Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
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- Create Date：2021-07-27 09:50:58
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Douglas Adams
- ISBN：1529034582
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Summary
What do a dead cat， a computer whiz-kid， an Electric Monk who believes the world is pink， quantum mechanics， a Chronologist over 200 years old， Samuel Taylor Coleridge （poet）， and pizza have in common？ Apparently not much; until Dirk Gently， self-styled private investigator， sets out to prove the fundamental interconnectedness of all things by solving a mysterious murder， assisting a mysterious professor， unravelling a mysterious mystery， and eating a lot of pizza – not to mention saving the entire human race from extinction along the way （at no extra charge）。 To find out more， read this book （better still， buy it， then read it） – or contact Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency。 ‘A thumping good detective-ghost-horror-whodunnit-time travel-romantic-musical-comedy epic。’ The author
Reviews
Nikhil Bagga
，
Utterly nonsensical and extremely hard to follow at times， but it has its moments。 I feel it works better in a tv format。 If only the show hadn't been cancelled。Still quite fun。 Utterly nonsensical and extremely hard to follow at times， but it has its moments。 I feel it works better in a tv format。 If only the show hadn't been cancelled。Still quite fun。 。。。more
diya
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Regarding the BBC full-cast dramatisation: absolutely perfect
James Horsley
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This is a strange and unique novel with some really bizarre characters and events。In the first few chapters we meet several characters with seemingly unconnected stories and the novel feels very disjointed。 There is a dinner at a university， an electric monk on a horse， a business man driving a car and being killed。 Once the title character 'Dirk Gently' is introduced everything starts to gel and the stories interconnect。The story involves ghosts， a sofa stuck on a staircase， a time machine， ali This is a strange and unique novel with some really bizarre characters and events。In the first few chapters we meet several characters with seemingly unconnected stories and the novel feels very disjointed。 There is a dinner at a university， an electric monk on a horse， a business man driving a car and being killed。 Once the title character 'Dirk Gently' is introduced everything starts to gel and the stories interconnect。The story involves ghosts， a sofa stuck on a staircase， a time machine， aliens， possession， murder mystery with references to Coleridge。Dirk and Richard are a great double-act and a very much like chalk and cheese。 Richard is in an eternal state of being confused about events whereas Dirk always gives the impression he is in control of the situation。 A modern day Holmes and Watson with the reader somewhere between the 2 characters。It could be argued that Adams has tried to squeeze too many storyline into the text with characters such as Susan and Michael being underdeveloped and the murder of Ross completely brushed aside and only mentioned as an after thought。 I would be interested to see what else is on store for Dirk Gently and which other strange adventures Adams has created for them。 。。。more
Pauline
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Un vrai coup de coeur， une histoire hyper bien ficelé， des personnages loufoques et une plume originale
Chris
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Fun time， plenty of interesting ideas。 Perhaps （as other suggested in their reviews） a bit too complex to enjoy while simultaneously understand， because you really don't know what is going on until about 50 pages in。 I felt Adams was not trying to inject as much humor into this as he would in previous novels。 Also， totally nothing like the BBC series of a few years ago。 Fun time， plenty of interesting ideas。 Perhaps （as other suggested in their reviews） a bit too complex to enjoy while simultaneously understand， because you really don't know what is going on until about 50 pages in。 I felt Adams was not trying to inject as much humor into this as he would in previous novels。 Also， totally nothing like the BBC series of a few years ago。 。。。more
Croweykid
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Update， upon completion: Oh， very well。 5 stars。 Have at it then， Adams。 You win again。Unlike most stories with start well and slump off at the end， this one was dynamite with a long fuse。 Patience pays off。=====*update at 80% completion*I am enamoured。 I love every scene with Michael。 The monk is developing as an effective running gag。The plot has taken an interesting twist/shape & Adams has pulled a clever conjuring trick - narrative cohesion out of thin air！ A plot out of nothing。 I should ne Update， upon completion: Oh， very well。 5 stars。 Have at it then， Adams。 You win again。Unlike most stories with start well and slump off at the end， this one was dynamite with a long fuse。 Patience pays off。=====*update at 80% completion*I am enamoured。 I love every scene with Michael。 The monk is developing as an effective running gag。The plot has taken an interesting twist/shape & Adams has pulled a clever conjuring trick - narrative cohesion out of thin air！ A plot out of nothing。 I should never have doubted his cleverness。Added a star。 This now at 4/5 in my little black book of petty scorekeeping with the world。=================Previously:3/5 stars。I'm one of those sorry wretches who watched the Elijah Wood BBC production before coming scrounging into the dead trees for its namesake， knowing full well - per the rumors - that the two had barely even names in common。Nonetheless， I was intent not to let that inform my sentiments toward the book。 I let it be its stuffy British male-centric windbag self without complaint for 57% of its pages， at which point， I took stock of how much book I'd read and how ambivalent my feelings about any of it， and questioned seriously why so much time was going into this。In Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy， Adams was a literary god。 Life blossomed with hopes and possibilities at the reading; a whole new world of language and ideas about existence opened unto me， and its surrealism， absurdity and cynical resignation all nested in my bones where they may live and sing and raise their young until those very bones are dust。 I dared not hope for a second epiphanical read。 Not that the masses are capable of judging the best content - if we look at the IMDB reviews of live action Disney remakes - nor even the book reading masses - there have been some similarly questionable moments in the NYT Best Sellers list - but even still， I thought it likely that Douglas Adams fans would have kicked up more of a commotion about this book if it was packing heat to change lives。At any rate， the lack of fuss seems totally on point。 The show was one I wasn't terribly engaged with initially， but it grew in depth and intrigue as it went on， and the characters became much more enticing。At the 57% mark - and now around 70% - I still have yet to find rapport with a single character or solid concept， except that of the electric monk。 He was full of promise in those opening pages， but almost an afterthought for the rest。 There seemed to be so much more one could have done to make him a fun and lively character， but he still hasn't come into his own， truly， despite taking actions and doing things。 Richard isn't terribly likeable - he's essentially just any/every Martin Freeman character。 In fact， in my mind， he is Martin Freeman。As for Dirk， I like him better as an older character than in the show， because that shows the truly perpetual， timeless， unsinkable haplessness of some people。Michael is the character， so far， with the most life and intrigue breathed into him， though clearly at least somewhat evil and probably will turn out to be unsympathetic， he is something of a joke， but Adams makes him sympathetic。 In fact， so much life is breathed into Michael， that I can't help but feel he is a sort of author's avatar in this story， and Adams may well have vilified himself in this character。 But overall， the story chugs along with a heavy but steady momentum， the way an elephant stomps between two ends of a zoo yard and pauses briefly by the tire swing to have a snack of leaves。 Like the elephant， it may well be capable of mustering alarming speed at some point， but for now， that's its best kept secret。 There are two （edit: three） women in the whole story， only one is likely to be of note， and both are referred to far more than they're ever given air time or dialogue （but this is natural， as the perspective seems always to settle in the body of whichever male character is in the scene at the time - but for one exception）。 The little girl is a person in one scene， and Susan - while carrying more weight as a motivating plot point - tends to exist much more like a talisman or location or other inanimate object of importance。 （Edit: she is periodically given deep and humanizing moments through Martin's - I mean Richard's - adoring eyes。）I don't like this book， but something compells me to finish it regardless。 To do otherwise would feel wasteful， like not finishing a meal of unsalted potatos and a single fried egg someone set before you， greasy， cold and unseasoned。 Potatoes and eggs are still pretty tasty， even in such a plain form， and they'll do the trick to fill you up。 You can't guarantee that with many other substances/books in this world。。。put on a blindfold， take a spin with an outstretched hand and put the first thing you touch into your mouth。 You will find that most of the things surrounding you at any given time are neither edible nor particularly nourishing， so cold saltless potatoes and egg is still better than most things。The things that make it more nutritious than cardboard are Adams' lovely little embellishments of poetry， thoughts about fractals， solidarity with the inner monologue of computer programming， descriptions of musical awareness， and occasionally poignant concepts like that of the electric monk。 These are little moments of extraordinary beauty woven through an otherwise rather mundane plot and thusfar mediocre batch of characters。 It's like the balmy glow you feel waking on Monday morning from a very strange， surreal and transcendental dream， all the while knowing you still have to go punch someone else's dull data into someone else's dull forms for the next 8 hours， and then try to make peace with your soul again at the end of the day， like a dog left home alone。Will update this review once I finish， but will be spectacularly surprised if anything much changes。 。。。more
Elrod
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From the first page I was hooked and look forward to other stories from 。
aliyah :]
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i think my main issue with this book is the fact that i watched the show first bc i absolutely LOVED the show。 tis still one of my favourites。 and the show does an excellent job of being weird and interesting with compelling characters。 however， this book。。。 was so boring。 i wanted to slam my head into a wall while reading it i’ll be honest。 after some internet research i discovered that the show took only the loose premise of the books and nothing else， which was a good idea。 see， the show is a i think my main issue with this book is the fact that i watched the show first bc i absolutely LOVED the show。 tis still one of my favourites。 and the show does an excellent job of being weird and interesting with compelling characters。 however， this book。。。 was so boring。 i wanted to slam my head into a wall while reading it i’ll be honest。 after some internet research i discovered that the show took only the loose premise of the books and nothing else， which was a good idea。 see， the show is able to make the beginning weirdness before dirk figures everything out to still be compelling and interesting。 you wanna figure out whats happening！！！ the book did not do this。 i did not enjoy sitting through that beginning conversation at the university。 the only part of that kind that was executed correctly was the horse in the bathroom。 also for a book NAMED after dirk， the best and most interesting character， HE DIDNT SHOW UP UNTIL 60% INTO THE BOOK。 his parts were good but i wish there were M o r e。 。。。more
Clayton
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its always time for douglas adamsbut i like hitchhikers much more
Janet Hillier
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2nd favourite book of all time。 Definite go to comfort book
paper0r0ss0
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La prima parola che mi viene in mente per descrivere questo libro e': cazzeggio。 Solo cosi' penso possa essere definito un romanzo del genere。 Non l'ho capito？ Puo' darsi。 Non l'ho apprezzato？ Ancor piu' probabile。 Se si escludesse la buona vena ironica （british direbbe qualcuno） che prosegue per tutta la narrazione， rimarrebbe ben poco。 Solo la simpatia （sprecata） dei due personaggi principali impedisce di passare dal cazzeggio alla cazzata。 La prima parola che mi viene in mente per descrivere questo libro e': cazzeggio。 Solo cosi' penso possa essere definito un romanzo del genere。 Non l'ho capito？ Puo' darsi。 Non l'ho apprezzato？ Ancor piu' probabile。 Se si escludesse la buona vena ironica （british direbbe qualcuno） che prosegue per tutta la narrazione， rimarrebbe ben poco。 Solo la simpatia （sprecata） dei due personaggi principali impedisce di passare dal cazzeggio alla cazzata。 。。。more
James
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3。25
Carolina Alex
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Greetings， I want to appreciate Dr okobugo for Helping my husband and I with the cure for our Herpes disease we were infected with Herpes for some years， I read an article about Dr okobugo and I contacted him and told him of our problem， he told me not to worry That he can help us， he prepared his herbal cure for me and he sent me and instructed me on how we will use it。 I am happy to tell you now that my husband and I are completely herpes negative。 You can also contact him if you have any prob Greetings， I want to appreciate Dr okobugo for Helping my husband and I with the cure for our Herpes disease we were infected with Herpes for some years， I read an article about Dr okobugo and I contacted him and told him of our problem， he told me not to worry That he can help us， he prepared his herbal cure for me and he sent me and instructed me on how we will use it。 I am happy to tell you now that my husband and I are completely herpes negative。 You can also contact him if you have any problems and I promise you that you will be happy just as I am now。 I had my doubt at first but after talking with Dr okobugo I was relieved with his words of wisdom he is indeed a savior you can also contact him on his Email:drokobugo1@gmail。comThe Doctor website"""::;https://drokobugo1。wixsite。com/welcom。。。 。。。more
Fred
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Well that was a trip。Doesn't fill the void left by the show， but definitely about as weird and loopy。 And audiobook narration done by Douglas Adams himself！ Well that was a trip。Doesn't fill the void left by the show， but definitely about as weird and loopy。 And audiobook narration done by Douglas Adams himself！ 。。。more
Beserra
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Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency got my juices flowing。 Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency got my juices flowing。 。。。more
Caitlin Fisher
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Simply not as clever or funny as Hitchhiker's， but I'm a sucker for an extended "Rhine of the Ancient Mariner" reference。 Simply not as clever or funny as Hitchhiker's， but I'm a sucker for an extended "Rhine of the Ancient Mariner" reference。 。。。more
Rebecca
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The weirdest book I’ve ever read。 I don’t even know how many stars to give it。 Is it brilliant？ Or just weird？ I thought I had previously read & liked Adams’s Hitchhiker book（s？）， which is why I bought this when I saw it at a garage sale， but this—I really had to push myself to finish it， am looking forward to getting back to something more “normal”。 I probably wouldn’t have understood even the little of it that I think I do if not for reading an explanation in a review on here。 （Sorry I can’t t The weirdest book I’ve ever read。 I don’t even know how many stars to give it。 Is it brilliant？ Or just weird？ I thought I had previously read & liked Adams’s Hitchhiker book（s？）， which is why I bought this when I saw it at a garage sale， but this—I really had to push myself to finish it， am looking forward to getting back to something more “normal”。 I probably wouldn’t have understood even the little of it that I think I do if not for reading an explanation in a review on here。 （Sorry I can’t tell you whose review the explanatory comment was under。） Something to the effect that Coleridge never finished the Kubla Khan poem， so when a second & third（？） stanza was read at a dinner， that was the evidence that Time had been messed with。 And frankly stories of time travel always give me a headache。 Is that a spoiler？ Only if you would have figured that bit out on your own。 Otherwise it’s just a helpful hint， like when I read it in the other person’s comment。 “Dirk Gently #1”？！ Yiu mean there’s more of this weirdness？？ Not for me， thanks。 There were a few redeeming moments of humor in characters’ behavior or dialog， some amusingly quirky ways Adams described something。 But not enough for me to read another one of this series。 。。。more
Charles Parke
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I love Douglas Adams and his ability to stand familar cliches on their headexample in the Holistic Detective Agency “Sherlock Holmes observed that once you have eliminated the impossible then whatever remains， however improbable， must be the answer。 I， however， do not like to eliminate the impossible。”I come back to this book often。
Oksana Solonska
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Дугласе， давай залишимось друзями。 Ця книга стала між нами。 І я маю сказати， шо діло не в тобі， канєшно ж
Daniel Callister
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The book seemed to jump all over the place， but Adams did a great job of bringing it all together very nicely。 The humor is witty and in keeping with Adams' reputation， although this platform doesn't offer quite the rich opportunities for humor or zaniness that the Hitchhiker's Guide universe does。 While I had a hard time getting into the book， I did come around and warm up to it about two-thirds of the way through。 The book seemed to jump all over the place， but Adams did a great job of bringing it all together very nicely。 The humor is witty and in keeping with Adams' reputation， although this platform doesn't offer quite the rich opportunities for humor or zaniness that the Hitchhiker's Guide universe does。 While I had a hard time getting into the book， I did come around and warm up to it about two-thirds of the way through。 。。。more
Matthew
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Douglas Adams called it his "thumping good detective-ghost-horror-who dunnit-time travel-romantic-musical-comedy-epic"。 Indeed there are so many different strands in Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency that it is hard to see how they will ever come together。There is an eccentric and forgetful Cambridge University professor called Chronotis who performs a seemingly impossible magic trick。 There is a maverick who goes by various names， and is now Dirk Gently， and running a holistic detective a Douglas Adams called it his "thumping good detective-ghost-horror-who dunnit-time travel-romantic-musical-comedy-epic"。 Indeed there are so many different strands in Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency that it is hard to see how they will ever come together。There is an eccentric and forgetful Cambridge University professor called Chronotis who performs a seemingly impossible magic trick。 There is a maverick who goes by various names， and is now Dirk Gently， and running a holistic detective agency， in which he finds patterns in every aspect of what is happening around him。 He is going to need that skill。 Gently is Ford Prefect （knowledgeable but infuriating） to Richard MacDuff’s Arthur Dent （amiable but confused and irritable）。There are two ghosts unable to find rest for different reasons。 There is an Electric Monk whose programming has gone wrong causing him to develop faith in everything。 There is a gloomy rich man that Adams cannot help mocking since his life is really not so hard。 How on earth will all those disparate elements finally connect in the end？ （There is also a sofa that is inexplicably stuck on a stairway， and which nobody can remove， but here it seems Adams feels that not every mystery can be resolved。）Adams does pull the elements together somehow， though the ending is so confusing that it elucidates many key points and obscures others。 It is a little worrying for a book when I have to read its Wikipedia entry because I failed to understand the ending。Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency owes a strong debt to Douglas Adams’ time as script editor for Dr Who。 Many key elements of the plot are taken from the Adams-scripted Shada， the funniest Dr Who story never shown （due to a strike at the BBC）。 Adams also throws in elements of City of Death， the funniest Dr Who story that was shown， but these are naturally more sparing， and to discuss them is to reveal the book’s ending。Shada is the most important influence。 Like Shada， key parts of the book take place at university and revolve around a professor whose name （Chronotis） and poor memory give us clues about his origins。 （Presumably for reasons of copyright infringement， Adams does not make him a Time Lord as in the original story。）Adams suffuses his book with a love of Cambridge University， its exciting and idiosyncratic lifestyle， and the stuffy and pompous lecturers that make such good sport。 The world of learning is also here。 There are historical allusions to George III’s madness， the music of Bach， and a rendering of Coleridge’s Kubla Khan in its entirety （and then some）。 Adams also throws in plenty of scientific jargon， but I cannot say how much of it is correct， and how much is sci-fi mumbo-jumbo。Adams’ attitude towards authority is very much a 1970s one， similar to that found in Monty Python， and I feel a little nostalgic towards that kind of authority。 What people seemed to fear then were fussy and bossy bureaucrats acting as killjoys and needing to have their trousers pulled down。 If only that was the worst we thought about government and senior figures in society now。To read Adams is to love him， and to like his work。 Here is the curious paradox。 Why do I not love his work as well？ I do like it。 However while Adams comes across as an interesting and charming human being and a great humourist， he is no great shakes as a novelist。Dirk Gently is tied up with too many passages of purple prose that slow the story down。 These mix with occasional clumsy sentences。 Its titular hero takes too long to establish himself， and the resolution is a little muddled。The best passages are often the dialogue， making me wonder if Adams would be the perfect dinner guest。 While the omniscient narrator is obliged to tell the story honestly， the characters can be playful， sarcastic and deliberately obtuse， rather like the fops in an Oscar Wilde play。 They are freed from the need to express an authorial viewpoint， and can say what they like。It is easy to see why Adams excelled as a scriptwriter rather than a novelist。 However I do not wish to be too down on Dirk Gently， which is still good fun to read。 There are a number of jokes that made me laugh out loud。 I appreciate the fertility of his imagination， and the indirect and comical way in which he brings it out。 。。。more
Andrew
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To be honest this is the first time I have read Douglas Adams Dirk Gently books and I have to say it was more of a challange than I was expecting。 Now I know that Douglas Adams is famous for his Hitch-Hikers series which took absurdist science fiction to new heights （am sure the more scholarly out there will tell me what the correct term is） but that is such a well know and loved story - that it can almost tell itself。 However with Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency I felt that the absurdit To be honest this is the first time I have read Douglas Adams Dirk Gently books and I have to say it was more of a challange than I was expecting。 Now I know that Douglas Adams is famous for his Hitch-Hikers series which took absurdist science fiction to new heights （am sure the more scholarly out there will tell me what the correct term is） but that is such a well know and loved story - that it can almost tell itself。 However with Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency I felt that the absurdity was cranked up a little too high - part of the early story I struggled to follow as they seem to jump around far too much either in subject or dialogue or in some cases location。 Now true it does all come together and form a cohesive story and quite a fun one to be honest however it took its time and that was a struggle。 I agree with many readers out there if a story does not "click" then move on - after all there are far too many books out there to waste on those you do not enjoy and this book did skate very close to that however it pulled it back just as quickly。 Will I read the next in the series - probably but I am going to have to build up to it so do not expect it any time soon。 。。。more
Brenda
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This book is a real page turner。
Emily
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What a fun book！I spent the first few chapters trying to figure out how it all connected; the robot， the poetry dinner and the title character。 But about halfway through （around the time Dirk entered the story） I was enjoying the story so much I stopped worrying about the haphazard plot making sense。 Adams even managed to include the bit with the couch into the ending。 Bravo！ The second book is already on its way here。
Sarah
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I liked this much better than the Hitchhiker's Guide。 It doesn't have the same pervading sense of hopelessness and nothing-matters-ness。 The story was excellent as well。 I didn't love the book， mostly for the same reasons I don't love the start of Neverwhere， but I'd consider rereading it at some point， and I may look up the sequels。 I liked this much better than the Hitchhiker's Guide。 It doesn't have the same pervading sense of hopelessness and nothing-matters-ness。 The story was excellent as well。 I didn't love the book， mostly for the same reasons I don't love the start of Neverwhere， but I'd consider rereading it at some point， and I may look up the sequels。 。。。more
Mary
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man really recycled a scrapped dr who character。。。。。 <3
Steven
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Cute and silly。 I took about half the book to figure out what the plot was but once that happened I enjoyed it。
Karii Kosmos
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This book helped me get back into reading。 I love how chaotic Adams writing style is。
Shikhar Nigam
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Incredible prose as always。 Bit thin on the plot as always。 But it's the journey we read Douglas Adams for， not the destination。 Incredible prose as always。 Bit thin on the plot as always。 But it's the journey we read Douglas Adams for， not the destination。 。。。more
Anita Orgovan
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