The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Oh, I was so excited to read this book.

I'd heard great things about it. It's so rare to find a genuinely funny book and all my friends had raved about it, I was so sure I would love it. It sounded exactly like my cup of tea with a humorous narrative style and playfully absurd characters. And to be fair, it is both of those things. It did make me laugh at times, it made me smile a lot and I can't say I didn't enjoy reading it.

I just wish it had more substance.

I can hear the cries of anger now. 'But that's not the point! It's meant to be a funny book, you're not supposed to take it seriously!'. And okay, I get that. But I'm sorry, a book, a movie, anything should still have something to say. You should still finish it feeling like you've gained something simply from experiencing it. Can I honestly say I gained anything from Hitchhiker's?

Let me make this clear, I don't hate this book by any means. It was enjoyable, it was fun and it killed some time. But about three-quarters of the way through I realised it wasn't going to turn out to be the clever thing I'd been hoping for and that, coupled with a lack of a proper ending, meant I just couldn't love it. I'm sorry sci-fi fans. I know I should know better. But this book simply wasn't for me.

Overall Score:

.5