Publication
Del Rey (1999), Edition: Reissue, 224 pages
Description
Fiction. Science Fiction. Thriller. Humor (Fiction.) HTML:Now celebrating the 42nd anniversary of The Hitchhiker�s Guide to the Galaxy, soon to be a Hulu original series! �A madcap adventure . . . Adams�s writing teeters on the fringe of inspired lunacy.��United Press International Back on Earth with nothing more to show for his long, strange trip through time and space than a ratty towel and a plastic shopping bag, Arthur Dent is ready to believe that the past eight years were all just a figment of his stressed-out imagination. But a gift-wrapped fishbowl with a cryptic inscription, the mysterious disappearance of Earth�s dolphins, and the discovery of his battered copy of The Hitchhiker�s Guide to the Galaxy all conspire to give Arthur the sneaking suspicion that something otherworldly is indeed going on. God only knows what it all means. Fortunately, He left behind a Final Message of explanation. But since it�s light-years away from Earth, on a star surrounded by souvenir booths, finding out what it is will mean hitching a ride to the far reaches of space aboard a UFO with a giant robot. What else is new? �The most ridiculously exaggerated situation comedy known to created beings . . . Adams is irresistible.��The Boston Globe.… (more)
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LibraryThing member fieldri1
Unlike many people, I didn't come to the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy via the radio series, I was a book fan right from the start.So, back in 1985 when Douglas Adams wrote another entry in the canon I was unfeasibly excited...And with So Long there wasn't any disappointment, its one of my
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favourite books, one I can go back to time and time again.It seems to me that Adams took the opportunity to experiment with some of his wilder ideas of what he could do in a book. One chapter starts with a single sentence which covers about 8-10 lines. The next sentence is something along the lines of 'go back and read it, it does make sense'! He knew that readers habits are such that in the heat of reading we'll even skip a sentence if it doesn't make any sense straight away. And of course, if you took the time to parse it, it did make perfect sense.And then there is a chapter that exists purely to pose the question 'This Arthur Dent, does he f*ck?'On its own this book is the romance in the Hitch Hikers story arc, with Arthur finally meeting someone to love, with the help of Dire Straits.In summary, if you haven't read it, and you're familiar with Douglas Adams, then go and get a copy, and experience Douglas at his best. Show Less
LibraryThing member lizzy-x
This is my least favorite Hitchhiker's Guide book. Then again, I can't stand romance, and while the other four allowed me to remain blissfully unaware of it, this one thrust it in my face.
LibraryThing member brettjames
Fourth books usually suck. This one is probably better than the other three, and only suffers from the same familiarity that makes your partner less funny as the years go by, with that stupid laugh of theirs...
LibraryThing member rincewind1986
Ok so it isnt as good as the others, but it is still one of my favourites its funny witty and the story is so bizarre even thinking of it is making me smile.
LibraryThing member nm.spring08.s.peery
This was a most interesting book, I would have to say. I loved how Adams was able to make such random things connect in the ways that they did. The apparent plot of finding out why the Earth was back to the way it was (but 8 years later) was profoundly funny. I loved how Adams didn't skip on using
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words normally considered inapropriate, and his odd use of describing what happened between Arthur and the girl up in the clouds. Show Less
LibraryThing member StormRaven
The fourth book in the Hitchhiker Trilogy is named after the message the dolphins left behind when they abandoned Earth just before it was destroyed by the Vogons. The book finds Arthur Dent back on modern day Earth, which is surprising since the planet was destroyed. It turns out that the Vogons
Prefect shows up and convinced Dent to go hitchhiking again to see God's final message. Accompanied by Marvin the Depressed robot, they find the last message, and Marvin dies finally happy. More so than any other book in the series, the plot is irrelevant. On the other hand, the satire and humor in the book seems so light as to be almost trivial. Instead of the biting humor of the previous books, it seems like the humor in this book is just silly, and without much of a point. The book reads well though, and even air-light humor that is well-done is enjoyable.
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didn't acount for alternate probabilities, so alternate versions of Earth exist (restored by the dolphins as part of their Save the Humans initiative), giving Dent a place to live. Dent falls in love, does a lot of flying (having learned how in previous books), and generally engages in not much for the first part of the book.Prefect shows up and convinced Dent to go hitchhiking again to see God's final message. Accompanied by Marvin the Depressed robot, they find the last message, and Marvin dies finally happy. More so than any other book in the series, the plot is irrelevant. On the other hand, the satire and humor in the book seems so light as to be almost trivial. Instead of the biting humor of the previous books, it seems like the humor in this book is just silly, and without much of a point. The book reads well though, and even air-light humor that is well-done is enjoyable.
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LibraryThing member dtw42
Loads of other reviews already, so I won't go down the usual summarizing-the-plot or saying-I-did-or-didn't-like-it route:
People expecting the knockabout comedy of the first books are likely to be thrown off guard. There are fewer jokes and a less frenetically episodic plot (by this time, Douglas
Thing is, Adams was in love when he wrote this one, and it shows. After three books largely involving odd social-satire aliens on faraway planets, written in a way that made it all feel perfectly normal, here we have one set largely on Earth (sort of), with regular humans (sort of), written in such a way that it all feels slightly otherworldly. There's a sort of wistfulness about it.
People expecting the knockabout comedy of the first books are likely to be thrown off guard. There are fewer jokes and a less frenetically episodic plot (by this time, Douglas
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Adams was no longer using material based on the radio series, you see).Thing is, Adams was in love when he wrote this one, and it shows. After three books largely involving odd social-satire aliens on faraway planets, written in a way that made it all feel perfectly normal, here we have one set largely on Earth (sort of), with regular humans (sort of), written in such a way that it all feels slightly otherworldly. There's a sort of wistfulness about it.
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LibraryThing member mrsdwilliams
Fourth book in the Hitchhiker "trilogy."
Arthur Dent returns to Earth. The fact that Earth has already been destroyed by Vogons is not particularly important. Why and how Arthur returns remains a mystery, but he is relieved to find that Earth still exists and that only a few months have passed since
The novel's main focus is Arthur's relationship with Fenchurch, a woman who he falls for at first sight. Their journey of eventually leads them to discover God's final message to Creation.
Not as much action as in the first three books, but the focus on the development of Arthur's character make this a worthy addition to the series.
Arthur Dent returns to Earth. The fact that Earth has already been destroyed by Vogons is not particularly important. Why and how Arthur returns remains a mystery, but he is relieved to find that Earth still exists and that only a few months have passed since
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he first caught a ride with a passing spaceship. The novel's main focus is Arthur's relationship with Fenchurch, a woman who he falls for at first sight. Their journey of eventually leads them to discover God's final message to Creation.
Not as much action as in the first three books, but the focus on the development of Arthur's character make this a worthy addition to the series.
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LibraryThing member samlives2
"'Hold stick near center of its length. Moisten pointed end in mouth. Insert in tooth space, blunt end next to gum. Use gentle in-out motion.'
'It seemed to me,' said Wonko the Sane, "that any civilization had so far lost its head as to need to include a set of detailed instructions for use in a
This line, and pretty much anything said or done by Wonko the Sane, changed this book from a dull love story of Arthur back on the dull Earth back into one of the classic Hitchhiker tales we all love. There was little to this book except the character development of Arthur and the introduction of Fenchurch, who he of course falls in love with, and I didn't enjoy much of the main story until the very end, when Arthur finally realizes the Earth isn't so great after all.
'It seemed to me,' said Wonko the Sane, "that any civilization had so far lost its head as to need to include a set of detailed instructions for use in a
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package of toothpicks, was no longer a civilization in which I could live and stay sane.'"This line, and pretty much anything said or done by Wonko the Sane, changed this book from a dull love story of Arthur back on the dull Earth back into one of the classic Hitchhiker tales we all love. There was little to this book except the character development of Arthur and the introduction of Fenchurch, who he of course falls in love with, and I didn't enjoy much of the main story until the very end, when Arthur finally realizes the Earth isn't so great after all.
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LibraryThing member Nanoscale2
The fourth book in the Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy trilogy? Kind of an odd thing to have a fourth in a trilogy but it is worth while but please please read the other three books first...Or you will be very confused.
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DaScienceGuy.WordPress.com
LibraryThing member sweetiegherkin
In the fourth book of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series, Arthur Dent returns to Earth eight years after it has been utterly annihilated. On top of that, it appears that only a few months have gone by since its destruction. Arthur tries to figure out this mystery and along the way falls
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in love with a quirky girl named Fenchurch. There is far less action in this book than the previous three, plus very little to do with space travel is involved. Ford and Marvin have only minor roles (and Zaphod and Trillian never appear), and the partial or complete absence of these favorite characters is only somewhat made up for by the delightful addition of Fenchurch. The book is still full of Adams’s wit and humor but falls flat when compared to the previous three. Show Less
LibraryThing member Othemts
This is my favorite of the five books in the Hitchhiker trilogy. There's just something touching about Arthur and Fenchurch's flying date.
LibraryThing member heidilove
it all comes together in the end and he even gets the girl.
LibraryThing member jegan22280
I considered this Much weaker that the previous offerings. I wasn't prepared for a love story when starting this book. It was, howeve, good enough to grab and hold may attention. So much so that while reading it in an airport, I was so engrossed that I missed my flight.
LibraryThing member Darla
Morning read with the boys. Arthur's back on the reconstituted Earth, and finds a girlfriend. Still hilarious, but I missed the other characters and the traveling around in space.
LibraryThing member pauliharman
Tolerable read from author trying to kill off a series
LibraryThing member ariebonn
It has been a while since I read the third book in this series but finally managed to get to the fourth. Since the last book was a little disappointing I was somewhat reluctant to continue reading it, but at the same time I really wanted to know what happens next.
In the fourth book of The
The first thing I noticed about this book is that it's completely different. Unlike the first three books, there is not much traveling in space going on and the focus is mainly on Arthur, which might be referred to as the most boring in the cast of characters. Overall the story is not bad, but nothing very exciting happens either and to be honest I was expecting more action. As usual there are some funny parts to it, this is after all what Adams is famous for, but again nothing like the first two books. This book might have been slightly better than the previous one in that it is generally less silly, and it does have a good ending when God's last message to his creation is revealed. That was quite hilarious and probably the best part of the book!
I am now looking forward to reading the last book in this trilogy of five (I always loved this phrase) to see how it all ends. I am really hoping though that Adams put something good together in the same way that the first two books were good!
In the fourth book of The
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Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, a new angle is introduced. We are back on Earth, yes the same one that has been demolished by the Vogons in the first book, where seven years later everything is back to normal except everyone one thinks that they suffered from a mass delusion that Earth was destroyed. The other thing that nobody seems to be able to explain is that all the dolphins have gone missing. This time the story revolves mostly on Arthur, which manages to find the love of his life, Fenchurch, and their relationship develops into something that he has never experienced before. Together, Arthur and Fenchurch embark on a mission to find God's last message to his creation.The first thing I noticed about this book is that it's completely different. Unlike the first three books, there is not much traveling in space going on and the focus is mainly on Arthur, which might be referred to as the most boring in the cast of characters. Overall the story is not bad, but nothing very exciting happens either and to be honest I was expecting more action. As usual there are some funny parts to it, this is after all what Adams is famous for, but again nothing like the first two books. This book might have been slightly better than the previous one in that it is generally less silly, and it does have a good ending when God's last message to his creation is revealed. That was quite hilarious and probably the best part of the book!
I am now looking forward to reading the last book in this trilogy of five (I always loved this phrase) to see how it all ends. I am really hoping though that Adams put something good together in the same way that the first two books were good!
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LibraryThing member FolkeB
So Long and Thanks for All the Fish is the fourth volume of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Series by Douglas Adams. Arthur Dent wanted to have some time to relax and stop traveling around the galaxy, so he leaves his companions to find a place to go. He ends up on Earth, but Arthur doesn't
Molly
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understand how this could be because he saw the Earth being destroyed by the Vogons with his own eyes years ago. On his first night back on “Earth”, Arthur falls in love with a girl at first glance. He gets separated from her and goes back to living his life like he did before the Earth was destroyed, and everything appears to be the same. A mysterious thing, though, is that both Arthur and this girl, Fenchurch, question this “Earth” and are both trying to find out the answer to God’s final message to his creation. Douglas Adams brings us back to the idea of this huge universe filled with interesting and wild ideas once again. He introduces intriguing ideas and clues in the story that make the reader excited to read further. Adams introduces us to new characters and that help keep the story interesting and moving. I would recommend this book for anyone who has read any of the previous books in the series and enjoys wild and sometimes random, but quirky, details that add to the story. I would give this book four out of five stars. Molly
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LibraryThing member Narilka
Eight years after his first hitchhiking experience, Arthur Dent is surprised to find himself back on Earth. Much to his amazement, it was not destroyed by Vogons after all. Arthur manages to pick up his old life pretty much right where he left off, although he does have to dispose of eight years
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish is the fourth book in The Hitchhiker's trilogy. It has a much different tone than the ones prior as it is mostly a love story with very little space travel involved until the end. The humorous sub-plots still exist and we again run into Ford Prefect and see a small cameo by Marvin. While not my favorite in the series, I still found it an enjoyable read.
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accumulated junk mail and a lot of spoiled food in his fridge. Along the way, he meets a girl named Fenchurch (Fenny for short) who is convinced not is all right on Earth and whose feet don't touch the ground. And there is the issue of all the dolphins disappearing the same day the planet wasn't destroyed. God only knows what it all means. Fortunately He left behind a Final Message to Creation as an explanation. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish is the fourth book in The Hitchhiker's trilogy. It has a much different tone than the ones prior as it is mostly a love story with very little space travel involved until the end. The humorous sub-plots still exist and we again run into Ford Prefect and see a small cameo by Marvin. While not my favorite in the series, I still found it an enjoyable read.
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LibraryThing member jayne_charles
A change of gear from the previous books, which left me blinking in the sunlight: Arthur Dent returns to Earth (more or less) and starts chatting up women.
There is a slightly self-conscious chapter close to the end where the author actually suggests some readers skip a few chapters. I was almost
On the whole, though, not really up to the same standards as the first two books of the series.
There is a slightly self-conscious chapter close to the end where the author actually suggests some readers skip a few chapters. I was almost
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tempted to comply, though glad I didn't as the aircraft incident that followed was quite good.On the whole, though, not really up to the same standards as the first two books of the series.
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LibraryThing member fothpaul
I'm just a bit fed up with the story by now. This was by far the weakest of the 4 books in the series which I've read so far. It just feels a bit loose and not really necessary. The story doesn't really add to the overall tale in my opinion and seems to be very much an afterthought.
I still enjoyed
I still enjoyed
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the little quips and there were a few bits that made me chuckle a lot, but the book took me ages to finish as I wasn't that gripped by it. It just didn't keep dragging me back like a really good book should. I will read the final chapter of the trilogy in 5 parts, but I need a break from them first. Show Less
LibraryThing member readersmith
Enjoyed with my son
Had to skip a few chapters
Loved the biscuit story
Had to skip a few chapters
Loved the biscuit story
LibraryThing member beckykolacki
Out of the "trilogy of five," this one was actually my favorite. I understand that for many people it's the least popular, because almost the whole thing takes place on earth and it focuses mainly just on Arthur Dent and not the other characters. However, that's why I liked it. After the somewhat
Plus, this story had a much more human element to it that the others did not. In the others, we never got to know the characters and they never exhibited any emotions in any depth that we could relate to. And I suppose that was okay, because it wasn't really about emotions, it was just about the humor and the science fiction aspect. But it was kind of nice to see a different side of Arthur Dent in this one. He actually finds a romantic interest in the fascinating character of Fenchurch. Yes, there was less action, but that was okay for me.
Also, we occasionally got some glimpses of what Ford was up to, but he didn't really become pertinent to the plot until the very end. It seemed like the book ended on a really exciting note, with the newly formed emotional bond between Arthur and Fenchurch intersecting with the exciting space travel that had been involved in the other books. From here, the fifth book seemed like it could be quite promising.
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overwhelming third book, it was a relief to have a novel that didn't keep jumping around between characters and plot, and just focus on one thing at a time.Plus, this story had a much more human element to it that the others did not. In the others, we never got to know the characters and they never exhibited any emotions in any depth that we could relate to. And I suppose that was okay, because it wasn't really about emotions, it was just about the humor and the science fiction aspect. But it was kind of nice to see a different side of Arthur Dent in this one. He actually finds a romantic interest in the fascinating character of Fenchurch. Yes, there was less action, but that was okay for me.
Also, we occasionally got some glimpses of what Ford was up to, but he didn't really become pertinent to the plot until the very end. It seemed like the book ended on a really exciting note, with the newly formed emotional bond between Arthur and Fenchurch intersecting with the exciting space travel that had been involved in the other books. From here, the fifth book seemed like it could be quite promising.
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LibraryThing member pkinchington
I pictured Jenny Agutter as Fenchurch throughout the whole book. Don't know why.And half way through I suddenly realised that I did exactly the same thing the last time I read it too.
LibraryThing member Figgles
The fourth book in the Hitch-hiker trilogy. It's a very long time since I first read it and I'd really suggest you should read the other three first. A more lyrical and less "laugh out loud funny" book, winding up the story and giving Arthur Dent a shot at love. The flying is lovely.
ISBN
0345391837 / 9780345391834