The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series by Douglas Adams is a unique blend of absurdist humor and science fiction, beginning with the misadventures of Arthur Dent, an ordinary man whose life is upended when he discovers his friend Ford Prefect is an alien researcher. The series explores themes of existentialism and the search for meaning, famously presenting "forty-two" as the answer to life, the universe, and everything, while creating a satirical lens on modern society. Starting as a radio show in the 1970s, it has expanded into novels, television adaptations, and more, gaining acclaim for its irreverent approach and witty dialogue.
The narrative unfolds across five novels, where Arthur and a colorful cast of characters, including Zaphod Beeblebrox and Trillian, navigate bizarre situations involving the destruction of Earth and encounters with eccentric beings. Each installment introduces new challenges, from the end of the universe viewed over dinner to Arthur's quest for understanding on a replacement Earth. The series concludes with increasingly complex plots that challenge notions of reality and existence, positioning it as a significant and lasting work in speculative fiction that continues to resonate with readers of all ages.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams
First published:The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979), The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980), Life, the Universe, and Everything (1982; with the first two novels as The Hitchhiker’s Trilogy, 1983), So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (1984; with the first three novels as The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy in Four Parts, 1986, in Great Britain and as The Hitchhiker’s Quartet, 1986, in the United States), The More than Complete Hitchhiker’s Guide: Five Stories (1987; contains the first four novels and a related short story, “Young Zaphod Plays It Safe”), Mostly Harmless (1992), and The Original Hitchhiker Radio Scripts (1985)
Subjects: Friendship, nature, and travel
Type of work: Novels
Type of plot: Adventure tale, fantasy, and science fiction
Time of work: The early 1980’s, the end of time, and prehistory
Recommended Ages: 10-18
Locale: England, an alternative Earth, and various alien spaceships, habitats, and planets
Principal Characters:
Arthur Dent , a middle-aged Englishman taken on the journey of his life from the end of the universe to prehistoric Earth and various times and places in-betweenFord Prefect , an alien “from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse” who is a roving researcher for the guide and who helps Arthur acclimate to the craziness of the universeZaphod Beeblebrox , the two-headed former President of the Galaxy and pilferer of the spaceshipHeart of Gold Trillian , the only other human survivor of the original planet Earth and pilot of theHeart of Gold Marvin , the Paranoid Android, a robot with a personality who accompanies Arthur, Ford, Trillian, and Zaphod through most of their travelsSlartibartfast , one of many designers of the original Earth and another friend and guide to ArthurDeep Thought , the computer that answered the question of life, the universe, and everything and then designed the computer to provide the questionFenchurch , Arthur’s girlfriend on the second EarthRandom Dent , the daughter Arthur never knew he had
Form and Content
Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series brings the absurdity of Franz Kafka and the comedy of the Three Stooges into the realm of science fiction. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy sets the tone for the entire series: Arthur Dent is taken from his sedentary life in a small English town and, in the space of an hour, learns his best friend is actually an alien and researcher for the series’ eponymous travel guide, witnesses the destruction of his home for a highway and then of the Earth for the construction of a hyperspace express route, is taught how to sneak onto the spaceship of his planet’s destroyers, learns that Ford Prefect’s fifteen years on the planet produced an entry about it in the guide of exactly two words (“Mostly harmless”), is forced to listen to the captain’s dangerously bad poetry, and is promptly, along with Ford, kicked out an airlock and into open space. The novel goes on to detail the search by aliens from a higher dimension for the answer to life, the universe, and everything, the answer given by the supercomputer Deep Thought being “forty-two.” The book ends with Arthur, Ford, and their friends Trillian and Zaphod Beeblebrox, who rescued them from certain death, meeting Slartibartfast, a planet designer. They learn that the Earth was in fact a computer designed to produce, after ten million years, the question to go with the answer and that it was destroyed five minutes before the question was finally to be calculated.
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe begins with the group on the Heart of Gold fleeing an attack and ending up at the restaurant of the title. There, they witness the destruction of the universe in the “Gnab Gib” (“Big Bang” backward) over dinner and a floor show. After the universe ends, they steal a ship that time warps them back to the rock concert of all rock concerts, where they learn that their ship is to produce the grand finale’s light show by diving into a star. Escaping this mess divides the group: Arthur and Ford end up on a ship of colonists about to crash into the Earth several million years before their own time; Trillian and Zaphod Beeblebrox go to meet the man who runs the galaxy and learn that he knows nothing outside the four walls of his cabin.
Life, the Universe, and Everything commences with Arthur and Ford again meeting up with Slartibartfast, this time to help him stave off the return of the robots of Krikkit, an evil force out to rescue their masters from their time-envelope prison. All of Arthur’s friends are eventually reunited, and the ending of the original trilogy is the saving of the universe and the destruction of the Krikkit robots.
In So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, Arthur hitchhikes to a planet and learns that it is in fact the Earth (although without the dolphins), a disconcerting fact to a survivor of its destruction. He meets Fenchurch, a woman who also realizes that something is strange, and the two go in search of the answer. They learn that the Earth was destroyed, but that the dolphins found a replacement Earth and switched everything just as the first planet was destroyed, leaving behind the final message that is the novel’s title. Arthur and Fenchurch find the planet holding God’s last message to his creations: “We apologize for the inconvenience.”
Mostly Harmless ends the series with Arthur meeting the daughter he has not yet had and Ford trying to track down why the newest edition of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is producing strange events. What ensues is an alien plot to control the galaxy and the ultimate, final destruction of the universe.
Critical Context
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series is a seminal work precisely because of its irrepressible irreverence. Originally a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) radio show in the 1970’s that was made into a BBC television production in the early 1980’s, the series has also appeared as radio transcripts (in 1985) as well as in an illustrated version of the first novel (in 1994). While the series has received much acclaim, two other comic novels by Adams, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency (1987) and The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (1988), have not received much fan support despite critical attention. In whole or part, this reaction can be attributed to the almost addictive pleasure of reading his other works. The latter books also contain interesting ideas to ponder, but in a more fantastic, supernatural setting. At their best, Adams’ novels are insightful reading for children of all ages and levels of maturity.