The Restaurant at the End of the Universe [Paperback]

Douglas Adams (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 23, 1997

Facing annihilation at the hands of the warlike Vogons? Time for a cup of tea! Join the cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his uncommon comrades in arms in their desperate search for a place to eat, as they hurtle across space powered by pure improbability.

Among Arthur’s motley shipmates are Ford Prefect, a long-time friend and expert contributer 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. Their destination? The ultimate hot spot for an evening of apocalyptic entertainment and fine dining, where the food speaks for itself (literally).

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!

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

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey (June 23, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345418921
• ISBN-13: 978-0345418920
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.7 x 8.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (183 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #104,524 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.

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

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

#70 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

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

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

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

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

#70 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

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

#86 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre 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 Read more ›

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. Read more ›

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Look for the other version read by the Author February 3, 2009

By Jay Lucas

Format:Audio CD

This was such a disappointment. Martin Freeman just has all the voices wrong. From the first moment I realized it was different. I gave it a chance. I tried to listen to it, but when Beeblebrox's Great Grandfather spoke in an American Southern accent, filled with screeches, I gave up. It's all wrong. The reader just doesn't seem to get the flavor of the work.

The audio version by the BBC with the reading by Douglas Adams, the author, is clearly worth the effort of looking for it.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars marvin's marvelous moment August 13, 2002

By NotATameLion

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Book two in the Hitchhiker's trilogy--"The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" is a very good follow up to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Very funny in its own right, it still fails to achieve the brilliance yet to come in Books three and four.

That said, I'll take not-yet-quite-absolutely brilliant writing by Douglas Adams any day over most of the writers out there.

Marvin is the big scene stealer of book two...he comes darn close to hijacking the whole story. His conversation with the tank-like robot from Frogstar is a piece of comedic writing for the ages. Were it not for the insanity of Zaphod, the brilliance of Adams' depressed robot might stolen the whole show.

But oh--the mighty creation that is Zaphod Beeblebrox. Literature rarely produces such maniacal, unforgettable characters. His disdain for Arthur, his asides to Ford, his complete ineptitude in dealing with Trillian, and most of all--his strained relations with his ancestors. No, Marvin steals some scenes here...but this is Zaphod's book.

The range of Adams' satiric gifts never fails to astound me. The scene in Milliways speaks more effectively to the human condition than many sets of other volumes ever could. We all sit at the edge of oblivion every day. Are we to be mere spectators? Or will we work to create something more?

I give "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" my heartfelt recommendation.