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Dirk Gently #1

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

douglas adams

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What do a dead cat, a computer whiz-kid, an Electric Monk who believes the world is pink, quantum mechanics, a Chronologist over 200 years old, Samuel Taylor Coleridge (poet), and pizza have in common?

Apparently not much; until Dirk Gently, self-styled private investigator, sets out to prove the fundamental interconnectedness of all things by solving a mysterious murder, assisting a mysterious professor, unravelling a mysterious mystery, and eating a lot of pizza – not to mention saving the entire human race from extinction along the way (at no extra charge).

To find out more, read this book (better still, buy it, then read it) – or contact Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. ‘A thumping good detective-ghost-horror-whodunnit-time travel-romantic-musical-comedy epic.’ The author

6 pages, Audio CD

First published May 15,1987
Series
Dirk Gently
Literary awards
audie award, 
Places
england, 

This edition

Format
6 pages, Audio CD
Published
September 30, 2005 by Phoenix Audio
ISBN
9781597770071
ASIN
1597770078
Language
English
Characters More characters
  • Dirk Gently

    Dirk Gently

    Dirk Gently bills himself as a "holistic detective" who makes use of "the fundamental interconnectedness of all things" to solve the whole crime, and find the whole person. This involves running up large expense accounts and then claiming that every item ...

  • Richard MacDuff

    Richard Macduff

    ...

  • Professor Chronotis

    Professor Chronotis

    Salyavin, dubbed the Great Mind Outlaw by Gallifreyan historians, was an infamous Time Lord criminal. Condemned by his fellow Gallifreyans for his unethical use of the uniquely powerful mind-control abilities he possessed, he escaped Shada, created himsel...

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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(4.1 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
40(40%)
4 stars
25(25%)
3 stars
35(35%)
2 stars
0(0%)
1 stars
0(0%)
100 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
Vegrot
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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First off, this novel is exquisitely well-plotted. All the elements of the mystery are set up perfectly and subtly, so much so that it's easy to miss them, and everything is explained satisfyingly in the end. Beyond that there's something funny on almost every page, and Adams is able to get at big themes in a meaningful way: the beauty of life, the interconnectedness of all things, the need for (and impossibility of) certainty, the way that what we believe at any given move is constantly shifting.

Here's one funny passage that illustrates Adams's talent for a great setup and punchline:

"Yes it is," said the Professor. "Wait—" he motioned to Richard who was about to go out again and investigate—"Let it be. It won't be long."

Richard stared in disbelief. "You say there's a horse in your bathroom and all you can do is stand there naming Beatles songs?"


You can guess how the horse got in.
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bar3
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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I loved The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and had high hopes for Dirk Gently, but this novel just didn't quite do it for me. Its plot is a weak. This wouldn't have been an issue if it had been packed with quotably witty lines like Hitchiker's Guide was, but it is not. There are still some good bits, to be sure, but the laughs are sparse.
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slavgaard
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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It's funny, I thought I had read this before--I'd bought a used copy years ago and had kept it on my shelf fondly along with the Hitchhikers Guide books. And then I started to "re-read" it for book club, and a) hated the first chapter (about the Electric Monk) and b) realized that I never had read it before, probably because I read the first chapter and was like "wtf is this" and put it down FOREVER.

I'm glad that I persevered this time around, though, because it really is a fun and clever story.

(I probably still don't like it as much as the Hitchhikers Guide books but that's fine.)
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fourthpetal
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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I enjoyed the TV show, especially the first season and based on that experience, I wanted to read the book. I'm just glad I've watched the show first because if had read the book first, I probably wouldn't have bothered with the show.


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FifthHydra
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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4 1/2 stars

Douglas Adam's humour and quirky style is on full display in this delightfully convoluted and complex novel that really has to be re-read to be fully appreciated. A realistic approach is probably to waive all thoughts of a clear understanding on your first go through and just enjoy it for laughs. I certainly did.

The gem of a book brings together aliens, electric monks, ghosts, dead poets, crazy Cambridge professors, possibly insane detectives, a long suffering girlfriend who I thought was fantastic and a plot which doesn't proceed in a strictly linear fashion just to add to the confusion.

Like I said though, don't worry about it making sense on the first go through.

Edit: Reread and upgraded my rating very slightly to 4 1/2 stars
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nekoneko1234
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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What did I think? Hmm... I thought that this book was amazing. Mainly because I totally sync with the author's writing style, but also due to the plot, the characters and the subject matters he deals with in this book!

I saved so many quotes to my iPhone while reading this... my poor Notes app is overfilling! But let's not get ahead of ourselves. First off, Adams is just a genius writer. I do believe that everyone can agree with that sentiment. His Hitch Hicker's Guide to the Galaxy series is one of the most popular out there, after all! (And one that I've read through a couple of times as well!)

I actually wanted to read the second book in this series, The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul, for some reason which I can't remember now, but it included GoodReads, something someone said about it, and the crazy title. But before I can read any book in the middle of a series, I really need to read the first books in that series! Thus commenced the lovely road that was Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency.

And it really was a lovely book to read. Amusing, quirky, filled with paradoxes and conundrums and so forth (say, have you ever gotten a sofa stuck in the staircase that leads to your flat in such a way that it is technically impossible to even have found its way there? If so, you might want to consider the possibility of the involuntary of a time machine!).

What I loved most about this book was the way that Adams always includes real scientific newsworthy discoveries into his plots. Who else would base a detective agency based on quantum theory? Who else would set a whole book around such crazy things as ghosts and time travel and saving the universe and still have it coming out slightly believable? Why, Douglass Adams of course!

Anyway, I've been having trouble gathering my thoughts for decent reviews lately, so I think I should leave this one where it is without spoiling any more of the story. I hope to be enjoying the second book in the series just as much as this one!
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Undefinal
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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Ha. No. Just no. Forced humour. Dont uds whats going on. Not for me. 1 sofa.
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eeveel
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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Infinitely dull for long stretches, punctuated by brief flashes of humor and incomprehensibility, with an ending that's fairly amusing. Time well spent? No, not really. Recommended for lovers of dry British humor that can stomach even the driest of Monty Python sketches.
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