The Comet's Flame

Don’t panic! The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is available to help you survive and succeed in a sometimes-chaotic universe…

… at least that’s the story in Douglas Adams’s enjoyable book, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (fortunately, here in our real universe we have the Bible, an “instructions manual” far more trustworthy than the Hitchhiker’s Guide… but that’s a story for another day If you like science fiction and dry British humor (think Monty Python), then The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is the book for you.

[Note: Parents be warned -- this book carries "Jed's PG rating" due to some foul language and off-color jokes. Also, some of the philosophies presented in the book (nihilism, etc.) could be harmful if taken literally.]

Negative aspects aside, I loved this book. Here’s an example of one of the wonderfully random conversations contained therein. Two space rangers (galactic police-men) pause to address Ford and Zaphod after opening fire on them…

(Space Ranger #1) “Now see here, guy. You’re not dealing with any dumb two-bit trigger-pumping morons with low hairlines, little piggy eyes and no conversation, we’re a couple of intelligent caring guys that you’d probably quite like if you met us socially! I don’t go around gratuitously shooting people and then bragging about it afterward in seedy space-ranger bars, like some cops I could mention! I go around shooting people gratuitously and then I agonize about it afterwards for hours to my girlfriend.”

(Space Ranger #2) “And I write novels! Though I haven’t had any of them published yet, so I better warn you, I’m in a meeeean mood!”

(Ford) “Who are these guys?”

(Zaphod) “Dunno. I think I preferred it when they were shooting.”

See what I mean?! The striking oddness of the book generates a kind of mystery and excitement that makes you want to read clear through to the end — if even just to figure out what in the world is going on!

I will definitely be reading the rest of the books in Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker series.