You have to admire a book that answers the question of life, the universe and everything.

Of course it can't _also_ give you the question, because if both the ultimate question and the ultimate answer were to exist in the same reality, they would cancel each other out and take the universe with them.

_Life, the Universe and Everything_ is another delightful joy-ride through the galaxy, full of the same zany exploits and laugh-out-loud humor as the first two books in the series, the _Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_ and _Restaurant at the End of the Universe_.

It opens with Arthur Dent screaming - but not to worry, it's just his everyday first-thing-in-the-morning screaming which he does every time he wakes up and remembers where he is - stranded on prehistoric Earth, living in a cave. He kills a rabbit and makes it's skin into a pouch to carry interesting stones in, and then finally decides he's had enough of this sort of life and resolves to go mad. Just then Ford Prefect, his alien friend who can never seem to desert Arthur for long, shows up, with a plan to get them back to their own time via eddies in the time stream.

"Oh, he is, is he?" asks Arthur, on whom the entire concept is completely lost.

Nevertheless, after chasing a Chesterfield sofa through a meadow, Ford and Arthur manage to travel through time and wind up at a cricket game on present day Earth (or Earth a few days before it's destruction at the opening of _Hitchhiker's Guide_.)

Arthur is overjoyed at finally being home again, but it doesn't last long as lethal white robots from the planet Krikkit attack them.

It turns out the planet Krikkit has been waging a bloody war against the rest of the universe, trying to kill everyone, and that the game cricket is really the result of a sort of genetic memory past down through the human race (which the rest of the galaxy believes to be in very bad taste.) Arthur and Ford are reunited with Slartibartfast and reluctantly join him on a quest to save the universe from the planet Krikkit and its vendetta against all of creation.

Trillian, Zaphod and Marvin all return to take part in the adventure. As well, _Life_ introduces a series of hilarious new concepts, such as Slartibartfast's space ship which runs on "Bistromathic Drive" - on the premise that math used in a restaurant is so wildly different from any other kind of math used anywhere else in reality that when harnessed, it is, in fact, capable of powering and directing a space ship.

There is also an immortal alien who has made it his mission to personally insult every living being in the galaxy in alphabetical order, and another alien with a very big grudge against Arthur Dent. Remember the bowl of petunias from _Hitchhiker's Guide_? Remember the poor rabbit Arthur skinned to make a pouch for collecting interesting stones in? There's a problem with the whole reincarnation thing, and this is it.

As with all of Adam's books the writing is cheerful and fun, full of hilarious turns of phrase and analogies and moments of clever insight. This book is a fantastic conclusion to the story started in _Hitchhiker's Guide_, and the next book in the series, _So Long and Thanks for All the Fish_, is the perfect coda (but more on that later.) One of my all-time favorites, 5/5 stars. ( )

The continuing saga of the Hitchhikers trilogy. Here is another laugh riot volume of space travel lunacy from the master of sci-fi humor, Douglas Adams. What more can be said of his work that hasn't already been said. If you haven't read the series, it is time you did. ( )

Throw yourself at the ground and miss. If you can't, don't whine about it.

Unfortunately the third Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book is nowhere near as entertaining as the first two installments. The tone of it changes considerably to somewhat this side of maudlin, apart from the odd entertaining piece like the flying, and insulting the galaxy in order, or a bit of Clockwork Orange inspired cricket.

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2007/07... ( )

Not Free SF Reader: Throw yourself at the ground and miss. If you can't, don't whine about it.

Unfortunately the third Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book is nowhere near as entertaining as the first two installments. The tone of it changes considerably to somewhat this side of maudlin, apart from the odd entertaining piece like the flying, and insulting the galaxy in order, or a bit of Clockwork Orange inspired cricket.

The third book of the Hitchhiker series leaves behind the satirical vignettes format of the previous two books in favor of a bland makeshift plot about saving the galaxy. Featuring cricket and some annoying, unsatisfying prose. ( )