The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Written by Douglas Adams
Narrated by Stephen Fry
4.5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
--The Boston Globe
Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.
Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox--the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.
Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? Why do we spend so much time between wearing digital watches? For all the answers stick your thumb to the stars. And don't forget to bring a towel!
"[A] WHIMSICAL ODYSSEY...Characters frolic through the galaxy with infectious joy."
--Publishers Weekly
Editor's Note
Life, the universe & 42...
Stephen Fry’s narration is the perfect complement to this cultural touchstone, bringing to searing life this quintessentially irreverent, absurd & hilarious scifi novel.
Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams created all the various and contradictory manifestations of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: radio, novels, TV, computer game, stage adaptations, comic book and bath towel. He lectured and broadcast around the world and was a patron of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and Save the Rhino International. Douglas Adams was born in Cambridge, UK and lived with his wife and daughter in Islington, London, before moving to Santa Barbara, California, where he died suddenly in 2001.
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Reviews for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
1,500 ratings46 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I re-read the first novel to disccuss on a podcast, and though I do love it so, my favorite versions of all of these stories are the audio dramas, the first two series of which came before the novels.Endlessly inventive, timeless, deeply funny.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Re-reading these all in one go made me realise how much better the first book is than the other three. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is an absolute modern classic, and So Long And Thanks For All The Fish is great as well, but I found the other two rather more hit-or-miss this time round. This omnibus edition has a distracting number of typos in it - I don't know whether the same's true of the individually published books, but this one certainly needs a good copy-edit.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Much funnier than the movie. Adams is a witty writer. It had me laughing out loud on my commute.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A trilogy in four parts - its took four parts to get all the jokes in. The first two are brilliant the second two just great. A great read. The BBC TV serie was wonderful and captured the tone of the books so well. Its a pity we didn't learn more about the the dolphins in the last book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I thought I had read all of these as they came out, as well as listened to the radio series at the time, but over the years I've lost all the individual books, so was glad to buy this combined volume. I've been reading this on and off for about six months; I saved the final book until an opportune moment. I thought it would all be re-reading, but much of "So Long..." seemed entirely new to me - if I have read it before my memory has completely failed me. It was all magically entertaining and so, so easy to read and yet so full of ideas. A treasure. And now I realise I don't have a copy of "Mostly Harmless" and need to acquire one forthwith.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5DON'T PANIC.Those are the words inscribed in large friendly characters on the cover of the most useful book for hitchhikers in the galaxy, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". No Earth man ever read such book, no company even published it. Nevertheless, it is a remarkable book.Wow, this novel might be the wackiest novel I've ever read. Imagine this: You're having a bad day because your house is going to be knocked down by bulldozers for the sake of a bypass. Suddenly, your eccentric friend forced you to a nearest bar to tell you that the Earth is going to be destroyed in a matter of minutes for the sake of a hyperspace bypass.The hitchhiking journey then starts....with improbable (not too mention kinda freakish yet super-cool) events. You could meet bureaucratic aliens whose poems are the last thing you want to hear, robots who have feelings (including one Paranoid Android. Hah! Now I know where Radiohead got that title) and so on. You could even discover the truth. Is human the most intelligent being on Earth? Who created the Earth and why? Ultimately, you might find the answer to the Great Question of Life... the Universe.... and everything....*staring blankly*Sci-fi plus space adventure multiplied with wisecracking humor. Not everyday you can read this kind of book. You'll have a good time laughing (and pondering at the same time.."hey this could be true!" LOL), I promise.Can hardly wait to read the sequel: "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe".
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Re-reading this book twenty plus years after first reading its component parts, made me realize several things; firstly, how much better the radio series was when compared to the books. It is also very apparent that books two and, particularly three, were written with more concern for fiscal recompense than artistic merit.Hitchhiker's was the first si-fi comedy, of which I am aware, that was genuinely funny and I would be the last to try to diminish its place in history but, I do wonder if it became a bit of an albatross to Adams. He did seem to spend most of his life enmeshed in HHG2G and only towards the end did he produce anything really worthy of being a follow up to the original hitchhiker's, in the form of, Last Chance to See.I would like to have seen Adams write more outside of the science fiction genre. His strength is the way he sees things, slightly differently to the rest of us. The joke aboard the Vogon ship about space travel being like drinking a glass of water, sums up his askance view of the world but, his ideas of the future are not that sharp. At one stage, we have Arthur playing a record which is typical of a lack of futuristic thought.I had this book labelled as a five star read, based upon my initial enthusiasm for the story. Upon re-reading, this has been downwardly revised to three and a half: worth reading, but listening to it would be better.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I have read this book many a time, and it has never failed me. I bought my copy on the day of the second 7/7 bombings in London, and after the things calmed down I read it as fast as I possibly could.I became a fan instantly. I believe everyone should read at least the first book to have the chance to enjoy such witty phrases as in "the ships hang in the air exactly as bricks don't" (not word-by-word quote) and to learn the significance of a towel or the number 42.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5There really is nothing else like these books around. Funny, insightful, adventurous and highly quotable. You need never be short of somthing to say! "I'm so hip I have trouble seeing over my pelvis!"
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5very funny and great narration. I would recommend it to all
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Very well rendered. Clear crisp voice with well balanced dramatic effect.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5was a very cool audio , stephen fry is awesome <3
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I found the book to be quite funny and entertaining. I love Stephen Fry’s voice as the narrator.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Pretty funny. I had to compare it to the movie obviously, but it still holds up with the same sort of sarcasm and humour that made me love the movie. Definitely, a nice afternoon audiobook that makes you feel a little paranoid about mice.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stephen Fry!!! Great narrator and perfect choice for this type of novel.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5If you've always wanted to run a sci fi RPG at the tabletop but have had a hard time figuring out how to keep things colorful, this is your new campaign guide
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The book is awesome, read it about 18 yrs
ago. Listening to the narrator was so fun and really brought the book to life. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Amazing book. Funny. Smart. And excellent characters. I simply loved it.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5love it! Great voice acting! One of my favorite books!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Great performance. Monty python in space, if you are in to that kind of humour.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5oh this was amazing i liked it a lot ?
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I listened to this on audiobook but I definitely will have to read it myself so I catch any clever parts I might have missed. I truly enjoyed it. I watched the movie when I about 10 years old and loved it and of course the book is much better. This might be the most clever book I've ever read and I'm my first science fiction book was this one or the least the first one that left and impression. I can't wait to read The Restaurant At the End of the Universe. If it's even half as enjoyable as this I'll have a good time.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An old favorite that comes to life with the talented Stephen Fry. His voice characterizations are perfect and he delivers the dry humor flawlessly. I cannot believe it took me so long to give this a try.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Probably the funniest nonsense I have ever read. I finally got to listen to this classic and it was one of the most enjoyable audiobooks I have listened to. The narration was great & really made the different characters come to life.
I'll save the other parts to when am down and in need of something funny, absurd and actually makes you think of your place in the universe ! - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Easily one of my favourite books of all time. The fact that this is narrated by Steven Fry makes the experience even more enjoyable. 6/5. Highly enjoyable. This review has been left by an Earthling. Considered by most to be: mostly harmless.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Very good narration. Fun read. I found my attention drifting regularly, though, so a second listen at some point will be in order.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A fun, humorous romp through the galaxy. Eloquently written and Stephen Fry's narration is unrivaled. Thoroughly enjoyed this audio book and am desperate for the next fifth of this epic trilogy.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5WHY CAN I NOT HAVE ACCESS TO IT?
JUST BECAUSE I LIVE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY ?
-_-
ITS NOT FAIR I WANT TO HAVE EQUAL ACCESS TO GOOD LITERATURE AND IM PAYING FOR THIS SERVICE DAMMIT. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of the best books ever it's just awesome yep
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A wonderful narration by Stephen Fry. Definitely worth a listen.