The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams, 1979
Science fiction Graphic novels & humourFantasyContemporary fiction
A hapless Englishman is swept off a doomed planet by an alien researcher, armed only with a towel and a very unreliable guide.
Feels like humor, wonder and curiosity. About adventure, society and freedom.
A page from the book
A creation story for anyone who suspects it was a mistake.
In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. Douglas Adams.Adams was working on Doctor Who while writing Hitchhiker's, and said he loved deadlines for "the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."
Books that feel like this
More by Douglas Adams
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams, 1979
The Earth is demolished for a bypass, and a man in his dressing gown must hitch across a galaxy run on bad bureaucracy and good towels.
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Douglas Adams, 1980
The universe is ending, the food is excellent, and the only sane response is a joke — Adams's second Hitchhiker's novel.
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Questions readers ask
- What is The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy like?
- Feels like humor, wonder and curiosity. About adventure, society and freedom.
- What should I read after The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy?
- If you liked The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, try The Phantom Tollbooth (Norton Juster), Good Omens (Terry Pratchett) and The Lost Hero (Rick Riordan).
A taste of the feed
A demon's professional failing is liking the people he's meant to ruin.
He rather liked people. It was a major failing in a demon. Oh, he did his best to make their short lives miserable, because that was his job, but nothing he could think up was half as bad as the stuff they thought up themselves. They seemed to have a talent for it. It was built into the design, somehow. They were born into a world that was against them in a thousand little ways, and then devoted most of their energies to making it worse.
Good Omens · Terry Pratchett
The friend who makes your strangeness feel like a shared joke.
I have lightning and wind powers,“ Jason reminded him. ”Piper can turn beautiful and charm people into giving her BMWs. You’re no more a freak than we are. And, hey, maybe you can fly, too. Like jump off a building and yell ‘Flame on!’“ Leo snorted. ”If I did that, you would see a flaming kid falling to his death, and I would be yelling something a little stronger than ‘Flame on!
The Lost Hero · Rick Riordan
Three years into a career, still certain someone will notice you're faking it.
Of course, I still know nothing about finance. People at the bus stop know more about finance than me. Schoolchildren know more than me. I’ve been doing this job for three years now, and I’m still expecting someone to catch me out.
Confessions of a Shopaholic · Sophie Kinsella
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