The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Book 2

By: Douglas Adams

Narrated by: Martin Freeman

Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

Now celebrating the 42nd anniversary of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, soon to be a Hulu original series!

“Douglas Adams is a terrific satirist.”—The Washington Post Book World

Facing annihilation at the hands of the warlike Vogons? Time for a cup of tea! Join the cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his uncommon comrades in arms in their desperate search for a place to eat, as they hurtle across space powered by pure improbability.

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. Their destination? The ultimate hot spot for an evening of apocalyptic entertainment and fine dining, where the food speaks for itself (literally).

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’s sardonically silly eyes.”—Detroit Free Press

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.

©1980 Serious Productions, Ltd. (P)2006 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

The character voices

This book series is always a joy. The narrator here did a great job conveying the characters, plot and humor

The audiobook isn't as bad as everyone says.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Restaurant at the End of the Universe to be better than the print version?

I have to admit that while Martin Freeman's performance in this adaptation of "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" isn't as great as Stephen Fry's reading of the original "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" it's not bad. As some of you may know Martin Freeman played Arthur Dent in the most recent film adaptation of HHGTG. The biggest problem I hear from the other reviews are about Freeman's portrayal of Zaphod Beeblebrox as having a more East Coast (more appropriately Bostonian) accent, his portrayal of Zaphod Beeblebrox's Great-grandfather as an old reedy, high pitched, southern accent (which actually fits if you listen to the actual narration, which describes the character's accent as being high-pitched and sounding like "nails on a chalkboard" to Zaphod). My only issue so far has been with the portrayal of Mr. Zarneewoop. Freeman does apparently have some trouble maintaining this voice for some reason. The voice overall isn't great. However Martin Freeman is a seasoned actor and for the rest of the cast he's very good.

Honestly I wasn't turned off by this reading like a lot of people have complained about. So, really, you might as well give it a try.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Restaurant at the End of the Universe?

Ordering a steak at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

What does Martin Freeman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Freeman is a seasoned actor, as mentioned before. While he's not incredibly amazing as a narrator for an audiobook he does add enough inflection to give you a good read.

Most annoying Zaphod characterization in existence

The story is great. Unfortunately Martin Freeman's horrible characterization of Zaphod is so bad it distracts from it. Please have someone else do the narration. barf city.

best audiobook experience ever

I loved every moment of this, from the story, to the narration oh, and all the voices that come along with it. Martin Freeman does a fantastic job reading this book

Classic sci-fi British comedy, round 2

Obviously I love this book. It's book 2 of one of the best sci-fi or comedy books of all time. It's amazing. It's a classic. It's a riot.
But... the narration is a little dry. I love Martin Freeman but somehow his read is dry in the wrong way. And his Zaphod voice is for some reason an annoying Boston accent, and I find it really grating. I am left wishing it was more British, which is something I didn't think would be possible for a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book would ever need. I wish Stephen Fry had narrated the rest of the series.

Just as funny

the second book is just as offbeat and hilarious as the first. Martin Freeman is a great actor. but I miss Stephen Fry's narration.

Good story

The book was a good continuation of the first, however the narration was vastly different. It was a difficult going directly from one to the other. I preferred the voice work of Stephen Fry in the first installment, but had I not had that comparison, I probably would have enjoyed Martin Freeman more.

Such a deep thought funny story

If you love the movie, you will enjoy this. So crazy, yet some things kind make sense. I truly did enjoy it & I am going for part 3 right now.

Still great!

The almost overwhelming amount of absurdity never gets old. I have read this book first about 20 years ago. It still made me laugh out loud many times! This guy should be elevated to sainthood!!!

Martin Freeman is Superb, a real Frood

Simply the total, absolute best audiobook performance I've ever heard. Adams's HITCHHIKER series never ceases to impress and make one feel, even in the chaos of reality, everything is all right.