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The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy #0.5-5

The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

douglas adams

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At last in paperback in one complete volume, here are the five novels from Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker series.

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

Seconds before the Earth is demolished for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is saved by Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised Guide. Together they stick out their thumbs to the stars and begin a wild journey through time and space.

"The Restaurant at the End of the Universe"

Facing annihilation at the hands of warmongers is a curious time to crave tea. It could only happen to the cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his comrades as they hurtle across the galaxy in a desperate search for a place to eat.

"Life, the Universe and Everything"

The unhappy inhabitants of planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky- so they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals can avert Armageddon: mild-mannered Arthur Dent and his stalwart crew.

"So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish"

Back on Earth, Arthur Dent is ready to believe that the past eight years were all just a figment of his stressed-out imagination. But a gift-wrapped fishbowl with a cryptic inscription conspires to thrust him back to reality. So to speak.

"Mostly Harmless"

Just when Arthur Dent makes the terrible mistake of starting to enjoy life, all hell breaks loose. Can he save the Earth from total obliteration? Can he save the Guide from a hostile alien takeover? Can he save his daughter from herself?

Also includes the short story "Young Zaphod Plays It Safe".

815 pages, Paperback

First published January 17,1996
Series
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

This edition

Format
815 pages, Paperback
Published
April 28, 2002 by Del Rey Books
ISBN
9780345453747
ASIN
B00A2LZDTA
Language
English
Characters More characters
  • Zaphod Beeblebrox

    Zaphod Beeblebrox

    Zaphod Beeblebrox is a fictional character in the various versions of the comic science fiction series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.He is from a planet in the vicinity of Betelgeuse, and is a "semi-half-cousin" of Ford Prefec...

  • Arthur Dent

    Arthur Dent

    Arthur Philip Dent is a fictional character and the hapless protagonist of the comic science fiction series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.In the radio, LP and television versions of the story, Arthur is played by Simon Jones (...

  • Ford Prefect

    Ford Prefect

    Ford Prefect is a fictional character in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by the British author Douglas Adams. His role as Arthur Dents friend – and rescuer, when the Earth is unexpectedly demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass at t...

  • Trillian

    Trillian

    Trillian Astra is a fictional character from Douglas Adams series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. She is most commonly referred to simply as "Trillian", a modification of her birth name, which she adopted because it sounded more "space-li...

  • Marvin, the paranoid android

    Marvin The Paranoid Android

    Marvin is a robot (android) that has been programmed with a "Genuine People Personality" unfortunately he is therefore genuinely depressed.more...

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About the author

Profile Image for douglas adams

douglas adams

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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Douglas Noel Adams was an English author, humourist, and screenwriter, best known for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (HHGTTG). Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy developed into a "trilogy" of five books that sold more than 15 million copies in his lifetime. It was further developed into a television series, several stage plays, comics, a video game, and a 2005 feature film. Adams's contribution to UK radio is commemorated in The Radio Academy's Hall of Fame.
Adams also wrote Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (1987) and The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (1988), and co-wrote The Meaning of Liff (1983), The Deeper Meaning of Liff (1990) and Last Chance to See (1990). He wrote two stories for the television series Doctor Who, co-wrote City of Death (1979), and served as script editor for its seventeenth season. He co-wrote the sketch "Patient Abuse" for the final episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus. A posthumous collection of his selected works, including the first publication of his final (unfinished) novel, was published as The Salmon of Doubt in 2002.
Adams was a self-proclaimed "radical atheist", an advocate for environmentalism and conservation, and a lover of fast cars, technological innovation, and the Apple Macintosh.

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Community Reviews

Rating(3.9 / 5.0, 111 votes)
5 stars
32(29%)
4 stars
38(34%)
3 stars
41(37%)
2 stars
0(0%)
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111 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
potato_critic
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
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Šta da kažem o jednoj od meni najdražih knjiga? Urnebesna… Artur Dent misli da je njegov najveći problem bager, koji planira da mu sruši kuću, radi izgradnje obilaznice. Ne zna da vogonska flota upravo planira da razori celu Zemlju radi izgradnje svemirske zaobilaznice. Artur će se, u društvo neobičnog (što ne čudi, jer je došao Betelgeza pet) Forda Prefekta, naći u beskrajnom svemiru gde će proći kroz brojne neobične situacije.
Univerzum u nevolji, je pisan pod velikim uticajem Vodiča. Preporuka do kraja Vaseljene i nazad…
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DatBoiLight
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
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এরকম কিছু আগে কখনো পড়িনি, ভবিষ্যতেও কখনো আর পড়া হবে কিনা জানি না। সায়েন্সফিকশন আর হিউমারের এক অনন্যসাধারণ মিশ্রণ। ভাষাটা এককথায় দুদার্ন্ত, এমনসব ইউনিক আর ইন্টারেস্টিং সব কনসেপ্ট যে পড়তে পড়তে অবাক হই তো বটেই এমনকি পড়া শেষ করার পরেও মনে পড়লে হাসি এসে যায়। হিউমারের পিছনেও বইয়ের ম্যাসেজ বেশকিছু জায়গায় অনেক গভীর।
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Olinizm
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
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I didn’t get my laptop but I am still writing a review. Bravo for me.

This series was so fun to read – at least the first three books. I’ll get to that later.

I never realized how many modern-day phrases were references to this series. I knew there was a movie but I never watched it, only a few bits in passing while my brother was watching it.

I didn’t have a problem with reading this series, it didn’t put me into a slump, but I can see how it can do this to any reader. Because there is just so much information being thrown at you and you need to filter what is important and what is not and how can you do that if the very point of this book is not to make sense. Usually, the things you never thought could be important are important here – like towels. Towels are a big thing here.

You will have a wild ride with our diverse set of characters as they go through adventures in space. In the first three books.

The fourth book is different from the rest of the series, being a love story. And it’s not even set in space. So that was kind of disappointing. But the reading experience was okay for me.

Unlike the fifth book that was just bad. That is the sole reason why this book is a 4-star read and not a 5-star read.

If you are new to sci-fi check out the first three books and if you like them, check out the last two of the series, but set your bar really low. This was a unique series and I am pretty sure I won’t read anything like this soon, so kudos to that too. Now so long and thanks for the fish.
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This was a wild and fun ride. All of the reviews are coming in after I get my laptop back.
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Deost
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
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It's that book you pick up and feel obligated to love, if only to escape grievous fan persecution. Well. Here goes.

Let's start with the humour. Yes, it's everything that humour should be. For a while, you are oh-so-amused and impressed...but then you weary of being so amused. Akin to being kept on the edge of your seat for a good few hours - something's going to get sore. It's just such a strain. I skipped ten or so pages near the middle but I'm sure those ten pages were, like the rest of the book, terribly witty and sickeningly clever.

The plot takes twists like...ah, what's a good analogy? A snake on LSD? That'll do. Don't get me wrong, they're good twists and Adams is admittedly superb at making the inherently illogical seem orderly and precise, but they just don't stop coming. And after a while, the worst happens and the reader just stops caring.

I can see why this book has achieved its cult status. It deserves its cult status in many ways. There are moments of startling originality that knock you back and spin your world to a crazy new angle, but when the whole book is all but filled with these moments, the crazy new angle begins to make you dizzy and irritated. At the end, I'm still feeling oh-so-amused and impressed, but also oh-so-relieved I can stop.
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Dabchu
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
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Okumayı literal olarak yıllara yaydığım (okumaya pek kıyamadığım) türünün ilk, belki de tek örneği. Douglas Adams'ın Doctor Who metinlerine de el attığını söylediğimde bu kitabın aşağı yukarı hangi frekansta olduğunu tahmin edebilirsiniz. Yer yer sesli güldüğüm bu bilimkurgu kitapta sarkastik üslubu tork olarak kullanan yazar homo sapiensi yer yer politik ve sosyolojik olarak eleştirmek için işini türlü çeşit uzaysal saçma sapanlıklarla donatarak ortaya paradoksal bir absürdlük çıkarmış. Bunu da çok zekice ve iyi yapmış.

Not olarak eklemeden duramayacağım ki örnek olsun: CIA bu kitapta "Celestial Intervention Agency" olarak geçiyor.
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ScarletNitsa
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
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I don't know what everyone is so bent out of shape about-- the ending was perfect, and exactly what i've been hoping it would be.
my only regret is that I didn't read these when I was 12, because my head would have exploded. it's too bad I'm not able to go back in time to give them to myself, because if I could, it already would have happened.
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sodamntired
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
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Ovaj Marvin je legenda!!! :D
Prva dva dela su maestralno napisana,preostali delovi razvučeni i za nijansu slabiji,ali to mi nije pokvarilo celokupan utisak o ovom romanu.
Jedna od knjiga kojoj ću se nanovo vraćati :)
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zolbard
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
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"I give up!"

I exclaimed this very proudly. Just as proudly as Arthur exclaimed, "I will go mad!" At the beginning of the third book.

I enjoyed the first two books and the beginning of the third but decided that I have nothing to gain from reading the rest of this series. I was wrong! If you are going to read Douglas Adams then my advice to you is to read them one book at a time and not in The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide.

I grew tired of Douglas Adams' roundabout jokes that took on an identical spin by the time I reached the third book. Maybe it's because I'm American. What do you think? Is this British Monty Python humor? At times I read it and quite enjoyed it. At times I read it and quite loathed it.

Go ahead, read the first book. That one doesn't bite much. You'll quite like it I'm sure.

I'm quite sure I'm done now.

14 of 15 books completed this year. .933 isn't such a bad batting average.

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