4 out of 5 stars
By Diane H.
The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was written in the 1980s by a creative man named Douglas Adams. It is a trilogy in five parts containing The Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; The Restaurant at the End of the Universe; Life, the Universe and Everything; Mostly Harmless and So Long and Thanks for all the Fish.The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy opens with a brief history of the Guide, before moving to the story of a man named Arthur Dent. He is simply sitting at home just before he realizes that his house is about to be demolished. He gets into an altercation with the demolisher, who, coincidentally, is a descendant of Genghis Khan, and both men reach an impasse with Arthur sitting in the mud, and the demolition man trying to tear down his house.
Meanwhile, a friend of Arthur’s has received news on his Sub-Etha Sens-O-Matic not only that a spaceship is in the area, but also that planet Earth is approximately twelve minutes from destruction. Ford Prefect drags Arthur Dent to the bar for a drink and waits for the world to end. And it does: Earth is demolished in order to make way for a new hyperspace bypass.
On the other side of the Galaxy, Zaphod Beeblebrox, the President of the Imperial Galactic Government, is holding a ceremony for the christening of the newest ship, The Heart of Gold. It uses an Infinite Improbability Drive to determine where it goes. This means that it operates by calculating the improbability of a given thing, feeds that figure into the machine, and just lets it work its magic. Meanwhile, back on Earth, or where Earth used to be, Arthur Dent has hitched a ride on the spaceship that blew up his planet. Now, he is about to start the adventure of his life.
What makes this series so good is the way everything connects. Not a single detail mentioned is insignificant, every tidbit has a way of connecting to the over-arching story. This grand story reveals that those things we wouldn’t ever expect to happen, do happen, and nothing is ever what it seems. There is always so much more to know. But we must learn to accept the way things are, and luckily even the unhappiest of situations have a solution. This book teaches the readers acceptance, makes us laugh and helps us to relax for a bit. This is a book I would definitely recommend. Douglas Adams creates a universe where anything can happen!
