n  n    B.R.A.CE. 2018 Ένα βιβλίο για το οποίο έχεις μεγάλες προσδοκίες n  n

Douglas Adams first imagined the Starship Titanic in Life, the Universe and Everything, the third entry in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, where it is briefly mentioned in the book's 10th chapter. Adams describes it as a "majestic and luxurious cruise-liner" that "did not even manage to complete its very first radio message - an SOS - before undergoing a sudden and gratuitious total existence failure

Τι άλλο να ζητήσω δλδ; Μία ιδέα του αγαπημένου Douglas Adams, σε απόδοση από ένα μέλος των Monty Python ( Terry Jones ) ο οποίος συμφώνησε να γράψει το μυθιστόρημα με τον όρο ότι θα το έγραφε απολύτως γυμνός!
Μην ψάξετε τον σύνδεσμο με το "Γυρίστε τον γαλαξία με ωτοστόπ", εκείνο είναι μοναδικό. Αυτό το βιβλίο είναι κάπου παραδίπλα. Είναι η φαντασία του αναγνώστη του έργου του Adams για όλα τα spin off που δεν μπόρεσαν να γραφτούν. Είναι σαν φόρος τιμής.
Είναι απολαυστικό, θα γελάσεις, θα αγωνιάς για την εξέλιξη και θα λες " γαμώτο, πόσα ακόμα θα μπορούσαν να υπάρξουν!"
Σίγουρα όμως δεν είναι ΑΜΦ (Ανεπανάληπτου Μεγέθους Φιάσκο)! ;)

From the mind of Adams but the reality of a Monty Python. I just wonder how much better this could have been if Adams had penned it. Good, but not Great.

oooof .... the setting is delightful, the robots would clearly have been infuriating to deal with in the actual (original PC) gameplay
its all the human characters that are the absolute worst (and also ridiculously horny)

All the worst parts of a 90s SciFi action flick, with spots of humor somewhere inbetween the sex

I have to say I was kind of disappointed in this book. I absolutely adore my compendium of the Hitchhiker's saga (is saga the right word?), and was hoping that this would be a nice little addition to the world Douglas Adams created in that. Or else that it would be somehow similar to that episode of Doctor Who with Ten, although that's probably because I've been re-watching the series on Netflix.

The whole idea of the Starship Titanic was a one-off joke in the Hitchhiker's novels, and so while this book is 250-ish pages, it reads quickly and feels more like a short story. It's predictable and somewhat blasé- the books it's spawned from are hilarious and unexpected, and Starship Titanic feels like a pale mockery of that. One of the big problems is definitely that this book isn't really a "collaboration," despite what the description says. It's Douglas Adams's idea hashed out by someone else. Terry Jones isn't a horrible writer or anything, but he lacks the hilarity, whimsy, and humanity that Adams put into all of his works. But since there are clear echoes of things that are Adams' ideas, the fact that it is written instead by Jones makes it almost feel like a sub-par fanfic.

The book is a quick read, and isn't terrible, but don't expect to be wowed by it. It does have its share of good humour and cool scenes, but ultimately it falls far, far short of what you'd expect when you hear the name "Douglas Adams."

About what I'd expect from a Monty Python player writing HHGttG fan-fiction. I was hoping for a bit more. There are individual segments that are quite entertaining, but, taken as a whole, I was supremely underwhelmed. I paid $1.99 for this, and I feel like that was one dollar too much. I had about 99 cents of fun with it.

I think my biggest issue with this book is that I never really cared what happened to any of the characters. All of them except Dan were so ludicrously over the top that I couldn't take them seriously. Dan was just boring (and probably intended to fill the Arthur Dent role). I cared enough to think the rearranged relationships by the end of the book were a good thing for all involved, but that's about it.

Side note: if this were aimed at, oh, 10-12 year-olds, it might work better. However, there's enough on-screen sex (however vaguely and supposedly humorously described) that it's clearly not aimed at that age group.

So, overall? If you liked HHGttG and can find this for cheap, you might find it mildly entertaining.

I really wanted to like this book. Huge fan of Hitchhiker and Monty Python. But it just didn’t work for me. Kinda funny at times. Meandering at others. Jones is brilliant at comedy, but just missed here.

2.5 stars. This is definitely not a Douglas Adams book. I like Terry Jones for what he is and what he's done over the course of his life, but this book is not one I hold in high regard. It definitely reads like an extended Monty Python skit set in the Hitchhiker's Guide universe. The first half of the book was full of cringeworthy and overly exagerrated attempts at humor. By the second half those had tamed, but only a bit. In the end it took longer to read than I had anticipated, given its short length. There were contradictions throughout the book, and I attribute that to either Jones rushing through a scene and forgetting none of the aliens had even heard of Earth before, or the editor didn't edit very well. Despite not knowing Earth or what a human was (or any Earth animal for that matter) there is a parrot in the alien spacecraft and parrots exist on their world somehow. I guess there could be reasons for it, but those ideas were never explored. At one point, on page 34 of the hardcover, the author forgets hes writing about the aliens and refers to them as human.

DNF after 2hrs out of 5.
This is a book I don't need (at the moment).
There isn't a plot I could follow, more like little 'flying Circus' episodes. But the sexism feels dated.

It was... a book. That's all I can really say.

Ξεκαρδιστικό σε σημεία, πέρασα καλά.

Ако някой себеуважаващ се читател на фентъзи и фантастика все още не се е запознал с магна опуса на Дъглас Адамс за Пътеводителя на всичките поизгубени галактически стопаджии – веднага да метнете една пухкава хавлия на рамо и да тичате през глава да си поправяте почти непростимата грешка. За всички останали – помните ли великолепния меланхолично – суициден мърморко с роботско сърце Марвин? Сега си представете цял гигантофилски кораб натоварен до пръсване само с вариации на Марвиновци, кой от кой с по-лош характер, сякаш подбирани сред най-големите нелюбезни бюрократични мрънкала в галактиката по извънредно детайлен междувселенски каталог. Да, точно толкова добро е. Въпреки , че Адамс тук е само инспиратор на събитията и вдъхновител на откачения Тери Джоунс, аз лично не можах да намеря каквато и да било стилистична разлика от обичайните му дъгласовски приключения на ръба на дивия крясък, останал нечут в среда на абсурдно пропусклив вакуум.

Казват, че Джоунс е писал книжката напълно гол, и някак си съм склонна да му вярвам – толкова леко и безсрамно написано е, с щипещо английско, и все пак напълно първосигнално разбираемо чувство за хумор, а сцените се редят като в наистина добре обмислен до последна сцена скеч на Монти Пайтън ( за тези , които не знаят – това е група актьори, несвенящи да се подиграят със съмнителна доброжелателност на всичко свято, забранено за коментар или просто табу, и на��равили едни от най-смущаващите филми на едно чисто етично и политически некоректно ниво, които изключително срамотно те карат да се кискаш в шепа и да гледаш с широко отворени очи сякаш невероятно впечатляваща катастрофа, която не можеш да изповядаш в неделя на който трябва) .

Имаме една извънземна цивилизация, намираща се в далеч по-централно място от нас във вселенски мащаб ( за справка – ние сме някъде къмто подмишницата на космоса ) , разрешила проблемите си с трафика преди да премине към ниво на разумно общество и измислила имитиращи оръжия, които запълват желанието на хуманоидните индивиди откъм локви кръв и откъснати крайници, но всъщност не причиняващи почти никакви други щети. Сред тях, разбира се, се натрисат една групичка безскрупулни земляни, които освен да пищят , тичат в кръг и пребиват откачените роботи с всичко под ръка, се хързулват из тъмни дупки, свалят умни бомби и се онождат с инопланетяните съвсем неморално. И откриват колко близки са бюрократичните системи и дребните мошеничества във всеки един ъгъл на мирозданието, а откъм материал се пести по майсторски нагло и в най-мащабния проект на всички времена. Въобще забавлението на моята книга 200 за тази година е гарантирано и за най-кривите читатели, чиято негласна кралица съм аз, естествено :)

easily the best book I've ever read that was based on a CD-ROM computer game, especially under the sub-category of books written by comedians I like based on CD-ROM games by favorite authors. I dare say it tops both of those lists.