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Life, the Universe and Everything
Cover of Life, the Universe and Everything
Life, the Universe and Everything
Now celebrating the 42nd anniversary of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, soon to be a Hulu original series!
“Wild satire . . . The feckless protagonist, Arthur Dent, is reminiscent of Vonnegut heroes.”—Chicago Tribune

The unhappy inhabitants of planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky above their heads—so they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals stand between the killer robots of Krikkit and their goal of total annihilation.
They are Arthur Dent, a mild-mannered space and time traveler who tries to learn how to fly by throwing himself at the ground and missing; Ford Prefect, his best friend, who decides to go insane to see if he likes it; Slartibartfast, the indomitable vice president of the Campaign for Real Time, who travels in a ship powered by irrational behavior; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed, three-armed ex-president of the galaxy; and Trillian, the sexy space cadet who is torn between a persistent Thunder God and a very depressed Beeblebrox.
How will it all end? Will it end? Only this stalwart crew knows as they try to avert “universal” Armageddon and save life as we know it—and don’t know it!
“Adams is one of those rare treasures: an author who, one senses, has as much fun writing as one has reading.”—Arizona Daily Star
Now celebrating the 42nd anniversary of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, soon to be a Hulu original series!
“Wild satire . . . The feckless protagonist, Arthur Dent, is reminiscent of Vonnegut heroes.”—Chicago Tribune

The unhappy inhabitants of planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky above their heads—so they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals stand between the killer robots of Krikkit and their goal of total annihilation.
They are Arthur Dent, a mild-mannered space and time traveler who tries to learn how to fly by throwing himself at the ground and missing; Ford Prefect, his best friend, who decides to go insane to see if he likes it; Slartibartfast, the indomitable vice president of the Campaign for Real Time, who travels in a ship powered by irrational behavior; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed, three-armed ex-president of the galaxy; and Trillian, the sexy space cadet who is torn between a persistent Thunder God and a very depressed Beeblebrox.
How will it all end? Will it end? Only this stalwart crew knows as they try to avert “universal” Armageddon and save life as we know it—and don’t know it!
“Adams is one of those rare treasures: an author who, one senses, has as much fun writing as one has reading.”—Arizona Daily Star
Available formats-
  • OverDrive Listen
  • OverDrive MP3 Audiobook
Languages:-
Copies-
  • Available:
    0
  • Library copies:
    1
Levels-
  • ATOS:
  • Lexile:
    1010
  • Interest Level:
  • Text Difficulty:
    6 - 8


Excerpts-
  • From the cover Chapter 1
     
    The regular early morning yell of horror was the sound of Arthur Dent waking up and suddenly remembering where he was.
     
    It wasn’t just that the cave was cold, it wasn’t just that it was damp and smelly. It was that the cave was in the middle of Islington and there wasn’t a bus due for two million years.
     
    Time is the worst place, so to speak, to get lost in, as Arthur Dent could testify, having been lost in both time and space a good deal. At least being lost in space kept you busy.
     
    He was stranded on prehistoric Earth as the result of a complex sequence of events that had involved his being alternately blown up and insulted in more bizarre regions of the Galaxy than he had ever dreamed existed, and though life had now turned very, very, very quiet, he was still feeling jumpy.
     
    He hadn’t been blown up now for five years.
     
    He had hardly seen anyone since he and Ford Prefect had parted company four years previously, and he hadn’t been insulted in all that time either.
     
    Except just once.
     
    It had happened on a spring evening about two years ago.
     
    He was returning to his cave just a little after dusk when he became aware of lights flashing eerily through the clouds. He turned and stared, with hope suddenly clambering through his heart. Rescue. Escape. The castaway’s impossible dream—a ship.
     
    And as he watched, as he stared in wonder and excitement, a long silver ship descended through the warm evening air, quietly, without fuss, its long legs unlocking in a smooth ballet of technology.
     
    It alighted gently on the ground, and what little hum it had generated died away, as if lulled by the evening calm.
     
    A ramp extended itself.
     
    Light streamed out.
     
    A tall figure appeared silhouetted in the hatchway. It walked down the ramp and stood in front of Arthur.
     
    “You’re a jerk, Dent,” it said simply.
     
    It was alien, very alien. It had a peculiar alien tallness, a peculiar alien flattened head, peculiar slitty little alien eyes, extravagantly draped golden robes with a peculiarly alien collar design, and pale gray green alien skin that had that lustrous sheen about it that most gray green races can acquire only with plenty of exercise and very expensive soap.
     
    Arthur boggled at it.
     
    It gazed levelly at him.
     
    Arthur’s first sensations of hope and trepidation had instantly been overwhelmed by astonishment, and all sorts of thoughts were battling for the use of his vocal cords at this moment.
     
    “Whh …?” he said.
     
    “Bu … hu … uh …” he added.
     
    “Ru … ra … wah … who?” he managed finally to say and lapsed into a frantic kind of silence. He was feeling the effects of not having said anything to anybody for as long as he could remember.
     
    The alien creature frowned briefly and consulted what appeared to be some species of clipboard that it was holding in its thin and spindly alien hand.
     
    “Arthur Dent?” it said.
     
    Arthur nodded helplessly.
     
    “Arthur Philip Dent?” pursued the alien in a kind of efficient yap.
     
    “Er … er … yes … er … er,” confirmed Arthur.
     
    “You’re a jerk,” repeated the alien, “a complete kneebiter.”
     
    “Er …”
     
    The...
About the Author-
  • Douglas Adams died in May 2001 at the age of 49. He was the author of five books in the Hitchhiker’s Trilogy, including 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; and Mostly Harmless. His other works include Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency; The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul; The Meaning of Liff and The Deeper Meaning of Liff (with John Lloyd); and Last Chance to See (with Mark Carwardine). His last book was the bestselling collection, The Salmon of Doubt, published posthumously in May 2002.
Reviews-
  • AudioFile Magazine Martin Freeman has the likable manner, precise diction, and restrained silliness that the comedic Hitchhiker books require, as well as, of course, a British accent. In this third book, reluctant space traveler Arthur Dent and associates must stop the inhabitants of the planet Krikkit from destroying the universe because they're upset at not being alone in it. Freeman provides accents--his American accents are accurate, if exaggerated--and funny voices, and his voice is also electronically altered for special effects. At times it's over-the-top goofy, and some of the voice distortions verge on lacking clarity, but generally he's as clear as the sometimes complex whimsy demands. Any fan of the books should enjoy this presentation. W.M. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine
  • AudioFile Magazine After adapting his Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy scripts from the BBC radio series into two successful novels, author Douglas Adams reshaped a rejected "Doctor Who" script he'd written into this third novel in the original trilogy. Reluctant space traveler Arthur Dent finds himself drawn into a race to save the universe from the people of Krikkit, who, upon discovering that they're not alone in the universe, set out to destroy it. Adams does an excellent job with the reading, although his voice drops too low when characters whisper. This reading comes from the British version of the novel, which contains profanity deleted for U.S. release. J.A.S. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine
  • Chicago Tribune
    "Wild satire . . . the feckless protagonist, Arthur Dent, is reminiscent of Vonnegut heroes."
  • Arizona Daily Star "Adams is one of those rare treasures: an author who, one senses, has as much fun writing as one has reading."
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    Books on Tape
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    All copies of this title, including those transferred to portable devices and other media, must be deleted/destroyed at the end of the lending period.

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