The Restaurant at the End of the Universe [Mass Market Paperback]

Douglas Adams (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 27, 1995 | Series: Hitchhiker's Trilogy (Book 2)

"DOUGLAS ADAMS IS A TERRIFIC SATIRIST."
--The Washington Post Book World
Facing annihilation at the hands of the warlike Vogons is a curious time to have a craving for tea. It could only happen to the cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his curious comrades in arms as they hurtle across space powered by pure improbability--and desperately in search of a place to eat.
Among Arthur's motley shipmates are Ford Prefect, a longtime friend and expert contributor to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the three-armed, two-headed ex-president of the galaxy; Tricia McMillan, a fellow Earth refugee who's gone native (her name is Trillian now); and Marvin, the moody android who suffers nothing and no one very gladly. Their destination? The ultimate hot spot for an evening of apocalyptic entertainment and fine dining, where the food (literally) speaks for itself.
Will they make it? The answer: hard to say. But bear in mind that the Hitchhiker's Guide deleted the term "Future Perfect" from its pages, since it was discovered not to be!
"What's such fun is how amusing the galaxy looks through Adams' sardonically silly eyes."
--Detroit Free Press

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Warning! This second volume in the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series is definitely not a standalone book. Enjoying, or even understanding, the continuing adventures of Earthling Arthur Dent, his strange pal Ford Prefect, and the very, very odd Zaphod Beeblebrox requires previous study and preparation. Confusion and possible insanity awaits the poor soul who tries to figure out the second title without having read the first. Arthur and Ford, having survived the destruction of Earth by surreptitiously hitching a ride on a Vogon constructor ship, have been kicked off that ship by its commander. Now they find themselves aboard a stolen Improbability Drive ship commanded by Beeblebrox, ex-president of the Imperial Galactic Government and full-time thief. Narrated by Adams, this production is a treat for fans of the late author and others who enjoy British comedy. Be sure to buy all five parts of the "Hitchhiker" series or your patrons will storm your office. One caveat: this audiobook will need to be repackaged for library circulation.
Barbara Rhodes, Northeast Texas Lib. Syst., Garland
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“Douglas Adams is a terrific satirist.”—Washington Post Book World

“What’s such fun is how amusing the galaxy looks through Adams’s sardonically silly eyes.”—Detroit Free Press



From the Trade Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey; 1ST edition (September 27, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345391810
• ISBN-13: 978-0345391810
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.7 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (181 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #250,245 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Douglas Adams (1952-2001) was the much-loved author of the Hitchhiker's Guides, all of which have sold more than 15 million copies worldwide.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#29 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction

#44 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Science Fiction

#71 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#76 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Action & Adventure

#87 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure

#29 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction

#44 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Science Fiction

#71 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#76 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Action & Adventure

#87 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars How do you follow up a work of genius.....? March 7, 2005

By Amanda Richards HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

.... With more of the same.

While not so good as a stand alone (you'll be lost in time & space without the background of Book 1), this second in the umpteen-part, increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy tries even harder than the first to laser your funny bone.

Seems that the thing we call (ultimately to be used-to-call) Earth is really just a mighty big supercomputer, built to work out the ultimate question to the ultimate answer, 42. Like all expensive software however, just before it actually does whatever it's supposed to do, it crashes - in this case due to the hacker Vogons and their total annihilation programme. Unlike your regular hard drive, two bits escape to byte another day, and we continue their story.

In one of the many funny lines from the book, Zaphod Beeblebrox remarks, "I am so hip I have difficulty seeing over my pelvis". This book is just as hip.

Our heroes are aboard their Improbability Driven spaceship, when Arthur Dent happens to tie up all the computer circuits just when the Vogons are launching an attack. Zaphod decides its time to see dead people, and with a strange twist, he and miserable Marvin, the depressed computer, disappear, while Arthur takes a tea break.

Zaphod materializes elsewhere and immediately starts looking for the man who rules the Universe, while Marvin continues to depress and be depressed. In my humble opinion, Marvin is the star of this book, but I digress.

After having his sense of perspective sorely tested, Zaphod improbably conjures a happy reunion, although this leaves him sadly out of pocket. Deciding that they should find the nearest place to eat, their ship's computer zaps them to Milliways, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

From this half-way point, the book takes off on a fresh tangent of humor, floor shows, loud rock bands, talking meat, and wicked vehicles - that is, until the universe ends.

Then the humor starts all over again.

A very worthy follow up to the famous first.

Amanda Richards, March 7, 2005

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Zarking Great! June 19, 2000

By Zephyr Greene

Format:Mass Market Paperback

In the beginning, The Hitchhiker's Giude to the Galaxy was written. This made a lot of people happy and is generally regarded as a good move.

Some time later, it was followed up (by a sequel). This also made a few people ("The people...the things..." "The things are also people," hissed Ford. "The people...the...other people...") very pleased. I am among them. DNA is an excellent writer and this book is perfect alone, after its predecessor, or with a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. Brilliant satire, wonderful characters, and the depressed droning of our favourite Paranoid Android all contribute beautifully to a work of sheer unadultered weirdness. I'd reccomend reading HHGG first to all newcomers to the HHGG trilogy, but if you've already read the first in the series the best way to follow it up is by reading the second. Or by stopping for lunch at Milliways--The Restaurant at the End of the Universe! (But don't forget your towel!)

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Even better than a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster December 14, 2002

By Daniel Jolley HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe begins where The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy left off, only Zaphod Beeblebrox's idea of stopping for dinner at the aforementioned restaurant is delayed a bit (or an incredibly long bit, depending on your upcoming temporal location). Having escaped the legendary planet Magrathea without having been killed by intergalactic policemen or, in the case of Arthur Dent, having his brain slicked up and studied for the inherent Question of the Life, the Universe, and Everything which is undoubtedly hardwired into it somewhere, the hoopiest cast of space travelers in the galaxy thought their troubles were over, or at least greatly lessened. They were completely wrong. The Vogon ship that destroyed the earth shows up to destroy the last two remnants of that now-dead world, namely Arthur Dent and Trillian McMillian. Unfortunately, Arthur's increasingly strident demands for a cup of real tea have the entire computer system on board the Heart of Gold focused on that task rather than anything as silly as escaping imminent destruction. This is just the beginning of this particular set of adventures. Other highlights include a visit by Zaphod's dead great-grandfather, a night of drinks and food at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Zaphod's experience inside the universally-feared Total Perspective Vortex, a trip in the mega-rock band Danger Area's stunt ship into a sun, a meeting with the real Ruler of the Universe, and a return trip to the Earth-sort of.

Nobody crams as much comedy per page as Douglas Adams. While The Restaurant at the End of the Universe isn't quite as amazing as its predecessor, this is only because its predecessor was so amazingly original and different from everything that came before it. The satire Adams employs, often quite subtle, is as brilliant as always; anyone who reads this book will laugh, but only some will realize that he/she is really laughing at himself and the absurdity of human life that Adams is playing off of. These characters are more real to me than many of the people I know in real life. Best of all, they don't change: Arthur Dent remains the rather bemused, clueless soul he has always been; Ford Prefect is just Ford, only more so; Zaphod-well, Zaphod's just this guy, you know; and poor longsuffering Marvin the Paranoid Android is still the most depressing (yet hilarious) robotically engineered life form in the galaxy. If these crazy characters and Adams' brilliantly comedic narrative don't make you laugh, you would be well advised to don a pair of Joo Janta 200 Super-Chromatic Peril Sensitive Sunglasses because you are headed smack dab into big trouble indeed.