Writing a review of a set of books is much harder than writing a review of a single book. Especially when you've read the individual books years apart.

I remember reading the first Gently novel and being so amazed at how everything was so interconnected. The book was so clever and wonderfully funny in the Douglas Adams way. I think I'd give it 5 stars, but I might have to read it again.

The second novel though... Left me feeling unfulfilled. If that's the right word. The entire book seemed to be a set up for a few jokes, which I think is very interesting, though mostly the ending was just nostalgic of the beginning. In a way that Dirk has no real character arc, the novel doesn't either. It was a fun read and was very well written, up until the end which wrapped up a bit too neatly.

This is probably a terribly written review, and that's mostly because I'm terribly confused about my feelings for these books.

Great! We miss you Douglas.

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency: I tried reading this one aloud to H - she'd not read it before, apparently! However, as a read-aloud book it doesn't go so well as the description is convoluted and it's more amusing than laugh-out-loud funny (like the Discworld books). However, from my point of view, it's an astoundingly clever book and if you are re-reading it for the Nth time like me, spotting all the interconnectedness of all things before the explanation just proves how very clever Adams was when he wrote this. The technology mentioned by name (computers, mostly), of course, is severely dated but was quite cutting edge in the late 80's when this was published. A wonderful clever read, but you've really got to read it twice (and knowing your Coleridge poetry also helps)

The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul: We didn't read this aloud, I just read it by myself. This book is not quite so twistedly clever as the first one, but it's got a rollickingly good story that although being more linear that DGHDA still has enough unusual mysteries to keep you wondering. I do think the resolution is somewhat weak and not having Dirk & Kate meet up at the end again is a bit disappointing. However, it's still quite enjoyable and reading these two books together is certainly worth it.

It also makes me feel somewhat disappointed that the two Dirk Gently TV series that were made strayed so wildly from their source material. They were both good in their own way but they missed so much of the extreme cleverness of these two books.

Deep, dark and deliciously funny. A holistic whodunit in Douglas Adams' inimitable style. Great fun!