Not the best of Doogie, but not the absolute worst either. The random, all-over-the-place approach that worked for his most popular work, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, does not, unfortunately, work for this book. The pacing is off in many places, while the ending is rushed in a way that suggests someone was probably holding a gun to his head or withholding the next payment (which is often more effective than one, and infinitely less messier. You have no idea how tough it is to get brains off the walls without leaving a mark). Still a largely enjoyable read, but people who don't absolutely love Marvin would be better off finding another entry point into the mad, mad world of Douglas Adams.

A quirky, random, humorous, zany, fun, enjoyable read that started out with a bang and ended abruptly. An airport check-in desk explodes. Around the same time in a basement there is a bloody severed head revolving around a record turntable. The immortal gods, Thor and Odin are in conflict. Holistic detective Dirk Gently investigates.

If you enjoyed Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency then you should find this an entertaining read.

Here are some examples of the author’s quirkily clever writing style:

‘The impossible often has a kind of integrity to it which the merely improbable lacks.’
‘Words used carelessly, as if they did not matter in any serious way, often allowed otherwise well-guarded truths to seep through.’
‘The idea was fantastically, wildly improbable. But like most fantastically, wildly improbably ideas it was at least as worthy of consideration as a more mundane one to which the facts had been strenuously bent to fit.’

The Dirk Gently books don't get the same amount of love as Adams' Hitchhiker series, but I'm not quite sure why. Upon a re-read, I actually enjoyed this more than the first Gently book, both of which are very funny and should be manna from heaven to fans of Adams' more popular novels. If the Hitchhiker books made you laugh, you will probably like this. 4 stars, recommended!

3.5

3.5*

This was entertaining but the mystery aspect was weak - basically just an excuse for Dirk Gently to be involved in the story. Dirk was never a nice person but he seems worse in this book than he did in the previous one - making the nonappearance of his friends from the first book understandable.

i really love douglas adams's writing. not much else to say!

Not actually as funny or great as I had remembered, thought now I see I only gave it two stars the first time around so obviously I actually thought the same at the time too. Memory is a funny thing.

Douglas Adams is at his best when his writing is punchy, silly, and serving as an outline for his absurdism. Douglas Adams is not at his best here.

The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul just drags a little too much. There’s an overwhelming disjointedness and droning in this book that kept nagging at me as I read, and I found myself more than once wondering why I’m reading this. Adams isn’t particularly whimsical nor is he particularly succinct, and I just got bored waiting for something to happen, or even for him to do his typical “I am annoyed by This Thing in real life and I’m going to make fun of This Thing now.” Besides all that, I came out of this book pretty thoughtless, which is also unusual for an Adams read. It was funny and entertaining at times, but the first one was way, way better.

Sad that I’ve finally read the last of Adams' full novels and this is the note I end on.

"'You are an extremely inquisitive and presumptuous young lady,' exclaimed Dirk.

'And you,' said Sally Mills, 'are very strange.'

'Only,' said Dirk, 'as strange as I need to be.'" (86)

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

"'Immortals are what you wanted, said Thor in a low, quiet voice. 'Immortals are what you got. It is a little hard on us. You wanted us to be for ever, so we are for ever. Then you forget about us. But still we are for ever. Now at last, many are dead, many dying,' he then added in quiet voice, 'but it takes a special effort.'" (176)

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

I first read this book many years ago and - due to the one bonus of advancing age - remembered nothing about it. This is supposed to be Douglas' "worst" book but I beg to differ. I really enjoyed it, and it's sad that Dirk Gently never got more adventures.

Predating Neil Gaiman's American Gods, it nevertheless shares a similar idea: of the old gods still lingering in the modern world, fading for lack of belief.

Dirk Gently, a private detective with a rumpled, buffoonish exterior that disguises a sharp mind, is a "holistic" detective who believes in the "interconnectednesss of all things". Things tend to happen around him, and he bumbles around from strand to strand until he gets himself caught firmly and can finally see the whole sticky web, being in danger (and a danger to himself) the whole while.

Dirk is hired to protect a client from an unlikely supernatural threat but he (in typical fashion) oversleeps and the client ends up dead, with a contract stating he sold something - presumably his soul - in an unknown language.

Meanwhile, practical no-nonsense Kate Schechter experiences an actual "Act of God" - she's behind Thor at the airport check-in desk when he gets frustrated and loses his temper. Curious but skeptical, she can't leave it alone and knows she's not crazy.

Eventually, Dirk's meandering rambling path crosses with Kate's determined one, and that of Odin-the-All-Father, who just wants to stay in the comfortable nursing home of his choice.

Delightfully entertaining and clever, this stands up well despite its age! Dirk is definitely a love him or loathe him kind of guy, but I know which side I'm on :)

As a fan of Douglas Adams, you have a high appetite for the craziness and near impossible randomness. The book is ok on humor and creativity but I felt let down as a complete book.

Unbeatable premise - A bombing at an airport with no casualty deemed (rightly so) "An act of God". The immortal Gods have entered into a contract with a lawyer and advertiser (humans) and humans have extracted their pound of flesh by taking away the Godliness. Thor who is the only God who is still trying to care, in the process gets banished. Throw in an angry eagle, a coca-cola vending machine, an unopened refrigerator and a hot-potato. Gently ends up solving the case for 'Gods sake'.

Neil Gaiman apparently shared this as an inspiration for his American Gods. You accept Dirk Gently, Holistic private investigator, who believes in not eliminating the impossible and believes in the basic interconnectedness of things. But the book, seems like a well laid book wrapped up in a hurry. The last chapters which had all the action were abrupt as if he was working against a deadline.

All in all, the book was a twilight book of Douglas Adams - neither here nor there and a little glum.

Originally posted at my blog The Otaku Librarian.

It all began at Heathrow, with a large, blonde man trying to get a ticket to Oslo without a credit card or any proof of identification. Add one exploding passenger check-in desk, a decapitated head on a record player (playing Hot Potato - Don't pick it up / pick it up / pick it up / pick it), and the famed Dirk Gently, and you don't know what you'll end up with.

I certainly didn't, have any idea of what'd happen, that is. This was an odd romp into the world of Dirk Gently and Douglas Adams, whose Hitchhiker's book I had previously read and was not enormously enamored with. I did find it amusing, don't get me wrong, but I didn't love it, say, as much as Pratchett's Discworld novels. But, anyway, rambling aside, one of my friends said that I had to read it and that she had the audiobook and that I could borrow it. So I did.

I love Douglas Adams' reading voice! The variation in voices, depending on the characters that he was currently narrating for, was great and entertaining. He went from Toerag's slimy obsequious tone (reminiscent of Black Adder in his butler-phase) to his "normal" narrative voice which kept reminding me of Hugh Laurie. Not in his American / House voice, of course. Maybe that's just a sign I want to rewatch Black Adder (again). The only downside of the loaned discs was the lack of divided chapters as well as any mention of chapters, so sometimes I got confused in regard to scene changes / time skips, etc. But it wasn't a big deal.

The humor, I did enjoy and it ranged from the simply ridiculous (the great punishment of being varnished to a wooden floor) to the snorting-with-laughter in regard to a certain scene including an eagle that I won't spoil. The plot, due to the lack of chapter headings, I got a bit confused at first about what was really happening, but I went along happily with the ride because I was enjoying it. And, of course, in the end it all ties together so I was pleased.

And oops, I had forgotten to review this since I finished it a while back. But it was a fun and entertaining read that you don't take too seriously, but you'll leave with a smile and a song that you can get stuck in your friends' heads. Wee!

While trying to purchase an airline ticket to Oslo at Heathrow Airport, American journalist Kate Schechter finds herself in line behind a large blond man who also wants to get on the flight but has no identification or means to pay. The check-in counter is suddenly consumed by fire, and both Kate and the man are taken to a hospital with injuries. The only possession the man seems to have is a sledgehammer.

From this point, the plot becomes even wackier and involves the “Holistic” detective Dirk Gently, a bunch of Norse gods and some very strange incidents, characters, dialogs and events.

I like Douglas Adams’s style and humor and like this book too, probably not as much as the hitchhiker books but it is a nice and funny read.