The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide

It s safe to say that The Hitchhiker s Guide to the Galaxy is one of the funniest science fiction novels ever written. Adams spoofs many core science fiction tropes: space travel, aliens, interstellar war--stripping away all sense of wonder and repainting them as commonplace, even silly.



This omnibus edition begins with The Hitchhiker s Guide to the Galaxy, in which Arthur Dent is introduced to the galaxy at large when he is rescued by an alien friend seconds before Earth s destruction. Then in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Arthur and his new friends travel to the end of time and discover the true reason for Earth s existence. In Life, the Universe, and Everything, the gang goes on a mission to save the entire universe. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish recounts how Arthur finds true love and "God s Final Message to His Creation." Finally, Mostly Harmless is the story of Arthur s continuing search for home, in which he instead encounters his estranged daughter, who is on her own quest. There s also a bonus short story, "Young Zaphod Plays It Safe," more of a vignette than a full story, which wraps up this completist s package of the Don t Panic chronicles. As the series progresses, its wackier elements diminish, but the satire of human life and foibles is ever present. --Brooks Peck