So long, and thanks for all the fish by Douglas Adams

So long, and thanks for all the fish

After being slightly disappointed with the third installment of university Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, I picked the fourth one up mostly because it was small and also because I didn't want to damage the other book I was reading by carrying it around with me.

Surprisingly, I liked this one better than Life, the Universe and Everything. I say surprisingly because the reviews lead of to believe it would be worse than that one.

So long, and thanks for all the fish is a bit different from the previous books, as there is a lot more of plot in it, and a lot less of nonsense. There are still jokes and stuff that makes little sense,though.

This book focuses more on Arthur Dent, and that might explain why there is less of crazy stuff going on. Usually all this stuff was someone else's fault (or the Universe just being difficult).

It ended up being a rather nice book and it restored my faith on the trilogy (of 6), so I'll keep on reading.


Rating: 4 out of 5

Reading Challenge - 56 to 60

56 - The Restaurant at the end of the Universe by Douglas Adams

The Restaurant at the end of the Universe is the second book on the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, and it is much like the first one. It is a lot of fun, very silly, and very good.

[Full Review]

(4/5)





57 - Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

I really liked Poison Study and, even if the plot was predictable at times, the characters made the book a page turner. I'll keep on reading the rest of the series because I really want to know more about these characters and this world, especially about Commander and Ixia.

[Full Review]

(4/5)


58 - Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder

This is a good sequel to Poison Study, the story continues where it was left off on the first book, with Yelena going to Sitia, ready to start to learn about magic. Of course, with Yelena being Yelena trouble does not take long to appear. This means that there is a plot full of action, danger, and Yelena doing what she does best – saving the day!

I liked Magic Study as much as I did Poison Study, it was a good follow up book, where I got to know more about the those two lands, and was presented with more great characters.

[Full Review]

(4/5)

59 - Black Sun Rising by C. S. Friedman
I had a lot of expectations for this book. It seemed like a good fantasy book, long and dark. But I just couldn't finish it. And that is a rare thing for me.

I made it to page 335 out of 589 – in the middle of an earthquake, where the characters have two options and both mean death, and close to the Castle of the Evil Guy – but I really have no desire to keep reading or find out what happens next.

[Full Review]

(1/5)


60 - Mordred's curse by Ian McDowell

Mordred's Curse starts with what I felt was like a slap in the face. It took me by surprise, both due to the language and the intensity of it.

After the initial surprise was gone, the book proved to be both enjoyable and memorable.

[Full Review]

(4.5/5)

The restaurant at the end of the Universe by Douglas Adams

The restaurant at the end of the Universe

Come along on a zany journey to the low-rent neighbourhood of the Cosmos with earthling Arthur Dent, sexy space cadet Trillian, that imperturbable alien Ford Prefect and Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed, three-armed ex-head Honcho of All Creation.

The Restaurant at the end of the Universe is the second book on the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, and it is much like the first one. It is a lot of fun, very silly, and very good.

There is more plot to this book, and I loved that. In The Restaurant at the end of the Universe Zaphod Beeblebrox is looking for the man who actually rules the Universe, something the old-himself told him to do before locking part of his brain away. In short, Zaphod is looking for the man who rules the Universe but he doesn't know why.

So through hops in space and time, where Zaphod leads, Ford and Trillian follow without contributing much to the story, Arthur continues his search for a decent cup of tea, and Marvin is simply depressed the entire time, these travellers will visit the most iconic places in the Universe, such as the Restaurant that gives name to the book, a concert by the band Disaster Area, the headquarters of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the Total Perspective Vortex, and Earth.

However, this book was not as great as the first one. There a sense of unoriginality to it, that became quite blatant when the jokes started to repeat themselves. They were still good, but they were almost word for word the ones on the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Nevertheless I enjoyed this book. There were some great parts, not only the jokes but some that just made me go awww, and gave me a warm fuzzy feeling.

Favourite quote:

"It is known that there are an infinite number of worlds, simply because there is an infinite amount of space for them to be in. However, not every one of them is inhabited. Therefore, there must be a finite number of inhabited worlds. Any finite number divided by infinity is as near to nothing as makes no odds, so the average population of all the planets in the Universe can be said to be zero. From this it follows that the population of the whole Universe is also zero, and that any people you may meet from time to time are merely the products of a deranged imagination."

(4/5)

Reading Challenge - 45 to 49

45 - Watership Down by Richard Adams
Watership Down comes highly recommended, and won a fair number of prizes on the last 40 years. A story where the main (well, almost all) characters are bunnies. Actual rabbits hopping about the English countryside.

Despite the fact that it is clearly stated that these are rabbits (with one in the cover), not a human version with bunny ears, I kept having trouble picturing them as animals (I kept seeing them as Hobbits, go figure! - except for General Woundwort, that I imagined as a tiny Napoleon).

The rabbits were likeable and funny, and a bit stupid most of the time (seriously, did it take them that long to realise they were all males!?), but they were still able to come up with some inventive plans.

What I liked the most on this book were the stories of El-ahrairah, the ultimate trickster, of how he always managed to (cunningly) get his way.

It was an enjoyable book, but not as much as all the recommendations lead me to believe it would be.

(3.5/5)

46 - The Hitchhicker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
I've sat around pretending to be writing this review for a long time, when all I really want to say is: “This book is awesome! Go read it!” - There it is, I've said it.


[Full Review]

(4.5/5)



47 - Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn

Set in a Japan-but-not-Japan land, i.e., a heavily Japanese inspired land, full with its most traditional costumes, and samurais and ninjas, but not bound by the need to be totally accurate, because it's fantasy. But even the term fantasy is used very loosely here. There are hints of some things that may be magical. A term that I rarely use, but which I like, and fits this book is Speculative Fiction – a what if? kind of book.


This is the first book in the series, but can easily be read as a standalone. I will read the next ones because I loved this one.


[Full Review]

(4.5/5)


48 - The Beginning Place by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Beginning Place in a coming-of-age story, but different from usual. Although the two main characters, Hugh and Irena, are young, they are not in the usual age group for these stories, they are not teenagers, they are past the age when people become adults. Yet they are not fully there.

They both find the Beginning Place while running away, and so, it becomes their safe haven, their hiding place. But they don't find it together, first it is Irena, who has time to get to know Tembreabrezi and their language. But when she discovers Hugh in “her place”, trespassing, tainting what she thought was pure, she can only hate him.

The Beginning Place is a fantastical place, where time goes in a much different fashion than the outside world. They can spend a day there and only a few hours would have gone by outside. They can have adventures there. It's a bit like Narnia, but more barren, eerier, darker.

I can describe this book as being quiet and subdued, but deep and memorable. I enjoyed it a lot, slowly seeing the characters grow, become adults and free themselves from what was holding them back.

(4/5)

49 - Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch

Touched by an Alien is the story of Katherine “Kitty” Katt, who goes from being a marketing manager in Pueblo Caliente to helping an Alien Agency protect the Earth from nasty things from Space. The thing is, all the aliens in this agency are drop dead gorgeous (the author turned a major flaw in romance fiction into a feature!), and the hunk (Armani-clad!) that first appears to help her is ready to make his moves on her.

If you're a big romance fan, and don't care much about getting the science right, this book is probably for you. If you, like me, like your science fiction to be more about science, you can still enjoy this book as light reading, for the romance and the chuckles.

[Full Review]

(3.5/5)

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a classic, and as such, is very hard to write a review for. What can I possibly say that hasn't been said before? Add to that the fact that it's awesome, in a way that I can't really put my finger on, and you've got a terrible case of Reviewer's Block.

So, I've sat around pretending to be writing this review for a long time, when all I really want to say is: “This book is awesome! Go read it!” - There it is, I've said it.

The story follows Arthur Dent, who is quite annoyed because his house is going to be demolished to make way for an overpass. Of course that should be the least of his problems because Earth is going to be demolished to make way for an overpass. What follows is a parade of nonsense, surreal moments, funny stories and much wackiness.

To elaborate more on the awesomeness of the book, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is extremely funny, described by the author as “a story with a long beginning and then an ending”, which is true, but causes no problem for the reader. You just want to keep on reading more and more. It is filled with so much nonsense, that it ends up making perfect sense. More than a story, it a Universe, one that is most fun to be in. Sometimes is not so much about the characters and their plight, but where they are and how they got there. That being said, I loved the characters, all of them.

If there is any down side to this book is that it feels terribly short (I want more! Now!), but that's is easily rectified as there are four more books in this trilogy (written by Douglas Adams, that is – there is a sixth one by Eoin Colfer). I will be getting my hands on them as soon as I can.

Now, go read this book!

(4.5/5)