Is anyone else struggling with this book? I bought it a month ago with a lot of excitement. My friend had raved about its humor and creative concepts a lot, which made me curious to read it.

I get the humor bit, it makes me chuckle every now and then. But the rapid introduction of new concepts like spaceships, planets etc takes me out of the flow over and over.

I’d love to hear your opinions on it

  • lemon-cakey@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Same, I found it hilarious at first and loved it, but then the constantly changing plot took me out of it and I couldn’t really get back in. I think we’re definitely in the minority though. I finished it but am not particularly interested in the others.

  • Dunbaratu@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    It worked better when it was a radio play as originally designed. Because then the interruptions where the narrator speaks an aside to the audience about an entry in The Guide were better signposted by the fact that you hear a switch in voice actor. The Guide narration was a different voice so it felt more natural than when the written word takes an aside.

  • PeterJuncqui@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    There may exist a compatibility problem here; Hitchhiker to me has one of the greatest flows in sci-fi, maybe the greatest. Adams was a virtuoso in writing crazy ideas and new concepts as it was as easy as reciting the alphabet. The ideas and absudism are the main characters though, like many said before, do not go into it expecting something more standard, The Hitchhiker series is, after all, satirical.

  • gift4fiction@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Go on the internet archive and try the audio drama. The first book is an adaptation of that.

    They are not adaptations of each other but it might help you understand the humor to hear humor out loud.