The concept mentioned in both 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' and 'The Restaurant at the End of the Universe':
'The History of every major Galactic Civilization tends to pass through three distinct and recognizable phases, those of Survival, Inquiry and Sophistication, otherwise known as the How, Why, and Where phases. For instance, the first phase is characterized by the question 'How can we eat?' the second by the question 'Why do we eat?' and the third by the question 'Where shall we have lunch?'

The mice experiment is history, we know the answer to the question about life, the universe and everything, the Earth has been destroyed for that bloody bypass ... so what now? Well, Arthur and his companions are being hunted by Vogons and feel a bit peckish. So eating would be a good idea. Thankfully, there is a restaurant at the end of the universe - let's meet the meat!

We get some displacement both in time and space (resulting in some delicious linguistic tomfoolery) and meet the ruler of the universe while also learning more about the Earth's purpose from book 1 - namely the question that Deep Thought answered so famously. Sometimes it's as easy as playing a round of Scrabble. Though I do contest the computer's mathematic capabilities. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I will freely admit that I don't consider this as perfect as the first volume - if mostly because The Hitchhiker's Guide was thrown away at the end. Nevertheless, this IS brilliantly nonsensical. Though if you really think about it, it makes perfect sense. Again. Like the Ruler of the Universe and his cat - I loved the association with Schrödinger and many other philosophical contemplations all rolled into this one whack job. Once again, the author was musing about the meaning of life while slapping some sharp satirical observations about truly ridiculous things in real life around the readers' faces.

Fortunately, I can power up the improbability drive and immediately find out where the journey will take us next.

Mildly, sometimes even, moderately amusing. However i think my journey with Adams will end here. I'm usually a fan of british comedy but Adams books lack patois. They're not designed for you to actually care about anyone involved.
It does get almost heartfelt towards the later chapters but not enough for me continue.

Edit: I apparently don't know what patois means... i could have sworn it was like heartfelt, or empathy, but evidently not *shrug*.

Edit: Pathos, i meant pathos..! my googling completely failed to find that when i tried to find it using what i thought it meant.

The past is a fiction to account for…
  

First Sentence:n  

The story so far:
In the beginning the Universe was created.

n

I honestly enjoyed this one even more that the The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
The craziness is absolute brilliance!
Douglas Adams truly created a fun loving story that will be read and appreciated for many millennia to come. I love how this book just lifted my spirit, made me smile and laugh and just forget about the world out there for awhile.

With that cliffhanger ending, you would have to excuse me now. I NEED to go read the next book.

از اون كتاباييه كه نرم نرم به يه فلسفه غم انگيز اشاره مى كنه، ولى همزمان مى تونه حالتو خوب كنه. بيشتر از هر چيزى به جستجوى معنا براى زندگى اشاره مى كنه، البته بيشتر اشاره مى كنه، اونقدرا هم دنبال معانى ژرف و عميق داخل كتاب نباشيد. در عين حال اين كتاب اونقدر خوب هست كه يه جاهايى خنده رو به لب هاتون بياره و احساس كنيد كه ارزششو داشت.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe is quirky and delightfully droll.

Arthur, Ford, Zaphod, Trillion, and Marvin were separated for much of their adventures this time around (mostly time travelling instead of actually roaming the galaxy in this book), so they interacted with an assortment of new and bizarre characters. (The ruler of the Universe was especially hilarious)

Marvin is my favorite character so I'm not what to do with his ending. Was it really an end?

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe is just as entertaining as its predecessor. I'll definitely be moving on the the next book. And hopefully Marvin!

Mi problema principal con este libro es que he desconectado de la historia enseguida, porque creo que se desvía mucho de la trama principal y en ocasiones no sabía situarme en la escena.

Ninguno de los personajes nuevos me ha parecido especialmente digno de mención, casi pensaba que estaban robando páginas a los principales, que realmente si aportan algo.

Quizás no he sabido pillarle el punto o quizás no haya sido el momento.

3.5
Ristorante al termine dell’ Universo, el restaurante del fin del mundo en español, es la segunda entrega de “Guía del autoestopista galáctico” por Douglas Adams. Creo que me ha gustado un pelín más que la primera parte.

La historia sigue tan absurda como filosófica. Los protagonistas vagan por la galaxia buscando respuestas sobre el sentido del universo al mismo tiempo que les ocurren situaciones bastantes peculiares. Algunas he de admitir que me han hecho reír, además en vez de diálogos entre dos o más personas civilizadas parecía más bien una conversación (como se diría coloquialmente) de besugos.

Tengo que ponerle una pega: la única mujer en la historia, Trillian, y la pobre no tiene sino una o dos escenas. Hasta Marvin tiene más que ella. Qué triste, más que un personaje principal me parece una estatua. A ver si en las siguientes entregas tiene un poco más de protagonismo, aunque una parte de mí no se espera mucho…

En cuanto al nivel de italiano, pensé que me iba a costar más. Si es verdad que han habido un par de capítulos que no entendía nada al principio, sin embargo, después de releer los párrafos tres y cuatro veces me di cuenta que el problema no era ni yo el idioma sino el contexto. Me explico: era tan absurdo que no había por donde cogerlo, ni siquiera en español.

Voy para el tercero. Sigo en italiano. A ver que me encuentro...

Douglas Adams’ hilarious chronicle of Zaphod, Ford, Trillion, Arthur – and Marvin the Paranoid Android keeps a’ rollin’ in this 1980 sequel to his epochal The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Center stage is Adams’ brilliant humor and he continues on with more explorations of his magnificent world building.

We are introduced to Hotblack Desiato and Disaster Area, one of my favorite characters from when I read this the first time decades ago. Disaster Area is the most successful rock band of all time, and by far the loudest as their concerts are frequently banned due to geotectonic concerns. Hotblack joins a host of other memorable characters and scenes from this thoroughly entertaining novel.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams is the continuing installment of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It’s witty and sarcastic at some point. The whimsical part of the story is still the universe. The unpredictable, quizzical questions and answers to Adams’s characters that also the same to readers, which is the most enticing and somehow frustrating. I don’t think I grasp all what Adams wants to say in the book, but the enjoyment is there when I was reading it. The hilarious characters (especially Zaphod)have made the most preposterous circumstances seem to be natural to their daily life. I think some scenes in the story must have serious subjects such as Zaphod and Zarniwoop have met the ruler of the universe; Arthur and Ford both have landed on the prehistoric earth. Golgafrinchans Are the ancestors of modern humans. Arthur subconsciously pulled letter tiles from the scribbles, it is "What do you get if you multiply six by nine?" the answer is Forty Two.

More adventures and planets in this book, more questions about the universe. I think the book as the previous installment are existential Science Fiction. Alway questioning the position in the universe, the nature of universes and what is the meaning of life. This book is Definitely a fun book to read; after finished the book, you might enquire yourself what is the matter of universes.

Esta segunda parte de la serie de Douglas Adams mantiene el nivel de la primera en todos los sentidos. Desde las primeras páginas ya es difícil contener las carcajadas. Los diálogos sencillamente geniales y los personajes más disparatados que podrías imaginar hacen de este libro una lectura rapidísima y muy satisfactoria. Los continuos viajes en el tiempo y el espacio y las paradojas que derivan de ellos conducen a los protagonistas por una serie de situaciones inverosímiles y desternillantes. La Energía de Improbabilidad Infinita volverá a hacer de las suyas.

"Uno de los problemas fundamentales en los viajes a través del tiempo no consiste en que uno se convierta por accidente en su propio padre o en su madre. En el hecho de convertirse en su propio padre o en su propia madres no existen problemas que una familia bien ajustada y de mentalidad abierta no pueda solucionar."

Reseña completa y mi versión de la portada en http://sidumbledorefueralibrero.com/2...

Meh, with a side of disappointment.

The first one was terrific. It was unique and unusual and absurd and audacious. It made me smile and shake my head--sometimes at the same time.

But this ... this was just a sequel.

Many artists have stumbled when trying to match the magic conjured by their muses. Many sequels are merely measures of duplication thrown into a blender with something added for colour--green, perhaps.

This, while being a shruggably nice try, equates mostly to having a mediocre dessert served after a scrumptious main course. Can a pastry with a hasty dollop of whipped cream ever come close to a thick, juicy, peppered steak? Of course not. I can't imagine the subsequent desserts provided by Douglas Adams will satiate my appetite for that first course he provided. I might still have room, though.