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Life, the Universe and Everything

Life, the Universe and Everything

List Price: $7.50
Your Price: $6.75
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Watch for the Anti-War subtext
Review: Another winner from Douglas Adams. Arthur Dent, I increasingly believe, can perhaps best be compared to Bilbo Baggins, the Hobbit, from J.R.R. Tolkien's classic books. He is a basically very humdrum guy, who gets pulled into this kaleidoscopic world of adventure through no wish of his own... In this book, at any rate, the references to the game cricket went mostly over, or perhaps under, my American head, but most of this book has to do with the insanity of war, which of course is a pretty universal message.

The White Robots of Krikkit sound a lot like the stormtroopers from Star Wars, but it's probably better to compare then directly with the Nazis from which those stormtroopers themselves were in all likelihood derived. The theme is of how most people from the planet Krikkit want to enjoy life, listen to music, have their own little farm to raise a family on, etc, while the warlords that run their government are constantly trying to get them fanatically worked up to go forth and conquer the universe. Trillian gets some of her first real character development in the whole series, or at least a few solid lines, when she is the one to piece this simple fact together, along with some other, less simple facts. Again, a very cool book, and one which makes you think in a good way about some really important stuff.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Hitchhiker's trilogy loses some of its focus
Review: Life, the Universe, and Everything is rather different from the preceding two books in the Hitchhiker's Trilogy. It's quite funny, particularly in a few rather memorable sections, but it is not consistently funny from beginning to end. Parts of it were so unspectacular that I barely remembered what I had just read, and one aspect of the concluding scenario is still rather incomprehensible to me, a case of deus ex machina I just can't place in the context of the whole story. All of our favorite characters are back: Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Zaphod Beeblebrox, Trillian, Marvin the woefully depressed android, and even Slartibartfast; unfortunately, they are rarely together, and I sometimes lost track of Zaphod in particular after reading a number of chapters that ignored him entirely. Much of the action is also rather contrived, such as the sudden appearance of a couch on prehistoric earth upon which Arthur and Ford travel forward in time to the last two days of earth's existence. On several occasions, characters seemed to zap to another place and time by no discernible means. The game of cricket is particularly important here, to the point that I really wish I understood what the sport is all about, but I admit it was a clever plot device to tie the sport to a particularly nasty, universe-threatening planet ten billion years in the past. The planet of Krikkit, you see, set out to destroy the rest of the universe because its people basically just wanted to be left alone. Throughout the novel white Krikkit robots appear out of nowhere to seize special items needed to unlock their planet from the Slo-Time envelope established around it at the end of the Krikkit Wars. This is a bad thing because the people of Krikkit still want nothing more than to destroy the entire universe. In a rather murky way, Arthur Dent is called upon to save the universe, and that is also not a particularly good thing.

There are a few highlights to the story. The subplot involving Agrajag is particularly good. In the course of Arthur Dent's journeys through space and time, he has been responsible for the deaths of a great number of creatures-insects, flies, at least one rabbit, etc. Quite coincidently, as Arthur tries to argue, every single one of these creatures was Agrajag in his multiple reincarnated forms. Naturally, a body develops a hatred for the brute who keeps killing it time and time again, but Agrajag has gone so far as to build a veritable shrine to the entity he hates most in the cosmos, complete with a gigantic statue of Arthur Dent simultaneously killing him in a great number of his past life forms. I also particularly enjoy Adams' take on learning to fly; it takes a special knack, one which consists basically of throwing yourself to the ground and missing-the easily distracted Arthur Dent is a natural at it.

Overall, the plot just meanders too much to suit me. Transitions of characters from one time and place to another make very little sense, major characters are abandoned for too long at a time, and the plot is not laid out neatly enough for it all to make sense to me. On the whole, much less seems to happen in this book than often happened over the course of a few chapters in the first two books of the trilogy. This is still an entertaining read, but even the comedy lacks some of the satirical and witty zest that typified Adams' earlier successes.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Third book starts Hitchhiker slump..
Review: "Life, the Universe, and Everything" is the third book in the five-book series, and it feels that away. It is not quite as great as the first two, but still enough to be good. The puns are great, as Dent and Co. go up against the evil Crikket aliens. Brit-isms abound, and some great moments of humor here, but doesn't get you rolling around in the seats. 42!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the Funniest And Most Bizarre Books Ever
Review: Adam, Douglas, Life The Universe and Everything. United States: Harmony Books, 1982

One of the Funniest and Most Bizarre Books Ever!

Life, The Universe And Everything is the third out of five Hitchhiker books. This hilarious book follows Arthur Dent. Ford Prefect, Slartibartfast, Zaphod Beeblebrox, and Trillian as they try to save the universe from the white killer robots of Krikkit. The dialogue is hilarious, creative, and inventive.
Though this is the fourth one I've read, I can certainly say it's my favorite one, and once you've read them all there's even a movie for the first one. All and all the best thing I can say is to go out and read it. If you've read the other ones or just need a good book, this one's for you. You've read the rest now read the best.

Daniel Edens

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not Quite "Everything", But Still Very Good
Review: This third effort by Douglas Adams is still in the same funny vein as the first two books in this sci/fi trilogy, but unfortunately, it is a little weaker. We begin finding Arthur and Ford separated from Zaphod and Trillian. This foursome is a big part of the comedy in the first two books, so their separation leaves one without some hoped-for humor. Then we find Arthur and Ford separated on prehistoric earth for a number of years. This giant time lapse takes the reader out the normal, regular interaction with the characters that you're used to for no explained reason. It's seems that their lives suddenly get boring for a few years, then pick up again. This tempo change was distracting for me.

With these negatives out of the way, much praise still has to given. Maybe it seems like I've criticized the book to be worse than my 4 star rating, but the shortcomings are vastly outweighed. The whole planet Krikkit plot is very intriguing: the slow time envelope, the seemingly unrelated cricket game on earth, the small bomb, and Slartibartfast's help. Adams contributes the expected doses of satire and irrational twists to this book, giving it the same funny and unique signature as the first two books. I've read this book a number of times. It's a quick read, just like the others in the series-go for it, it's fun!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: 42!
Review: I have no idea why no one seems to give this book good reviews! It is uber funny, just as much as the first two. I liked the exclusive terms for the actions of matresses and the whole Agrajag thing, which was honestly the funniest thing I have ever read! As for the Krikkit peoples, this line is one of Adam's most memorable, besides the number 42: "It's got to go." Also, I have established Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged as an all time favorite literary personality, because, well, seriously people, his dream is to insult the universe! Original. Personally, I don't see what all the fuss is about.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Third book starts Hitchhiker slump..
Review: "Life, the Universe, and Everything" is the third book in the five-book series, and it feels that away. It is not quite as great as the first two, but still enough to be good. The puns are great, as Dent and Co. go up against the evil Crikket aliens. Brit-isms abound, and some great moments of humor here, but doesn't get you rolling around in the seats. 42!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: I love the Universe
Review: Life, the Universe and Everything was interesting to follow the first two. The main theme is obvious same the universes, unlike in the other books it was kind of hidden under what was going on in them. The book was great with the whole time traveling. Plus you get to see what happens to every character one at a time then they all come together at the end to complete a nice third book.

I would have to say I like this book for the plot twists. Also I like how it flowed with the other books nicely unlike some, trilogies if you will, done have a lot to do with each other just the characters. You find out more about the white robots and cricket....

This book, its great... sorry but I believe it is. It doesn't follow the typical style of book writing most people are used too. But I loved the couch (you'll see why if you read the book), also that poor rabbit... so sad. This and many other interesting twist's and turns await you in this book.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Alice in Wonderland of the 21st Century
Review: This audiobook is absolutly awesome! The title says it all. This is Alice in Wonderland of the 21st Century. The book is very funny, yet fast paced with plenty of action. I am not going to give you brief content of the plot, read it for yourself. Just take my word for it - the book is awesome. It is the second book in the series, and it is every single bit as good as the first one. Douglas Adams reads it himself, and he is a wonderful narrator (unlike Stephen King, who is a horrible narrator yet still insists on reading his own books). This was very enjoyable. It's aweful that Douglas Adams died so young. I enjoyed his books so much that I take it as a personal loss.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Life thhe Universe and Evrything BebOp's review
Review: This book is the third book in a series of five. The two books before are called "The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe". If you like random Storie's and a totally bizarre imaginative world, these book's will surely be the best for you to read. Just imagen you're Arthur Dent, a perfectly normal human who has agood friend called Ford Prefect who turns out to be an alien who saves Arthurs life. And thats how it starts. In the third book, they are stranded on prehistoric Earth. and by mere luck they get out and return with the ultimate question to the mice to tell them that they don't need to build earth2 because the question is so mest up that the answer is wrong.

I really enjoyed reading this book for a couple of reasons.
One, I really like random stories and totaly irrelevent litel inputs.
Two, I enjoy science-fiction in any way and detailed explanationof ships and robots e.t.c.
Three I identify with Marvin the depreesed robot who has existied until the end of the Universe and still is depreeded.

I recommend evrbody to read this book. It is very hilarious story and even for peopel who don't like sciece-fiction, it should be fun to read.


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