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.

underappreciated

just a continuation of the first book with all the wit you can expect. performance by Martin Freeman can quite compare to Stephen Fry but is very good and he does a good job of voicing different actors.

Enjoyed

Good book. Not as good as the first. Gets long and repetitive. Overall a must if you trade the first!

It’s just not fun anymore

I miss Stephen Fry.
I hate Martin Freeman.
The books are great.
That is all.

Quotable book and narration.

I was upset at first to see that Stephen Fry did not narrate any more books after the first, but decided I must carry on with the story.

Martin Freeman did an amazing job with this narration, and the added voice modulations on the ethereal and strange creatures were perfect.

Like my review of Stephen Fry with the first book, I gave this audiobook 5 stars as well as the narration, but the overall 4 stars since I again had the problem with the chapters with audible. Some sections had multiple chapters in one so it was difficult to navigate through the book when going back.

Anyway, still loved it. About to buy book 3!

easy to get lost

fast pace and alot can happen in about a minute. a few times I zoned out and when I came back I had no idea what was going on haha. good story, if you like the first book you will enjoy this one as well.

not as good as Stephen fry

good book but Stephen fry's hitchhikers guide to the galaxy was a bit better. still worth it though. Freeman is still pretty damn good.

Great Book, not a fan of the performance

If you could sum up The Restaurant at the End of the Universe in three words, what would they be?

Hoopy Frood Fun

Who was your favorite character and why?

Zaphod Beeblebrox... He's just this guy, you know.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Martin Freeman?

Stephen Fry - Keep the same narrator for the entire series

Any additional comments?

The narration is fine, except for the character voices. Most of the character voices are overdone and don't feel right. Many of the voices have extra effects added that distract from the story. Zaphod with an overdone Boston accent makes me cringe.

Great book, terrible reading

I don’t know why the version read by the author is not available however I wish I had not paid for this mess. Zaphod is so poorly voiced that I was unable to finish the audiobook. I’d skip this one.

A bit jarring

Ill be honest, after the brilliant delivery given by Sir Stephen Fry in the first book, the way that Martin Freeman approaches some of the voices is… jarring to say the least.

It perplexes me that he would give Zaphod a Jersey accent. Where Stephen fry approaches him as aloof and charming, Martins approach feels like the annoying guy at the club that wont stop spilling beer over you and your friends.

He also just feels… rushed. Theres no pause for effect in most of the delivery, and feels more like reading of an essay rather than of a story.

Goodness with a side of noice wrapped up in a towel...

Great continuation of a classic sci-fi comedy done right. Cheers Mr. Adams, we miss you.