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paulmichaelpeters's review against another edition
4.0
Solid sequel. The first three books I have repeated a few times over the years. While not as good as the early part of the series, I did enjoy seeing these characters again and finding new and imaginative tellings of this galaxy. Colfer picks up this difficult challenge very well and I look forward to other works that may follow.
denglanzig's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Thoroughly disliked this.
lisamchuk's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.0
Ridiculous. Maybe too ridiculous - the author has managed to recreate the voice of the original, but maybe too well. The callbacks are fun (if you can keep them all in your head), but there are too many callbacks and too many Guide interruptions. Everyone and everything is here though, and it sounds like and ends like the first five books. But gosh I’m glad I can stop shaking my head and rolling my eyes.
emmagray13's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
pqtrick's review against another edition
2.0
Reads like a stand-up where all the jokes are jokes from another comedian. Kudos to Eoin Colfer for trying to keep the Hitchhiker's universe alive, but there's only one Douglas Adams.
angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
2.0
A fair effort and the beginning was fun with the characters and there was a smidgen of mimicry in the start that had me hoping for another Hitchhiker's adventure, but alas I just found Colfer no Adams. Just okay in the end. Nothing amazing. Certainly miss Douglas.
bellatap's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
It’s entertaining enough for being a book that often has me confused lol
aceinit's review against another edition
2.0
In theory, this book has everything required to make an excellent Hitchhiker's adventure: Ford, Arthur, everyone's favorite galactic president, Vogons and even Thor of the Aesir. Unfortunately, Colfer's addition to the series is a disappointment.
Though there were moments of genuine humor in the book, Adam's legendary wit is missing, and the prose comes off as dry and unentertaining. I was never drawn into this story the way I was with the original trilogy.
Colfer commits the unforgivable sin or "normalizing" Zaphod (who, in the interest of full disclosure is my favorite character in the series and one of my favorite charaters in all of literature). Gone is the 2-headed renegade President, replaced by a normal one-headed version. His surgically removed second head, suddenly elevated to genius level, has replaced Eddie as the interface for the Heart of Gold. And, given the imagery used to describe Left Brain's environment (Left Brain being the second head), I could not escape the visual of Futurama's head-in-a-jar.
Then there is Random Dent, Trillian and Arthur's teenaged daughter. I will freely admit to not reading the last two Hitchhiker's novels by Adams (I tried, but found them grossly unentertaining), so I will admit to knowing nothing about Random's character before going into this novel other than that she existed.
Random is the second biggest problem in this novel. After creating an alternate reality in which she grew up to become an apparently useful President of the Galaxy (and marrying what is, for all practical purposes, a telepathic hamster), Random emerges from her dream world to find herself a teen again. She then goes on to hold her parents resopnsible for all of their failings in her fictional world, making Trillian's life a living hell and reducing Trillian to an angsty, guilt-laden maternal cliché. Random is insufferable. Take every whiny, self-absorbed teen cliché and multiply it by the universe, and you will get the idea of how insufferable she is. I don't normally advocate violence but, seriously, someone needed to slap some sense into her at least once.
The biggest problem is the Guide itself. whereas Adams worked its information into the narrative flow with seemingly effortless grace, Colfer had chosen to completely (and frequently) halt the narrative to insert his Guide notes. At once point, during the climax, he writes that he will keep this particular interruption brief so as not to interrupt the flow of the story. This, to me, means he knows the interruptions are exactly that, which means he is also aware that they are probably annoying the readers. Not everything in the universe needs Guide entries, though Colfer seems to delight in throwing them at the reader.
The plot itself is adequate, though by no means exceptional, and Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged is an interesting addition to the cast. I would have liked to see more development of his relationship with Trillian, and more of him outside of his role as The Guy Who Insults Everyone. I mean, Trillian had to see something in him, right? As it stands, the entire romance is written up to a byproduct of accelerated hyperspace and, after some drama with Thor, everyone flies off into the sunset after an overly-prolonged series of goodbyes.
And Thor. Thor, Thor, Thor. Norse thunder gods shouldn’t be insecure, emo, mopey failed wannabe rockstars, mmm’kay. That’s all I’m gonna say about that. Because every time I think about it, my head starts to hurt just a little more.
Perhaps if the entries weren't quite so interruptive, so lengthy or a little more entertaining they would not have been such a nuisance. As things stand, I was barely skimming them by the second half of the novel, and skipping most of them entirely by the final 1/4.
Adams’s original trilogy is a masterpiece. I will admit that my hopes weren’t high going into this novel, though I was desperately hoping to be pleasantly surprised. I expected nothing more from Colfer than a pale imitation. Which is exactly what I received.
Though there were moments of genuine humor in the book, Adam's legendary wit is missing, and the prose comes off as dry and unentertaining. I was never drawn into this story the way I was with the original trilogy.
Colfer commits the unforgivable sin or "normalizing" Zaphod (who, in the interest of full disclosure is my favorite character in the series and one of my favorite charaters in all of literature). Gone is the 2-headed renegade President, replaced by a normal one-headed version. His surgically removed second head, suddenly elevated to genius level, has replaced Eddie as the interface for the Heart of Gold. And, given the imagery used to describe Left Brain's environment (Left Brain being the second head), I could not escape the visual of Futurama's head-in-a-jar.
Then there is Random Dent, Trillian and Arthur's teenaged daughter. I will freely admit to not reading the last two Hitchhiker's novels by Adams (I tried, but found them grossly unentertaining), so I will admit to knowing nothing about Random's character before going into this novel other than that she existed.
Random is the second biggest problem in this novel. After creating an alternate reality in which she grew up to become an apparently useful President of the Galaxy (and marrying what is, for all practical purposes, a telepathic hamster), Random emerges from her dream world to find herself a teen again. She then goes on to hold her parents resopnsible for all of their failings in her fictional world, making Trillian's life a living hell and reducing Trillian to an angsty, guilt-laden maternal cliché. Random is insufferable. Take every whiny, self-absorbed teen cliché and multiply it by the universe, and you will get the idea of how insufferable she is. I don't normally advocate violence but, seriously, someone needed to slap some sense into her at least once.
The biggest problem is the Guide itself. whereas Adams worked its information into the narrative flow with seemingly effortless grace, Colfer had chosen to completely (and frequently) halt the narrative to insert his Guide notes. At once point, during the climax, he writes that he will keep this particular interruption brief so as not to interrupt the flow of the story. This, to me, means he knows the interruptions are exactly that, which means he is also aware that they are probably annoying the readers. Not everything in the universe needs Guide entries, though Colfer seems to delight in throwing them at the reader.
The plot itself is adequate, though by no means exceptional, and Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged is an interesting addition to the cast. I would have liked to see more development of his relationship with Trillian, and more of him outside of his role as The Guy Who Insults Everyone. I mean, Trillian had to see something in him, right? As it stands, the entire romance is written up to a byproduct of accelerated hyperspace and, after some drama with Thor, everyone flies off into the sunset after an overly-prolonged series of goodbyes.
And Thor. Thor, Thor, Thor. Norse thunder gods shouldn’t be insecure, emo, mopey failed wannabe rockstars, mmm’kay. That’s all I’m gonna say about that. Because every time I think about it, my head starts to hurt just a little more.
Perhaps if the entries weren't quite so interruptive, so lengthy or a little more entertaining they would not have been such a nuisance. As things stand, I was barely skimming them by the second half of the novel, and skipping most of them entirely by the final 1/4.
Adams’s original trilogy is a masterpiece. I will admit that my hopes weren’t high going into this novel, though I was desperately hoping to be pleasantly surprised. I expected nothing more from Colfer than a pale imitation. Which is exactly what I received.
aurorabulgaris's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I don't even know what to write!.. Like genuinely, I don't know how many times this book needs reading to get to all the weird-a** details that make it as quirky and special as it is.
At times, I admit the weirdness was a bit much, for I got lost into it and forgot to pay attention to the plot.
It is however very entertaining so I'd recommend (re)reading it, potentially in conjunction with the actual Guide.
At times, I admit the weirdness was a bit much, for I got lost into it and forgot to pay attention to the plot.
It is however very entertaining so I'd recommend (re)reading it, potentially in conjunction with the actual Guide.