• Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

  • By: Douglas Adams
  • Narrated by: Douglas Adams
  • Length: 3 hrs and 1 min
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (2,089 ratings)

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Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency  By  cover art

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

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

There is a long tradition of Great Detectives, and Dirk Gently does not belong to it. But his search for a missing cat uncovers a ghost, a time traveler, AND the devastating secret of humankind! Detective Gently's bill for saving the human race from extinction: NO CHARGE.

©1991 Douglas Adams (P)2004 Simon & Schuster

What listeners say about Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,387
  • 4 Stars
    449
  • 3 Stars
    180
  • 2 Stars
    46
  • 1 Stars
    27
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    1,418
  • 4 Stars
    318
  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
    17
  • 1 Stars
    9
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,238
  • 4 Stars
    381
  • 3 Stars
    176
  • 2 Stars
    39
  • 1 Stars
    27

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

Sadly, it's abridged

I wish I had realized it was an abridgement. My bad, but Adams was a wordsmith and nothing should be slashed. I hope Audible or the publisher will give us the full version sometime. As one of my favorite novels, it is lacking.

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175 people found this helpful

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

Great book, not great abridged

I love the book and Douglas Adams is one of my favorite authors (and now one of my favorite narrators), but the abridgment of this book is a crime. At first there were just a few small things missing, but, if you've read the book - by the time it wraps up you realized that it missed a bunch of key plot points and the ending no longer makes much sense.
I've heard that there is an unabridged version out there and I hope that Audible can find it, because I would happily spend more money to buy it to replace this version.
If you love Douglas Adams and his stories, this recording is worth having, just for enjoyment. But the full book is so much better.

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98 people found this helpful

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

In the future, please put ABRIDGED in bold and up front.

Why in the hell would this book need to be abridged? The cut parts are some of the most delightful. Going to seek a refund.

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39 people found this helpful

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

Unfortunately, unabridged

Would you try another book from Douglas Adams and/or Douglas Adams?

Yes, most definitely.

Would you recommend Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency to your friends? Why or why not?

No - read the unabridged edition instead. It is completely missing some of the most fun parts of the book. It's the little details that Adams excels in, and they were deemed unimportant.

What about Douglas Adams’s performance did you like?

Douglas Adams has always had a fascinating voice to listen to since his early radio days. I much prefer listening to him than reading myself.

What character would you cut from Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency?

I would ask the character of Dirk's secretary NOT be cut. Every other character is somewhat fundamental to the story, while her existence helped develop Dirk's character. Shame.

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29 people found this helpful

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

The abridgement removes the point of the story

Good: Narrated by Douglas Adams.

Bad: They abridged the heart right out of the story, leaving it pointless.

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25 people found this helpful

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

Meh

Maybe it's because it's abridged, but the story is lacking. It came off as an ok Doctor Who episode. Performance was good.

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15 people found this helpful

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

I really wanted to like it

I am a Douglass Adams fan but I just could not get on board with this book. I am hoping that the reading being abridged is the source of the problem. It felt like large chunks of information was missing from the story that made it hard to follow. Certainly one of the reasons for the story being hard to follow was the lack of pauses between paragraphs. Before you can fully digest what was just said, you find yourself three sentences into another character's business in a different scene all together. Another few sentences before you realize that the scene has changed and Adams has you somewhere else entirely. Despite constantly rewinding there were several instances when Adams would completely lose me by jumping from point A to point K without any explanation. This I have to believe is the doing of the abridged story. Audible does not seem to carry the unabridged version of this book which is unfortunate. If like me this is your first time going through this story I would strongly recommend that you hold out for the unabridged version.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Ah, Douglas, how we miss you ...

How many times have I read this ... and every other book Mr. Adams wrote? I really can't remember. Although his "Hitchhiker" series is better know, I actually like the two Dirk Gently books even better.Real plots, great characters, set on planet Earth.

And this version, read by Douglas Adams himself, is perfect. He died way too young. Miss you Douglas, always will.

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8 people found this helpful

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

Abridged, but still absolutely worthwhile!

I was initially quite distraught to find that this audiobook is abridged, and while honing my vexation to unleash upon some poor Audible representative, I decided to listen to a bit first. I went from "How dare they lessen something written by Douglas Adams!" to "Hey, Douglas Adams himself is narrating this!" in about thirty seconds, and then enjoyed myself immensely for next three hours. If you want a way to defuse your anger, have a lot of yard work to do in heat and humidity, or just want a great book full of really funny British humor read by DNA himself, then this is the book for you. I have personally tested it and it works amazingly well in each of these situations. I can't wait to mow the lawn tomorrow while listening to The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul.

“Let's think the unthinkable, let's do the undoable. Let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all.”

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7 people found this helpful

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

nonstop confusing

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

having experienced the unabridged version of this perhaps I'm missing the point of abridgment, but the story never settles or transitions in any way shape or form. With no warning you go of from scene to scene not sure where you are or how you got there.

What was most disappointing about Douglas Adams’s story?

Not letting him tell it. I get this is abridged, but it's not abridged well.

How could the performance have been better?

You can't beat Mr. Adams reading his own work, I don't care how many Stephen Fry's are out there.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Don't bother. Go find the unabridged. You'll spend three more hours having a much much much much much better time.

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5 people found this helpful