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The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide - Book Cover

The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide by Douglas Adams

825 pages (Get as far as you can!)

Six stories: The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, The restaurant at the end of the universe, Life, the universe, and everything, So long, and thanks for all the fish, Young Zaphod plays it safe, and Mostly Harmless

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.

Notes

We will be picking the March 2009 book at this meeting. If you cannot come email us suggestions.

Movie Night

Join us at Mike and Audra's to watch Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on the big screen! Bring snacks, drinks or money to order out.

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