• Life, the Universe, and Everything

  • The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Book 3
  • By: Douglas Adams
  • Narrated by: Martin Freeman
  • Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (8,049 ratings)

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Life, the Universe, and Everything  By  cover art

Life, the Universe, and Everything

By: Douglas Adams
Narrated by: Martin Freeman
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Publisher's summary

“Wild satire.... The feckless protagonist, Arthur Dent, is reminiscent of Vonnegut heroes.” (Chicago Tribune)

The unhappy inhabitants of planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky above their heads - so they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals stand between the killer robots of Krikkit and their goal of total annihilation.

They are Arthur Dent, a mild-mannered space and time traveler who tries to learn how to fly by throwing himself at the ground and missing; Ford Prefect, his best friend, who decides to go insane to see if he likes it; Slartibartfast, the indomitable vice president of the Campaign for Real Time, who travels in a ship powered by irrational behavior; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed, three-armed ex-president of the galaxy; and Trillian, the sexy space cadet who is torn between a persistent Thunder God and a very depressed Beeblebrox.

How will it all end? Will it end? Only this stalwart crew knows as they try to avert "universal" Armageddon and save life as we know it - and don't know it!

“Adams is one of those rare treasures: an author who, one senses, has as much fun writing as one has reading.” (Arizona Daily Star)

Listen to the rest of Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "trilogy".

Want to learn more about the new Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie? Listen to this interview with Robbie Stamp, close friend of Douglas Adams and executive producer of the film.

©1982 Serious Productions, Ltd. (P)2006 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Featured Article: Best Book Trilogies to Listen to Right Now


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What listeners say about Life, the Universe, and Everything

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

They changed the words???

They change the word Fu©k to Belgium? I can understand in this day and age the insatiable need to cut out any hint of political incorrectness but come on? This ruins Douglas Adams writing. Terrible idea. please make it available with the original and correct words.

Martin Freeman did a good job narrating this book. Other than the above this is a well done version of the book.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

It's my favorite of the series

This book started out as meast least favorite of the series, but has grown on me ever since. It's now my favorite and, in my opinion, is Adams' most creative Hitchhiker book. Martin Freeman is a top rate narrator. He is much more versatile in his voice acting than I would have thought, has unique voices for each character, and is highly entertaining. I highly recommend this book, or any of this series.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

completely different read 25 years later

Any additional comments?

When I read these as a 14 year old, I thought they were hilarious. As a 40 year old, this one made me cry. A perfect portrait of middle age depression and the absurdism employed to cope in the face of the second half of life.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Why is there music playing in the background???

Why is there music playing in the background? you can't even hear the narrator! The story is fantastic and I love the entire Hitchiker's series! I have all the paperbacks but I don't have the time to actually re-read them, so I turned to Audible. I wanted to at least listen to them in the car as I drive to and from my jobs, but the music is so annoying and infuriating! And it's only at certain parts of the book, too! WHY???

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

SUPER LOUD FANFARE INSTRUMENTS

love this book, but the music at the end of chapters ruins this audiobook.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Bravo for Martin Freeman. Best man for the job.

If you perfer mono-readers rather than a group of people reading the script, then Martin Freeman is your guy. The voices for each character are constant and hardly ever change. Ever. Thank you Martin Freeman.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great

Love Martin as a actor and reader and Douglas Adams. Win,Win combination in my opinion.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Disappointing Narration, I miss Douglas Adams

Martin Freeman simply does not match up to Douglas Adam's original performance. I grew up listening to these books on tape (yes, back when it was a cassette) and I bought this digital copy thinking it was the classic rendition.

Freeman is mostly over the top and simply does not have the comedic timing necessary to pull off this narration. If they really insist on rerecording it, I would have greatly preferred Stephen Fry, but for my money Douglas Adams is darn near impossible to beat.

Don't get me wrong, I love this book...but if you can track down the old recordings, it will be well worth the effort (no, I'm not talking about the radio program...though while you are at it, feel free to track those down too!)

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A very fun read if you're hooked on the series

Would you listen to Life, the Universe, and Everything again? Why?

I see myself listening to this book again, mainly because it's very funny. "Haha" funny, not funny like a funny smell. Also, I'm pretty sure I've missed a few details here and there while giggling.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character was a speck of dust on one of the baseball bats. It stood out because it reappeared every time Arthur was looking away. I think it was Marvin's fault.

What about Martin Freeman’s performance did you like?

Martin Freeman was probably the best pick to read this series with, perhaps, the exception of that famous radio news presenter from Han Wavel.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I actually almost did! I started listening to the book on a Saturday morning, and I kept listening through while doing chores around the house. I ended up doing more chores than planned, and I think I accidentally cleaned someone else's spaceship. And ever since, I can't imagine why, my fridge no longer needs electricity: I just need to feed it some restaurant bills.

Any additional comments?

This book is definitely the opposite of belgium. (Not the country.)

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

hard to hear

too much theatrics at times making I'd difficult to hear what's being said. Music is loud and some mocked voices sound like they are in a tunnel.

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1 person found this helpful