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    The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Book 2
    Unavailable
    The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Book 2
    Unavailable
    The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Book 2
    Audiobook5 hours

    The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Book 2

    Written by Douglas Adams

    Narrated by Martin Freeman

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    "DOUGLAS ADAMS IS A TERRIFIC SATIRIST."
    --The Washington Post Book World

    Facing annihilation at the hands of the warlike Vogons is a curious time to have a craving for tea. It could only happen to the cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his curious comrades in arms as they hurtle across space powered by pure improbability--and desperately in search of a place to eat.

    Among Arthur's motley shipmates are Ford Prefect, a longtime friend and expert contributor to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the three-armed, two-headed ex-president of the galaxy; Tricia McMillan, a fellow Earth refugee who's gone native (her name is Trillian now); and Marvin, the moody android who suffers nothing and no one very gladly. Their destination? The ultimate hot spot for an evening of apocalyptic entertainment and fine dining, where the food (literally) speaks for itself.

    Will they make it? The answer: hard to say. But bear in mind that the Hitchhiker's Guide deleted the term "Future Perfect" from its pages, since it was discovered not to be!

    "What's such fun is how amusing the galaxy looks through Adams' sardonically silly eyes."
    --Detroit Free Press

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJul 3, 2006
    ISBN9780739332085
    Unavailable
    The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Book 2
    Author

    Douglas Adams

    Douglas Adams created all the various and contradictory manifestations of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: radio, novels, TV, computer game, stage adaptations, comic book and bath towel. He lectured and broadcast around the world and was a patron of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and Save the Rhino International. Douglas Adams was born in Cambridge, UK and lived with his wife and daughter in Islington, London, before moving to Santa Barbara, California, where he died suddenly in 2001.

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    Reviews for The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

    4/5

    4,745 ratings97 reviews

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    • 4/5
      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 one, 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 the title 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. Also at Spoilers and Nuts
    • 3/5
      Not as entertaining as the first book, but still a funny book. There were times where I was laughing out loud, but a lot of the story seemed a little aimless.
    • 5/5
      The second book in the Hitchiker Trilogy takes place immediately after the first book concludes. The group of characters featured in the first book split up, with Zaphod finding out that he is the heart of a conspiracy to discover the true ruler of the universe (despite being president of the galaxy, it isn't him - specifically because he is president, and anyone who would want to be president shouldn't have any actual power). After some twists and turns Zaphod winds up at the Restaurant of the title with the others, and they all steal a ship.The ship turns out to be unalterably programmed to dive into a star, and everyone (except Marvin, who stays behind to operate the machine) uses a teleportation device to escape. Zaphod and Trillian find the ruler of the universe. Ford and Arthur find themselves on an alien ship that crashes on prehistoric Earth - and discover that the aliens displaced the indeginous life on the planet becoming the actual ancestors of humanity. This, of course, disrupted the Earth's functioning, meaning that the question for which "42" is the answer may never be solved - Arthur discovers that when he tries to unravel the question he gets the result "what is six times nine".Of the five books, this and the first are the best. The humor is funny without being frivolous, the satire is biting without becoming too nasty. As with all of the books, the plot serves as little more than a frame on which to hang jokes, satire, and comments on the absurd nature of the universe, but those elements are brilliantly well-done in this book.
    • 4/5
      I found it harder to get into this book than THGttG, but once I finally got involved, it was funny. It's typical Adams humor, and at times you find yourself numb to it, but still there are quite a few laugh out loud moments in this book. Adams is witty as hell and I'm looking forward to Book 3. Especially since they think 6x9=42.
    • 4/5
      I adore this series so much, I can't really review it - I end up gushing about it :)

      This installment shows a bit more bite in the underlying social commentary, but is still subtle. I may not have even noticed it if it hadn't come up in conversation with a very astute friend.

      My friend explained that part of why he's not fond of this series is that he sees vitriol driving the wacky humor and fairly absurd action. That struck me as really odd when we had the conversation, and stayed with me as I've been listening to these books. Frankly, he's right - it's there.

      Martin Freeman continues to do an outstanding job of narration! I really hope he continues to do audiobooks - I want to heat a lot more from him.
    • 4/5
      The second book in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. This book continues the adventures of Arthur Dent who was saved from being annihilated when the earth was blown up to make may for a bypass. I enjoyed this one more than the first book I think though Arthur really doesn't have much for a part in this book. He is traveling through space and time and ends back where he started only he has traveled back in time. Lots of laughs.
    • 4/5
      Not quite as magical as the first one. I had a harder time following what was going on, the book barely takes a breath. However, the writing is still incredible, the situations are creative and zany. I loved the Restaurant bit so much, I wish they'd stayed there and make that the focus of the book. But that's not Adams' style, so I can't complain too much.
    • 5/5
      Great fun to read! A must-read series.
    • 3/5
      Not as good as the first.
    • 5/5
      A re-listen for me. I dearly love these versions read by Douglas himself!
    • 5/5
      I enjoyed reading this second book as I did the first.
      Trillian, Ford, Arthur, Marvin and Zaphod are off again on crazy adventures that lead them to quite the interesting places to say the least.
      I cracked up laughing when Marvin reluctantly distracts a robot who is after Zaphod and proceeds to outwit him fairly easily. The other robot tries to show off by taking out a whole floor and plunges to the ground as he was standing on it. Marvin then goes on to say "What a depressingly stupid machine." (page 94).
      Just when things start to slowly seem to be working themselves out, trouble finds this crew and sends half of them in a teleport to a ship headed to a seemingly strange plant while the other half ends is back on the Heart of Gold ship.
      The book ends on a cliffhanger and I'm so glad I have the next book to read so I don't have to wait impatiently to find out.
      Some of the concepts, language and general adventures are completely out of this world, gut bustingly funny and hard to put down.
      I can't wait to see what happens next to these people that have found themselves thrown together.
    • 5/5
      This is the sequel to The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The adventure continues!
    • 5/5
      Martin Freeman should do the narration for all books that have a majority of male characters. The book itself is fun, but Freeman made it for me.
    • 5/5
      The Restaurant at the End of the Universe is just as great. I'm not sure why the 1001 list didn't just include the entire series. Some more interesting concepts here! I wish there were more back story to the characters though. I will continue with this one shortly!
    • 4/5
      I found it harder to get into this book than THGttG, but once I finally got involved, it was funny. It's typical Adams humor, and at times you find yourself numb to it, but still there are quite a few laugh out loud moments in this book. Adams is witty as hell and I'm looking forward to Book 3. Especially since they think 6x9=42.
    • 4/5
      I started out listening to the audiobook for The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, since I enjoyed the narration of the first book so much. I was disappointed by the narrator of this second book in the series, mainly because he gave Zaphod Beeblebrox an East coast mobster accent, and that just wasn't how I pictured his character sounding. Since I was enjoying the storyline so much however, I dug my husband's old anthology out from under the bed.

      My husband has had his anthology of Douglas Adams books sitting around the house for years. Whenever I did see this book on the shelf (years ago when it was on the shelf instead of under the bed) I always thought that the restaurant at the end of the universe was referring to a location. Imagine my surprise to learn that the restaurant is not at the edge of the universe, as I had thought before, but rather sits at the end of time (through some form of time travel) so that the diners can watch the universe end while they eat.

      Everything in this second volume is just as crazy and off-the-wall as in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, so if you liked the first book then you should enjoy the second one as well, I know I did. Also, if you are considering reading these books you do need to read them in order if you want to have any idea what is going on. The little details in these books make all the difference in the story. The more you pay attention to the details, the more fun the books are to read (it's like being privy to the details of an inside joke).
    • 3/5
      I really enjoyed Martin Freeman's reading of this book. It is off the wall and you must read "Hitchhikers Guide" first or you will be lost. This book doesn't always make sense but it is funny and an enjoyable read.
    • 4/5
      I thought this book was great, but then again I think that Douglas Adams is a pretty phenomenal guy. I can't really add to or surpass all the other amazing reviews of this book, but I will say that it is going on my 'to buy' list as well as my 'reread' list :)

      Sadly I didn't have the 3rd book ready to go at the end of this one...

    • 5/5
      Loved it! It's such a fun story and very entertaining. Definitely going to read the rest of the series eventually.
    • 5/5
      I loved The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but I somehow never got around to reading the sequels. When I discovered that the audiobooks are narrated by the awesome Martin Freeman, I knew I had to give them a try. And I'm so glad I did! The Restaurant at the End of the Universe is a bizarre, clever, hilarious adventure. Martin Freeman is an outstanding narrator with diverse, amusing voices that perfectly capture each character. I can't wait to listen to the rest of the series, which I hope is just as fun and engaging as this installment.
    • 4/5
      This book is an excellent sequel, and just as crazy as the first one. I did love it, but I didn't breeze through it as easily as the first one, it just felt a bit slow at some parts but the random explanations of useless unrelated facts and excerpts from the guide were as entertaining as always along with silly situations
    • 5/5
      In this second book of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Series, Arthur and his friends face the hardships of time travel, teleportation and dealing with the man who rules the Universe. Zarniwoop, the meddling and obnoxious editor of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy must be dealt with before the group can be reunited.This is as funny as the first book in the series and has new problems and adventures to keep the story interesting.
    • 4/5
      This is the second Hitchhiker's book. It's a continuation of what happened directly at the end of the first one, and in many ways it flows seamlessly, as if it is one story. This one is in many ways very similar - it's got the same sort of humor, the same sort of events happening in the novel, and the same treatment of the characters.Much of the book follows Zaphod's adventures, but later we check in on our other favorite characters, such as Arthur, Trillian, and Ford. Interestingly, we return to earth, but it is a prehistoric earth that Ford and Arthur find themselves on. Overall the events in this novel are just as intriguing, interesting, and entertaining as those in the first, and this is a very fitting sequel.
    • 5/5
      Out of all the Douglas Adams books I've read, I would say this is probably my favorite. If you've never read a book by this author, I would recommend you bring your towel and get ready for a bumpy, yet completely hilarious ride. The story is very far-fetched (obviously as it's a sci-fi novel) and filled with sarcasm and dry wit. You'll meet Marvin the robot, Zaphod Beeblebrox, and many other zany characters. I would say if you like British comedies, you'll absolutely adore this book.
    • 4/5
      Having read the four tales that make up the Hitchhiker 'trilogy', I thought this one was the best - more gags per inch, a bit more focused, and the excellent concept of the restaurant of the book's title - with a very bizarre 'menu'.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed this to the first episode in the series, yet still I feel that I've come to the Hitch-hiker's Guide too late in life to fully appreciate the humour. The satire is more cutting here; the ark full of middle-management and hairdressers booted off one planet onto another is a very amusing idea.
    • 4/5
      This book is humorous and engagin, although sometimes the humor can be a little too much, He definitely receives points for his unique creativity!
    • 4/5
      The Restaurant at the End of the Universe was the last of The Hitchhiker's Guide series that I truly enjoyed and found humorous. Even in this book, I found that the writing felt a little more strained than the first and that the unrestrained absurdity of the first novel had been reigned in. This said, I still thoroughly enjoyed the book. If you loved The Hitchhiker's Guide you will also like this one and will probably want to read all five books of the series. However, if you only moderately liked the Hitchhiker's Guide, I would recommend reading this one and only continuing the series if you still find yourself curious about the fates of the characters. Unfortunately, I found that the writing became decreasingly funny and increasingly forced throughout the series as though Adams' wild creativity becomes slowly diluted page to page.I do not wish to deter people from reading the series as I read all of the books and enjoyed them. However, I just wanted to relate my disappointment from book to book. Typically in a series of novels you find yourself more and more engaged with the characters and their fates as the series continues, but I found myself growing more detached. If the Hitchhiker's Guide books were longer novels I probably wouldn't have continued reading them after this novel.
    • 4/5
      This was a good book if you like British comedy. After reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the galaxy it basically is a must read. But it is fairly predictable after the previous book. Entertaining but predictable.Dascienceguy.wordpress.com
    • 5/5
      I read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe a long (very, very long!) time ago, but I never got around to reading the sequels. I'm so glad that I did! I remember now why I used to love science fiction so much. This is a fantastic book. I'm not sure if it actually means anything (!) but it is a hoot to read and wallow in. A wonderful ride.