Rating: 
Summary: Could be better...
Review: I think that this book is not nearly as good as the Hitchhiker's trilogy. It just doesn't manage to be cohesive enough and several plot elements seemed to make absolutely no sense. It does have some very good scenes, such as the monk and the ghost. However, most of the book was rather dull.
Rating: 
Summary: any more enjoyable and it would be illegal
Review: Without doubt the best book Douglas Adams has ever written. Many works of literature have plot devices which work on more than one level, but in this book the structure of the levels is like a fractal. weaving in and out of the very fabric of time, a deliciously high-minded and insightful description of happenings in 5 dimensions. Superficially as chaotic as an acid trip, whilst if read with some degree of background knowledge and insight into the workings of energy and time, the intellectual gymnastics and leaps of perception, not to mention the humour, will provoke the most explosive mental orgasms one could ever experience, and is one of the few books that can be read again and again and again without tireing of it... Not a book for those who like things simple, but for people who love mental stimulation. the reader needs to be a little insightful and intelligent to enjoy it, and preferably to have at some stage in their life ingested a few micrograms of a certain mindbending drug :) For Douglas Adams Fans, this is a must read. Those who are not fans will become fans, and those that do not are either dead or stupid. In the case of the latter, they will be heartened to know that Amazon.com also sells kids books :) Enoy this book... if you dare!
Rating: 
Summary: Obviously an Adams book
Review: A short whimsical book in the true Adams style. Seemingly totally disconnected events are somehow all wrapped together in the end. Just when you think it's over, another twist comes up. See if you can figure it out.
Rating:
Summary: Not his best, but worth a read
Review: I am a great fan of Douglas Addams and his work, but I was sadly disappointed by this example. It was strange, confusing and overall pointless. If you are a fan of Addams, I would reccomend this book, but only if you're a fan. Otherwise, it would be pointless to read it.
Rating:
Summary: Confusing, just partly funny, other Adams-books are better
Review: This book, after the first reading, remains cryptic to me. Maybe it is just me, or that I read it too leisurely, but I just didn't get it. The subplots go haywire, especially near the end, and questions remain unanswered.
For comparison, "The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul" is full of puzzle pieces and riddles, too, but in the end they all fit together nicely, everything suddenly falls into place and is clear. Well, in Holistic Detective Agency it all just remains entirely cryptic.
That is not to say that it isn't, in some details, funny and produces a good laugh or two. In general terms of humor, however, it still falls far short of the first "Hitchhiker" books, and has a hard time to even compare to the later Hitchhikers or the Dark Tea Time.
No, seriously, is there a clue book for it out there somewhere?, haha. Anybody who knows all answers to this book please email me.
Maybe I should read it again, analytical, with a notepad beside me, and maybe THEN one is able to figure it out. Maybe. Maybe not. Anyways, I am not in the mood for deciphering trivial literature. For a book to read several times over in order to discover the connectedness of the events, I would prefer Catch-22, e.g.
One thing is sure, though: If you read it once and for the pure purpose of entertainment, which I would consider the category for such a book, you won't grasp it. That's where it clearly differs from Adams' other, in my opinion better books.
If you do read it, it very well might entertain you. However, if you don't, you won't miss a lot.
Rating:
Summary: Once is not enough...
Review: This book is a spectacularly successful spoof on, well, just about everything. Although it starts out as a bizarre collection of seemingly unrelated events, they all tie together in the end with nary a loose end in sight. I strongly recommend reading this book several times, because there is more to be discovered each time through. Entire threads of the plot and movements of the strange characters occur through oblique references and hints, but if you take the time to put them together, you discover a flawlessly constructed tale that succeeds on many levels. Throw in a hefty dose of Douglas Adams' irresistable humor, and this sci-fi/mystery/ghost story/love story/comedy is well worth reading (and reading again).
Rating:
Summary: Keep at it!
Review: Douglas Adams' novel is a strongly written piece of hilarity. One word of advice, though, which I wish I'd known whilst trying to make sense of the best part of the book: don't worry - keep at it even if you think you're hopelessly clueless. That's the point. Only a true Gently would be able to decipher the myriad ravelled strands the book weaves. And then where would the fun be?
Rating:
Summary: Dr Who, The Ancient Mariner and Dirk Gently Interconnect
Review: Douglas Adams has read The Ancient Mariner and Coleridge's theory of organic creation. (That's a hook for you literature majors out there). And indeed, the ghost of an alien who accidently started the creation of Mankind and wants to destroy it, and a time traveler -- who is suspiciously like Tom Baker's Dr Who - - play key roles in this mystery that Dirk must solve. Of course, Dirk searches for clues by following cars that look like the driver knows where he/she is going. You Dr Who fans will recognize much of the plot in "The City of Death." If you check the credits of that Dr Who, you will notice Douglas Adams in the credits.
Rating:
Summary: Weird, yet at the same time oddly amusing.
Review: This book is in a word, weird. Yet in another word, it
is funny. This book is classic Adams and one of his best.
If you are a fan of his hilarious satire you'll
love this book. And if you're not, you'll still
enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Lost Cats and Humor a specialty
Review: Adams has done it again. This book about a simple, well, simple isn't even close. This outrageous detective could solve all the problems of the universe with a gum wraper if he wanted to. Holistic is right, evrything will come together in the end. A smashing book and a must read.
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