The first book is genuinely funny, top class work from Douglas Adams. The (sequel) long dark tea time of the soul, however, while having some novel ideas, felt disjointed and just frustrated me. On the whole though, Dirk Gently is a fantastic character and the plots for these books were so extraordinary I just couldn't help but read on.

Now I know why you never hear as much about Dirk Gently as you do of Arthur Dent. These two books were kind of fun and smart in the Douglas Adams-way but the stories never really took off. The twists were too sudden and the endings a bit too deus ex machinae. When there is time-traveling and Gods in the mix there are not many restrictions to what you can do with the story, but I think that it would have been wise not to let those things completely overrule the gist of the story. Adams is a fantastic storyteller and it feels like this fact gets obscured by all the disorder in Dirk Gentlys crazed realities.

I bought this because I had read hitchicker's guide. It didn't disapoint. Funny and witty. It kept me wondering what would happen next. The Gods bit in the second book didn't feel like something new or fresh, but that's because I've read to much Neil Gaiman, I think. ;-)

Love Adams, he can do no wrong. Inventive, funny.... eminently readable.

Where the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is bizarre in an interesting way and funny, Dirk Gently is bizarre in a confusing way and humorous. But the problem of Dirk Gently is that Douglas Adams can't tell stories very well. Even when there is a plot, he doesn't know how to reveal / develop it to the reader. In the first Dirk Gently story, the plot was actually quite clever, but it didn't help, because it was revealed in one info dump close to the end. In Hitchhikers Guide, this doesn't cause much problems, as it isn't about telling stories or having a gripping plot. Dirk Gently tries to be a real detective story in addition to being humorous, and it falls badly short.

En masse Douglas Adams humor, men det er som, at plottet meget hurtigt afrundes i begge historier, hvor der måske burde være et par ekstra trin.

Quirky Sci Fi is my thing

Douglas Adam's is forever one of my favorite authors. His writing style is entertaining and unexpected. His books make me think, and also make me chuckle! What a lovely mix!

Dirk Gently ... what can I say about Dirk Gently ... well, to be honest, I read this book only because it was written by Douglas Adams. As a huge fan of h2g2, I was expecting something awesome.

What I got was ... okay. Not awesome, perhaps great, definitely okay. There are aspects of Dirk Gently that I find appealing. I enjoyed the geometric conundrum of the sofa, and the Electric Monk, but found other parts a little too bizarre to be enjoyable.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. We are talking about an author once affiliated with the Pythons, who are a shining example of how bizarre British humour can be (and don't love them for it). It doesn't necessarily work as well in a book.

So, I prefer h2g2 when I want to read something by Douglas Adams. Dirk Gently has its merits, but h2g2 feels more natural, more original, and just plain fun.

A great series, even if it was overshadowed by the Hitchhiker's Guide. It's a shame that Salmon of Doubt was never finished, because these characters definitely deserved their completed trilogy.

In a sense, Dirk Gently is more coherent that Hitchhiker's Guide, more like Life, the Universe, and Anything in the setup and payoff running throughout. It was Douglas Adams at the height of his powers.

Previse lupetanja

I could not finish this. The clever and witty circumlocution was killing me. It's like getting in a car and wanting to go somewhere but the driver keeps talking and missing his exit. Well written, just not my thing.

I feel like three stars is being stingy. This is a well-written book; it just either isn't my thing or I wasn't in the mood for it. I found myself only reading when I went to bed (a sure sign I'm bored with a book), and I never really felt connected to the characters. The humor is dry, but is definitely there. If you like stories about existential crises approached with humor, you will probably enjoy this story.