After surprising even myself by finally finishing The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (on my third-or-so attempt), I immediately picked up its sequel, because my brain was in the mood for some stupidity. I got what I needed, and then some.

This book follows Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect’s continued adventure across the universe, now with Zaphod Beeblebrox and Trilliam (a female that I regularly forgot was even a character in the book). They’re cruising through space and time in the ship that Zaphod had stolen in the previous book, a ship with many secrets of her own.

Two Memorable Settings

The characters endure some incredibly strange situations in this book, though two stand out as my favorite.

First and obviously is the restaurant at the end of the universe, Milliways. Now, I have heard this book title all my life, but never having read it, I had misinterpreted these words. I had always thought that the characters would fly to “the end” in space, which now that I think of it would more accurately be described as “the edge of the universe.” Instead, they travel to “the end” in time, where sits a ritzy restaurant with a jubilant Matre’d and host attended only by those alien diners capable of time travel. The ever-recurring show they watch is the destruction of the universe and all that’s ever existed—including the restaurant itself. Quite a setting!

Second is the Golgafrinchan Ark Fleet Ship B. The first time we encounter this in the book is actually a little startling. The inhabitants of this ship (who end up being early ancestors of the humans on Earth) wake up every few hundred years for a snack, yet are terrifyingly confused about whatever’s kept them sleeping for so long. It was quite a disturbing scene, though as time moved on, the story became more and more absurd, so using words like “terrifying” now just seem silly.

I noted it in my review of the precursor that these books are entirely unreadable, if perchance the reader tries to understand them. When I finally approached Douglas Adams’ books as just good yarns that can be enjoyed though not dissected, I actually began to settle into them. I’m enjoying them well enough, though I don’t see myself calling them “must reads” or “favorites.”

The weirdness of these tales and the worlds the characters visit in this second installment remind me of another little book I’ve been reading off-and-on the past several months—the cult-classic that’s suddenly resurfaced thanks to President Trump’s son, Baren, Travels and Adventures of Little Baron Trump and His Wonderful Dog Bulger by Ingersoll Lockwood (1889). The reminders for me come from the absolute weirdness of the places the characters visit and the people they meet. There’s also an apparent intentionality by both of these authors to create protagonists so unbelievably abnormal that they’re meant only to be remembered, not believed, and certainly never identified with.

A Word of Caution

There’s a side-quest in this book that goes beyond seeking the question to the answer “42” (which inconceivably is “What do you get if you multiply six by nine?”). Zaphod hopes to find the true ruler of the universe, the Creator, and Douglas Adams treats him with the utmost disrespect. I know I’m not trying to understand it, and I know it’s satire (about what, I couldn’t say), but as a devout monotheist and Jesus follower, I have to take offense at anything mocking “the Creator”—even if it’s a made-up creator in a sci-fi comedy. It’s like certain scenes from Monty Python—disrespectful mockery portrayed as mild irreverence. It’s troubling to me, even if it is, well, “mostly harmless.”

Conclusion

Reviews I’ll write for any book in this series will necessarily rank among the least intellectual reviews I’ll ever write, and there’s a good reason for that. These books are the least intellectual novels I’ve ever had the misfortune to find interesting. They’re adding nothing to my life but a brief chuckle now and then…and yet I keep reading.

One of my favorite chuckles from this one, by the way, was the sad case of Marvin. Told by Zaphod to wait at Milliways to give Arthur Dent a message, poor Marvin ends up waiting 4.76 billion years for Arthur to arrive just to give him a message that proves less-than-helpful. Marvin’s a winning character, even if he doesn’t quite believe it himself. I look forward to seeing more of him in Life, the Universe, and Everything.

©2025 E.T.