I came across these excellent series of books the way I come across most things in life : Through sheer chance. One day , while watching Mastermind India on BBC world , the specialized topic of one participant was “ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series “. Vaguely intrigued with this topic ( who wouldn’t be after other topics such as “ Ocean currents of the world “ and the like !) I tried to make some sense of the questions that were being asked , but to no avail . So , I decide to go over to the bookstore and find out for myself about the book .
Well , I’m happy to say that this is indeed one of the funniest books I have ever read . This is the first of the five in the series. For those of you unfamiliar with the series , the story goes something like this : After a mix-up at the Galactic Hyperspace Planning Council , the earth is scheduled for demolition to make way for a hyper spatial expressway . Sadly , the earth is indeed demolished and only two entities survive: Arthur Dent and his alien friend Ford Perfect , who manage to hitch a ride on a passing alien ship. Together , they begin a journey through space , aided by the trusty “Hitchhiker’s Guide” , which has “ Don’t Panic “ Written in large , friendly , letters on the cover . On the way , they are joined by a host of other characters including Zaphod Beeblebrox , the 2 –headed, 3 armed , ex-hippie fugitive president of the Galaxy ; Trillian , his girlfriend who he picked up on Earth ( albeit while wearing a disguise ) and Marvin a depressed android.
Along the way they find out about who really made the earth , their purpose in the Universe , and the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life , The Universe and everything ( which , by the way , is in fact 42).
This is probably the only sci-fi book to have made me laugh out loud . While other writers get bogged down with boring details , or attempt to give explanations for the phenomenon/ gadgets, Douglas Adams has no qualms about just dreaming up the weirdest devices he can think of and not bothering to explain afterwards . Gadgets you will come across include The Heart of Gold , the first ship to be fitted with an Improbability Drive which can do anything in the entire universe , providing you know how improbable the event is . Others include The Sub-etha Sens-o-matic ( kind of like an PDA + Mobile phone … what’s interesting is that this book was written in 1980, way before these two devices) and the Electronic thumb .
The book is filled with pointless incidents that seem to make the plot go everywhere and then nowhere. But the real talent of Adams comes to light when every one of these incidents fall into place like some kind of jigsaw puzzle. The entire book is written in a humorous vein , which is very rare for the sci-fi book . The humour ranges from the slapstick to the sublime with every variation thrown in for good measure . Sample these gems :
“…..I don’t’ go around gratuitously shooting people and then bragging about it afterwards , like some cops I could mention ! I go around shooting people gratuitously and then I agonize about it afterward for hours to my girlfriend !”
” And I write novels !”chimed in the other cop. ”Though I haven’t had any of them published yet , so I better warn you , I’m in a mean mood!”
Ford thought about this .
“Well , did you say it or didn’t you ?”
” I think so “ said Arthur
“Well perhaps we’re both going mad”
”Yes “ , said Arthur , “ we’d be mad , al things considered to think that this is Southend.”
“ Well, do you think that this is Southed?”
“Oh yes”
“ So do I “
“ Therefore we must be mad”
“Nice day for it “
“Yes” said a passing maniac.
Perhaps the only down points of this book is that it is a little too short ( About 200 pages) and a bit silly at places . If you are interested in serious type of science fiction ( Arthur C. Clarke , Asimov et al ) you probably wont find this to your taste . However if its humour and laughs with a sci-fi edge you’re looking for , you will be hard pressed to find anything funnier in the entire genre .
Post Script: I am sorry to say that Douglas Adams will not be writing any more books . He died last year on 11 May , 2001 at the age of 49 .