Rating: 
Summary: Mostly Harmless is Underrated
Review: I think most of the reviews for this book downplay it seriously. While the ending is kind of disappointing, the book overall is wonderful. It gets a little confusing at times, but Ford's scenes and the Ford/Arthur dialogues are some of the best in the series. So, if you can stand a little confusion and a lot of Trillian, this is a great book.
Rating: 
Summary: Please pretend this book was never written.
Review: I have long been a fan of the Hitchhikers series as they are comic genius. The book Mostly Harmless, however, should never have come about. It is frustration at its peak. After reading this book I vowed to never read another Douglas Adams book again (not as though he got around to writing any more). This book contains nothing that resembles a story line and never gets past the character development stage. I happened to go to a talk he gave at the University of Texas a few years ago and he was asked about the ending of the Mostly Harmless and his excuse was that the hardest part of writing a new book is getting everyone back together after you scatter them to the ends of the universe in the previous book so this was his answer. If you ask me he wrote this book to pay off his new Porsche and cheat his fans. Go ahead and read the first 4 as they make up a great story by themselves but don't waste your time reading this drivel.
Rating: 
Summary: Kinda like horror movies...
Review: ...in that the last one usually isn't all that appealing. I liked it fine, with some of Adams's wit, but it was a bit disappointing. While I was a bit let down with Fenchurch's complete disappearance (I preferred her over Trillian), I was glad when, mercifully, Marvin was not present. Probably the only reason I read it was because it was included in my copy of the Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide, and also just to know that I read them all.
Rating:
Summary: A Terrible End to A Great Series
Review: The ending for this books was so bad that I vowed never to read another Douglas Adams book. Adams was obviously sick and tired of the series and used this book to kill it off with absolutley no chance of its ever returning (as a matter of fact, its probability function is null). If you liked the other books, don't go anywhere near this one.
Rating:
Summary: Just playing out the thread
Review: Not much I can add to most of the other reviews. It seems pretty clear in reading Mostly Harmless than Adams was just playing out the thread, either tying up loose ends, dipping his hand one last time into the till because he knew any continuation of the Hitchhiker series, however mediocre, would sell well, or whatever. And mediocre it is. Adams is an astonishingly funny writer, and his wit is enough to make the book a pleasant read (thus the three stars). But it's clearly lacking the energy that made earlier books in the series such a delight.
Rating:
Summary: What the heck was that?
Review: As there are 110 other reviews at this point, I'll skip any summary.Instead, I have to say that this book was obviously written to tie up loose ends. Fenchurch just disappears with no emotional reaction, Arthur is just a carboard cut-out that the other characters react around, not react to, and Ford is... well, he's not himself. Some elements of this book were terrific. Some kept me laughing inside for days. But on the whole, this book was a bit of a let-down. The series went out, not with a bang, but with a whimper. It seems like this book was Douglas' way of saying "Okay, this Hitchhiker's stuff is done. Will you please let me get down to business and write something else?" Unfortunately, we'll never have the chance to read the great books that were still inside his head, as he is gone. We'll miss you, Douglas.
Rating: 
Summary: Mostly Harmless is mostly pointless.
Review: This is a book only for rabid fans of the Trilogy. Adams was obviously tired of the whole feckless Hitchhiker gang and used this last opus to unceremoniously dispose of them. While flashes of the old wit crop up here and there most of the book makes no sense until the end. And at the end you see the whole purpose of the plot line was contrived to vaporize the protagonists. It can best be compared to the second book, which ended on a dark note also. The second book at least had the saving grace of a lighter sense of humor. The fifth book's end is unremittingly black and will leave most fans enraged.
Rating:
Summary: disappointing
Review: Mostly Harmless was the most disappointing conclusion to a series since Sienfeld. Adam's seemed to have lost his empathy for the characters. Fans who enjoyed Marvin's grim outlook on life will be pleased to see that it has infected the rest of the group. (kind of like the cyberminds of the cabin robots infected the squirrels on Lamuella) Too bad it had to end like this...
Rating:
Summary: beautifully written. too bad it didn't need to be.
Review: "so long, and thanks for all the fish" ended on a delightfully final note. arthur had returned to earth (never mind how), found true love, and cheered up marvin (however briefly). everything was going just peachy. then came "mostly harmless". if any book has ever been a wickedly spiteful middle finger to its readers, it's this. "so long..." would've been a perfect ending to the series--a happy ending, in which loose ends are tied up, and arthur finally finds satifaction with his life. "mostly harmless" demolishes "so long...", and puts arthur in a predicament so awful, so obviously _contrived_ to be awful, that there is absolutely no joy in his resulting adventures. is it well written? yes. is it intelligent? yes. is it fun? oh, god, no. there does exist a delicious bit of symbolism, one that seems to sum up the entire book. ford prefect discovers that the guide has been perverted, transformed into a hideously deformed and downright evil version of itself. its purposes are its own, its goal devestation. with "mostly harmless", the hitchhiker's series has been perverted, transformed into a hideously deformed and downright evil version of itself. adams obviously didn't want to write this book, but the clamoring of the fans drove him to it. they should have been careful what they wished for. mean-spirited as a vogon, depressing as a paranoid android, and unneccessary as a credit card receipt to ford prefect, "mostly harmless" is a bitter, brutal end to a trilogy that only needed four books to be complete.
Rating: 
Summary: Actually Very Good
Review: I've seen a couple of negative reviews concerning this book, but it's actually very good. No, it's not the best book in the series, but it's not the worst, either. OK, let's face it: Adams probably didn't really want to write this book. It was probably written as a finality to series so fans would stop clamoring for more sequels. A lot of people are apparently turned off by this fact, but... I don't give a damn! A good book is a good book, period. Mostly Harmless is funnier than the two previous books in the series were. Some of the many humorous elements present are Arthur's stint as "master sandwich maker", the return of Ajragag, and, of course, more of Ford's zany antics (particularly hilarous is his stint with a credit card), and even the King. Yes, THE King! hehe The tone is a bit dark, granted, and the ending is even a bit depressing after having been with the series for so long, but, face it, all good things must come to an end. We begged for another sequel, and Adams gave it to us... but it's over! Get over it, get on with your life. At least the series went out with a bang (no pun intended.)
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