#132. LIFE, THE UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING By Douglas Adams

Published : 1982
Pages : 174
Overall Mark : 8/10

Only five individuals stand between the killer robots of Krikkit and their goal of the total annihilation of the universe: Arthur Dent, homeless Englishman, currently marooned in the deep past; Ford Prefect, temporarily insane to see if he likes it, also marooned; Slartibartfast, once of Magrathea; Zaphod Beeblebrox, ex-confidence trickster and part-time galactic president; and Trillian, mathematician and astrophysicist, last seen fleeing the Ruler of the Universe. In other words: we’re doomed.

DOUGLAS ADAMS (1952-2001)
Born in Cambridge, Douglas Adams is best known for the BBC Radio series (later novel, TV series and film) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He also developed the game Starship Titanic, wrote the Dirk Gently series of books, and was a script writer on Doctor Who. A committed environmentalist, Adams campaigned actively on behalf of endangered species and – with naturalist Mark Carwardine – produced Last Chance to See, a radio series and book highlighting species on the brink of extinction.

VERDICT
Unlike the previous two books, this instalment of the Hitchhiker's Guide has a standalone plot involving a group of alien robots that want to destroy the universe. This makes it a much tighter story line on the whole, even though it isn't quite as entertaining. The fact that Marvin isn't really in the book that much might be partly responsible, as might the decreased presence of Zaphod, but fans of the series will thoroughly enjoy what should have been the concluding instalment of the trilogy.