in your Electric Monk!
Review: This is absolutely my favorite book and to hear it read by Douglas Adams makes it even more enjoyable. His delivery is so off-key and subtle that it makes you fall down laughing at the odd happenings to poor Richard and his friend Svlad...er...I mean Dirk.

Rating:
Summary: A good book bu Adams has done much better
Review: This is a really funny book but HHGTG fans may take awhile to get used to it. The slow begining and the long boring segments plus the out of place part kind of ruins it

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Summary: Good ol' Dougy
Review: He has done it again!! douglas always makes me laugh. he is pure genius

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant to say the least
Review: This book is absurd, hilarious and serious. The only book I laugh about, loud, quite some years after reading it. Reading it was propably the smartest thing I did during 90-95. Well...second smartest.

Rating:
Summary: An impressive start for the series!
Review: It'll take you a while to get your head around this book so you probably should read it more than once. Even after I've read the book several times, I have a hard time explaining the ending, but nonetheless this is a worthwhile read. An evolution for DNA beyond the antics and absurdity of HHGTTG to a more complex sophisticated humour. I eagerly await the third book in the series; Unfortunately, last I heard it had been "shelved" by the author. Ah well...

Rating:
Summary: A devastatingly imaginative detective story. After page 146.
Review: This book does not compare to the Hitchhiker's Guide, nor is it, I suspect, meant to. The hero is an ex-con who got sent to the slammer for helping people con themselves and then delivering on the false promises he didn't actually make. (If you want that to make sense to you, read the book.) The story then runs on and on and on till you're only reading for hope's sake. Suddenly the detective tale jumps out of stereotype and you're left gasping at the author's imagination. Unless you've got time to kill, try an abridged version.

Rating:
Summary: Don't be fooled by the foolish...
Review: Anyone who has commented in their review that the book is boring or incomprehensible does not understand one thing. This book cannot be read one time. I consider myself to be a fairly intelligent person, and after my first reading (granted, at 14 years old) I was amused. Bewildered, but amused. Only after the first half of the book though. The first few scenes at the college being, in truth, pointless and boring unless you have read the whole book at least once already. The second time through, more stuff made sense, and a lot of comedy was therefore made more clear. And so on. I've read the book six times, at least, and comprehend new levels every time. And I know I don't get it all yet. It is, beyond doubt, one of the most intricately and complexly structured novels of all time. One almost begins to feel like a time traveler after reading it a few times...one must understand how things end before one can even begin to comprehend how they begin...if that makes sense. To anyone who was bored, and gave up...persevere, it gets good. Then read it again. And again. And it gets better, and better, until, upon the fourth reading, you realize that it is an incredibly brilliant book!!

Long story short, it is not a book for the faint of heart...only those with patience and intelligence.