Wednesday 1 October 2014

#130. THE RESTAURANT AT THE END OF THE UNIVERSE By Douglas Adams

Published : 1980
Pages : 192
Overall Mark : 8/10

If your planet has just been destroyed, your best friend turns out to be from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse (and not Guildford, as you’d thought), and you find yourself in the company of a two-headed man who also happens to be president of the galaxy, and a beautiful girl you utterly failed to connect with at a party in a city that no longer exists… you probably shouldn’t be surprised to find yourself having breakfast at Milliways, the Restaurant at the end of the Universe…

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
The first sequel to the incredibly popular The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy kicks off right where the first book ended. The writing is just as witty, the characters are just as silly, and the scenarios are just as over the top and filled with the kind of detail that works best on paper or if you visualise it for yourself – the big screen could never do them justice. Fans of the original will relish in gaining more information about why Zaphod wiped his memory, while Arthur continues his pursuit of the perfect cup of tea.