The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe (1997) - Plot & Excerpts
Captain Jeltz, our old, not so good friend, ( a callous butcher) from the previous book, is after the stolen spaceship, with the unlikely name,"Heart of Gold", again! On board are Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Trillian, and the ex -President of the Galaxy, the thief, Zaphod Beeblebrox ( nobody cares about Marvin, the annoying robot). The unsmiling captain likes killing, that's what he does best. The fugitive ship is just about to be no more, with the help of the cruel Vogan ( a bad poet too), and his deadly spacecraft's weapons...The Heart of Gold's computer, is too busy making the perfect cup of tea, to defend the vessel.Thanks to the thirsty Mr.Dent, a man must have his beverage! The only bright side is, that the Englishman gets the best tea, he's ever had...With the crew, having only a few moments to live, the great- grandfather of Zaphod's, is someways, conjured up by Beeblebrox... He can't explain it either. Great -grandpa isn't very happy, observing the stupidity, of his great -grandson. Four generations and what a blockhead, it has produced. And an ill timed lecture, on his relative's shameful habits, complicates things. But blood is blood and with the desperate, nervous encouragement of the rest of the gang. He sends them in their merry, separate ways. Marvin and the former president, vanishing from the bridge. And the craft travels many light years away, from the rather dangerous, somewhat bleak situation. Zaphod materializes on distant, Ursa Minor Beta, a planet, where it's always a sunny, afternoon, along also, his not so fun but gloomy robot companion, Marvin, and "his" constant bad moods. Arriving in a bar, he's amazed, speechless, shocked, but the gentleman is no stranger to such an environment, and soon feels right at home (after a couple of good drinks). And on this world is the wonderful headquarters, of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Mr.Beeblebrox has an overpowering, mysterious urge, to see (he doesn't know why?), Mr.Zarniwoop, the editor. But there are problems, there always some, the sweet talking elevator, won't take them to the 15th floor. Even asks , if they wouldn't prefer going in the opposite direction, down. Strange behavior for this machine, some kind of premonition ? The reason becomes apparent soon after, an attack from the galaxy's forces, not happy with our former leader's actions. Despite the gallant efforts of Marvin's, they take the whole huge building, and transports it to the worst place, in the Milky Way, the Frogstar planet. What a dump! A voice tells him to come on down from the 15th floor...He does, very slowly, and enters a structure, on the dreary surface, that will what, kill him? Maybe or maybe not... He's hungry, slightly tired, and would prefer to be , in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, (Milliways) where they see the end of the universe show , ever night ( with a celebrity host ). Reasonable prices too, a great view of the entertainment, if you can get a good table, and join his friends for a few libations....The only heaven, that our not quite perfect hero knows.
I picked it up this morning and I finished it 7 hours later. I just didn't want to let it go. Too much fun, I suppose. It's so funny that I still laugh at childish jokes that don't even make that much sense! I thought I was smarter than that, but if I'm not, I'm happy. This is definitely a series to read, it's just too much to miss out on! As the second book of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Restaurant at the End of Universe picks Arthur Dent up from where he was, in the middle of a crazy group that he didn't ask for, in places he didn't want to visit, with enemies he didn't want to have. Even if I'd like to do a serious review for this, I just can't. It's simply too easy-going for me to think about it in a serious manner. I'm having fun with it. And it's not just the childish jokes that I love. It's also the fact that throughout the book, Douglas manages to talk about and mock the human values of today and what we believe of ourselves and how we act around other people. It's amazing how he can do that while still keeping his boyish charm and delivering line after line that make you laugh/giggle/smile. Loved it! Some quotes, will you? In fact to see anything much uglier than a Vogon ship you would have to go inside it and look at a Vogon. If you are wise, however, this is precisely what you will avoid doing because the average Vogon will not think twice before doing something so pointlessly hideous to you that you will wish you had never been born - or (if you are a clearer minded thinker) that the Vogon had never been born.They were a double pair of Joo Janta 200 Super-Chromatic Peril Sensitive Sunglasses, which had been specially designed to help people develop a relaxed attitude to danger. At the first hint of trouble they turn totally black and thus prevent you from seeing anything that might alarm you. "Look," said Zaphod, "I'm up to here with cool, okay? I am so amazingly cool you could keep a side of meat in me for a month. I am so hip I have difficulty seeing over my pelvis. Now will you move before I blow it?"Trin Tragula - for that was his name - was a dreamer, a thinker, a speculative philosopher or, as his wife would have it, an idiot. "You mean they want to arrest me over the phone?" said Zaphod. "Could be. I'm a pretty dangerous dude when I'm cornered.""Yeah," said a voice from under the table, "you go to pieces so fast people get hit by the shrapnel."In the end, pretty nice piece of a second installment and I'm soon going to devour the other three!
What do You think about The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe (1997)?
When I read the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, there was a feeling of relief because so many people like it, and I had liked it too! Once that was out the way, many said I had to read on to the Restaurant at the End of the Universe because it was even better. Thus the pressure was right back on again.Thankfully, I enjoyed the whole restaurant business just as much as the first. It felt a lot easier to read, presumably because the characters are all embedded in my mind now, and finding a two-headed being as one of the main protagonists is no longer a surprise. I think I also liked that the Guide itself played less of a role in this one and was even discarded at the end. That may be sacrilege given it’s the concept for the books in the first place, but it was fun to get through the story without having to refer to the encyclopaedia every step of the way.Events twist and turn as much as in the first book, but it’s always the little things that are the best: Teaching not-quite-cavepeople to play Scrabble. The cow that is offended by the idea of a salad. Breaking the computer by asking for a cup of tea. It’s all pure genius and totally wonderful, if a little bamboozling at times.
—Christine Blachford
This was a most excellent second novel in what is a weird and intriguing series. I don't know how many fans who are not into sci-fi enjoy this series but I do know it is a must read if you appreciate sci-fi and humour.Douglas Adams has this way of using Deus ex Machina to produce profound humorous effects. It makes his work rather bizarre and zany but it is all the more endearing for that. Because without all the quirky, silly comedy, the flippant lines, the weird and random happenings his work would lack plot. But I think that is Adams point. His point is that the Universe does not make sense without the weird, wonderful and completely weird things happening.I'm not sure I agree with some of his philosophies. More so because they exclude God from the picture or at times even appear to slightly mock religious ideas. I am all for people being irreligious so long as it avoids being 'blasphemous' and stays somewhat respectful because I think that if you don't allow laughs and jokes you allow yourself to become religious rather than faithful. But ideologies aside there are some amazing and brilliant lines in this book that made me laugh out loud on the bus. I'm sure several people gave me odd looks as a result.Perhaps my favourite moment however came at the start when Arthur Dent asks a synthesiser to make him a cup of tea. To find out what happens you'd have to read the book. Because when it comes to comic sci-fi Douglas Adams was one of the first and best at it.So I would encourage you to at least give the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy a go and then if you don't like it come back and I'll give you a refund of your time. Yes I'll give you a copy of, perhaps, Twilight which I'm sure will nullify all your memories and leave you catatonic. How's that for a bargain?Disclaimer: I have never read Twilight because I don't wish to end up catatonic.
—Jonathan
I'm absolutely astounded at how quotable this book is. It's no wonder Douglas Adams suffered from writers block because just about every line in the entire book (and previous book, and probably subsequent books), is perfectly crafted to bring about a chuckle. In this second book of the trilogy of five (which is now 6 I'm told), our crew of Beeblebrox, Arthur, Trillian, Ford Prefect, and of course the loveable Melvin the depressed robot, has to find the man behind the power, the ruler of the entire universe. Of course, it's peppered with more great aliens and planets and if you thought the Vogons were great (or terrible, depending how you look at it), well, let's just say the committee meetings don't end there.Doug Adams was absolutely brilliant and I thought this was even more quotable than the last. And I love quotes. The actual plot was a little less so, and it's definitely a middle novel with that ending.If this beginning doesn't sell you, however, I definitely won't:"The story so far:In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move."4 out of 5 Stars (highly recommended)
—seak
