Life, the Universe and Everything

Rating:
Summary: The Best Book Ever!!
Review: Life, the Universe and Everything, by Douglas Adams, is a story of unmatched proportions, tying in satirical humor with an amazingly complex storyline. The people of Krikkit have been looking at the same features every night in the sky, and are sick of it, simply because there are no features. Krikkit is located inside a dust cloud, and when a mysterious spaceship crash lands on the planet, it puts the people in a sense of panic. They find out there are things out there, and don't like it, they enjoyed their solidarity. It is now that they must destroy the entire universe, and regain that piece of mind.
It is Arthur Dent's job to make sure that none of this happens. Arthur is a human who was rescued from earth, just as it was about to be blown up by blood thirsty mongrels, named Vogons, to make way for a hyper space bypass. Along to help Arthur is the man who rescued him, Ford Prefect, Tricia McMillan (Trillian), the ex-president of the galaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox, and a handy man from a planet factory, Slartibartfast.
In this story, the 3rd in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series, it starts out on prehistoric earth, and through the marvels of time travel, Arthur Dent is teetering on the edge of insanity, while living in a cave where his house will be located in another couple billion years. In the mean time, Ford Prefect has decided to resort to animal cruelty in Africa, until he decides that it is time to try to find a way back to their time. Along the way they meet up with Slartibartfast, who tells them of the pending problem. The people from the land of Krikkit are about to escape from a "Slow Time Envelope", which is supposed to only open when all other life in the universe has disappeared. It is now their job to try to keep the inhabitants of Krikkit from attacking the galaxy, and restore peaceful life to all of the people of the universe. Can Arthur do it? To find out, read Life, the Universe and Everything. But be sure to read the other books in the series before to avoid complete confusion.

Rating:
Summary: An odd change of rhythm...
Review: In this book, the charachters are here, there and everywhere, frantically zapping back and forth in time and space,and yet the book appears to proceed in a much more sluggish(must we say squornshellous?)way. Still the book has its good moments, the Agrajag diversion, the "Bistromatic" departure, the Krikkit night, and the all too true-to-life story of "The Reason" (or the way to deceive people whit apparently sound but really senseless phrases).But trying to squeeze "Life, the Universe and Everything" in a single novel has not resulted in a very coherent story. The effect is uneven, like in the Squornshellous episode, when the evocative description gives way to a seemingly Infinitely Prolonged linguistic tour-de force that at the end gets tiresome. Oh,well,the satire is there, and so the delicious absurdity of the exchanges between Ford and Arthur.
I would ive it Three and a half.

Rating:
Summary: Life, the Universe and Everything: a great book
Review: Life, the Universe and Everything (LTUAE) is a great book for people (or aliens) of all ages. Douglas Adams really brings his crazy universe alive with vivid descriptions and life-like characters (which life, I don't know). LTUAE is a very funny book that will make you keep reading, and reading, and reading . . .
In my opinion every book I've read by Adams Has failed to let me down. They are all very funny. The only bad thing about LTUAE is that it is hard to follow and anything can happen in a minute, so i do not recomend this book if you like to speed read.

Rating:
Summary: At last we have a plot...
Review: It is some time after the second in this great sci-fi/comedy series. Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect are marooned on Earth during the caveman times. It seems they will die in this time period, but this suits them. But suddenly there appears a travelling couch that whisks them away to save the Universe from an evil race of aliens bent on universal destruction. While the first two books are excellent comedy gems, they consist of no real plot. This book does, and also maintains the deadpan humor and absurd realities. It's barrells of fun and a great, quick read. When the book needs to be suspensful, it is. When it needs to be funny, it's hilarious. This is Douglas Adams' very best work and this book is the best in the series.

Rating:
Summary: on the road with Slartibartfast...
Review: As far as comedic action goes, you cannot do better in the Hitchhiker's Trilogy than "Life, the Universe and Everything." In this sense, it is tops in its series and has few peers elsewhere.

The book (the third in the five book trilogy) starts off a couple of years after "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe." Arthur is still stranded in his prehistoric "ship of fools" society. By the end of the book, Arthur, Ford, Slartibartfast, Trilian, and Zaphod not only discover the gruesome origins of the game Cricket, but also manage to save the universe.

Possibly the funniest part of the whole series of books comes in chapter sixteen. Arthur encounters a beast named Agrajag who is convinced Arthur has murdered him in all his previous lives. The scene is not only hysterical but it also sets the stage for one of the biggest themes in book five: "Mostly Harmless."

The bit about Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged was really funny too.

Adams was at the pinnacle of his comedic powers in this book. Its possibly the funniest thing he ever wrote. Reading through this series has made me mourn his early passing all the more.

I give "Life, the Universe and Everything" my full recommendation.

Rating:
Summary: Book 3: Halfway through the trilogy!
Review: This is anohter fine tale from Douglas Adams, taking us on wild adventures with Arthur, and the rest. The difference in this one is that Arthur is finally starting to actually do things. rather than jsut standing around saying what. In this one we get to see Arthur and trillian save the universe, and we learn to fly, which was my favorite part of the novel. The key is to throw yourself at the ground and miss. I enjoyed it. I am in the process of reading the entire trilogy, but I am putting it down after each book because, not being a fan of Sci - Fi, I do get a little tired of the names and ridiculous situations. If you are going to read the trilogy and you are not a big sci fi fan, take a break in between each novel.

Thanks for your time T.

Rating:
Summary: Strong Continuation
Review: Though many criticize this book for not being as strong as the first two, this is an excellent book. For starters, this book has some of the most memorable moments of the entire trilogy: Agrajag(a brilliant idea to have, absolutely hilarious), Arthur learning to fly(another wonderfully hilarious idea to have flying actually just "Falling and missing the ground"), Marvin's conversation with Zem, Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged's quest, and Slartibartifast's new ship. The novel shows some of the character's personalities very well and develops them further(particularly the poor, neglected Trillian). Ford is wonderfully displayed by showing that he doesn't care about saving the universe when he can attend a party. Zaphod's drinking habits was a very nice little section. Marvin's unhappiness was further displayed by showing it infecting an entire army of robots. Arthur is still as dumbfounded by everything as ever, but at least shows some guts and sensibility. And I've always been a big Slartibartfast fan, and thought it was nice to see him back. I particularly likes his dialogue in this novel, where he will begin a very short sentence and after a large amount of description he will finish it. His "Bistromathic" ship was a funny idea also. The book adds well to the series and provides the major events for the next books(So Long, thanks for All the Fish = God's Last Words; Mostly Harmless = Arthur, Ford, and Trillian's final resting place). It's an excellent read and rests well in my heart because it was the first book in the 5-part trilogy that I ever read(I didn't understand much of it, but loved it anyway). And I believe this is the only Adams novel that a character from another SERIES of his novels comes into play(The Thunder God in this may very well be Thor from "The Long, Dark Tea-time of the Soul," which also got its title from this book!)

Rating:
Summary: Life, the Universe and Everything
Review: Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Zaphod Beeblebrox, Slartibartfast, and Trillian are back in the third novel of Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Trilogy, Life, the Universe and Everything, published in 1982. After being stranded on prehistoric Earth, Arthur and Ford find a rip in the space-time continuum that catapults them through time to one day before the Earth's destruction. Luckily, however, they are rescued by an old friend, Slartibartfast. Once aboard Slartibartifast's ship, Arthur and Ford find out from Slartibartfast that the people of Krikkit are out to destroy the Universe. Their motive: they are sick of looking at the sky above their head, which, according to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, is the "...least interesting sight in the entire Universe."
When Arthur is diverted while teleporting to a strange planet, he discovers that he is inside a giant mountain dedicated to the people he has killed. However, these thousands people are, coincidentally, all the reincarnations of the same being named Agrajag. This being was finally going to get his revenge when, accidentally, Arthur killed him yet again. With his last ounce of strength, Agrajag managed to set the countdown for the demolition of the mountain. During his escape, Arthur tripped and, while falling, his attention was drawn by a bag on the ground, which he recognized as his own. He then realized that he was hovering a few inches off the ground and had successfully thrown himself at the ground and missed, and was in fact, flying. Arthur later meets up with Slartibartfast and Ford at the Universe's largest party in search of Trillian. Upon finding her, the head out to Krikkit to try and stop them from using a small bomb that will destroy the entire Universe.
Adams' writing style is extremely humorous and descriptive. He uses many literary devices such as simile and personification. Adams colorfully describes a strange being out to kill Arthur Dent, "Each of his three eyes was small and intense and looked about as sane as a fish in a privet bush." I thought that the book was great and lived up to its legacy, the same wacky adventures and all-out mayhem in the previous books is all here. For all of those who couldn't get enough of the craziness of the first two Hitchhiker's books, this one is a must read.

Rating:
Summary: Fails Two Surpass its Predecessors
Review: Anyone who has followed the Hitchhiker's series this far, understands the trade-off Adams made to write these books. They are hilarious, imaginatively diverse, and exceedingly satirical; but to be all that, Adams also had to sacrifice seriousness and some aspects of morality. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and its successor The Restaurant at the End of the Universe both exhibited Adams' command of this trade-off, and therefore provided astounding novels to the relatively specific, if underdeveloped, genre of sci-fi/comedy. Life, the Universe and Everything, however, tries to live up to these same expectations, but fails for many reasons.

First off, and most apparent, the third offering in the five-part trilogy is not nearly as funny. A lot of the situations seemed contrived; not to mention some species and characters that didn't possess the idiosyncratic charm that the first two possess. The plot, admittedly, is more epic and complicated than the other novels, and for this reason Adams deserves much applause; unfortunately, it is never developed to a satisfactory extent. I would have gladly settled for a simpler story, if it were presented more coherently and with more insight into a decidedly abrupt climax.

Ultimately, this novel feels as though it was written, if not by a completely different writer, then at least in a completely different setting. Down to the most minute of characteristics--maybe it's the witty banter of its predecessors, or the eccentric commentary of the Hitchhiker's Guide--Life, the Universe and Everything does not live up to the example set by novels one and two. Adams seems to have approached the topic with greater gravity, as though he loved the previous books and characters so much, that he was determined to one up them with all his skill. And because of this, rather than succeed at the task, the whole book becomes so much more serious. One wonders what would have happened if Adams hadn't been as omnipotent in the preparation of this novel; would Life, the Universe and Everything match the tone and success of the original two?

And so after reading Life, the Universe and Everything, one sees how Adams ignored the pact that made a divisive chasm between humor/imagination/satire and serious art. He tried to bridge the gap, and in the end it failed. At this time, I look forward to the fourth book in the series, but I pray that Adams assumes his original approach to the Hitchhiker's Guide, or I may never make it to the fifth. Certainly, the first and second novels in the series were worth all of the applause attributed to them. I can only hope that Life, the Universe and Everything is the outlier in the series.

Rating:
Summary: British? Wow!
Review: Well, I didn't much like this book but then I read the Brititish version and it was much different! And better! Tons of swearing which was changed for Americans is intact! Yay! I still only rat it 3 stars because it is still clearly the worst in the series, the best being So Long and Thanks for All tne Fish. The second worst was Mostly Harmless. The first two are tied for second best. Too, bad he died, eh? (...)