The Restaurant at the End of the Universe Mass Market Paperback – September 27, 1995

.... With more of the same.While not so good as a stand alone (you'll be lost in time & space without the background of Book 1), this second in the umpteen-part, increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy tries even harder than the first to laser your funny bone.Seems that the thing we call (ultimately to be used-to-call) Earth is really just a mighty big supercomputer, built to work out the ultimate question to the ultimate answer, 42. Like all expensive software however, just before it actually does whatever it's supposed to do, it crashes - in this case due to the hacker Vogons and their total annihilation programme. Unlike your regular hard drive, two bits escape to byte another day, and we continue their story.In one of the many funny lines from the book, Zaphod Beeblebrox remarks, "I am so hip I have difficulty seeing over my pelvis". This book is just as hip.Our heroes are aboard their Improbability Driven spaceship, when Arthur Dent happens to tie up all the computer circuits just when the Vogons are launching an attack. Zaphod decides its time to see dead people, and with a strange twist, he and miserable Marvin, the depressed computer, disappear, while Arthur takes a tea break.Zaphod materializes elsewhere and immediately starts looking for the man who rules the Universe, while Marvin continues to depress and be depressed. In my humble opinion, Marvin is the star of this book, but I digress.After having his sense of perspective sorely tested, Zaphod improbably conjures a happy reunion, although this leaves him sadly out of pocket. Deciding that they should find the nearest place to eat, their ship's computer zaps them to Milliways, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe.From this half-way point, the book takes off on a fresh tangent of humor, floor shows, loud rock bands, talking meat, and wicked vehicles - that is, until the universe ends.Then the humor starts all over again.A very worthy follow up to the famous first.Amanda Richards, March 7, 2005

This book should be read after the "The hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", due to the fact that "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" starts where the previously mentioned book ends. That is, with the two survivors to the Earth's destruction, Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect, traveling along Trillian, Marvin the robot and Zaphod Beeblebrox in the "Heart of gold", a stolen Improbability Drive ship.If you read this book, you will go along with our friends in their adventures, for example when they visit Milliways, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, or when they escape certain destruction in a stuntship used by rockstars. You will also learn the real meaning of "dying for a cup of tea", and have a chance to eat meat that wants to be eaten. Of course, Marvin will continue giving you lessons in pessimism, and Zaphod will go on being "so weird that he should be in movies".I liked this book, but I didn't love it nearly as much as "The hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". What is more, "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" doesn't have a clear ending, and I find some fault in that. Of course, I am more than ready to read the next book in the series, but that is not the point.On the whole, I don't recommend "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" to those that haven't read "The hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", due to the fact that they won't enjoy it so much. Notwithstanding that, I do recommend this book as entertaining reading material for those already addicted to Douglas Adams quirky sense of humour. It is not perfect, but it is more than good enough to enjoy :)Belen Alcat

I love Marvin and he really shines in this book. If you like a humorous scifi genre this book is for you.

I'm going to assume that since you're reading this review, you've already read the previous volume in the series, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. This book is a continuation from the first, so if you're new to the series, go back and read Hitchhiker before reading this one.This book follows the hapless, easily bewildered Arthur Dent and his wacky companions across the galaxy as they somehow manage to get themselves into an ever-increasing amount of trouble. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, like the first book, is full of twists and surprises. Douglas Adams never misses a chance to make playful, subtle jabs at art, music, politics, culture, entertainment, and... restaurants. The book is refreshingly lighthearted, brilliantly creative, wonderfully irreverent, and above all - tons of fun. The wit in this book frequently made me grin, and even made me laugh audibly a few times.If you enjoyed Hitchhiker, you'll love this book.