Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Death of the Immortals, 30 Jan 2006
'The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul' is Douglas Adams 2nd Dirk Gently novel, following on from 'Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency', and this time sees Dirk investigating the explosive disappearance of his ex-secretary and the decapitation of his latest client. In many ways 'The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul' is a more straightforward novel than it's predecessor, with the main storyline concerning the immortal remnants of the Asgardian gods always being to the fore, though it's still fun watching Adams tie-up the disparate plot-threads using Dirk's holistic detective approach. Sadly one thing common it has with the first Dirk Gently novel is that after a hugely enjoyable build-up the novel ends with a disappointing 'blink and you'll miss it' climax, but the crucial fact that this appears to be an original novel rather than a conglomeration of Adams old Doctor Who scripts makes this ultimately the more enjoyable of the two novels.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ode to the Master, 24 May 2001
By A Customer
What will the world be like without the inimatable, English electricity board-hating countenance of Douglas Adams? Will life (the universe, and everything) be the same again? I have to say farewell to this enigmatic genius who passed away on the 11th of May, 2001: So long, and thanks for all the fish. I hope he has as much success in afterlife as he had in reality...because, well, he's an unuterable mastermind. "The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul" is the second Dirk Gently novel by the Originator of the Comic Science Fiction genre. Adams inaugurally came into prominence with the 1979 radio script of "The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy". He rewrote this into novel format in 1980, following this with a sporadic series of delightful novels including "The Restaurant At The End of the Universe", "Life, the Universe, and Everything", "So Long, And Thanks for All the Fish" and most recently, "Mostly Harmless" (the entire, unabridged description of Earth!). In between the HGTTG novels, he gave us the pair of nonsensical dictionaries coauthored with John Lloyd "The Meaning of Liff" and the rehashed "The Deeper Meaning of Liff", as well as coauthoring the humorous, insightful gem of a wildlife travelogue "Last Chance To See..." with the zoologist Mark Cawardine. Douglas Adams is also known for co-editing and contributing to "The Utterly Utterly Merry Comic Relief Christmas Books", "Monty Python's Flying Circus" and was re-editing the first Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy screenplay. He penned the original concept and the prologue for the "Starship Titanic", gave us the short-story "Young Zaphod Plays It Safe", transferred the HGTTG magic into an Illustrated Guide and several omnibuses, and then began to write about the irrepressibly brilliant protagonist, Dirk Gently... Adams first introduced Dirk in "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency", gave us the sequel of "The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul" and had written half of the trilogy-filler, "The Salmon of Doubt" when he sorrowfully left us. "The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul" juxtaposes the amiable private investigator (who relies on interconnectedness as a method) into a mystery involving a lurking refrigerator; a murdered client; a goblin-like minion; a Coca-Cola machine; a large, brawny, husky giant and his hammer; and a psychotic eagle to entertain us. Dirk Gently is one of the funniest epitomes of the anti-hero in comic fantasy, and to lose him before the end is tragic. That is why I recently went back to re-read this latest Dirk Gently escapade. Watch out for the "Zen" Navigation method and the Great Zaganza's horoscope column: they'll have you rolling in the aisles! Adams has certainly left his mark on fiction forever, and will go down in the tomes of Man as being the most anarchic, original and hilarious author to come out of England in the 20th century, and die a much too soon death. His first novel, however, will always be a classic, and is one of those enduring pieces which makes you feel warm on a cold night. Mr Adams, you will be enormously missed.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
a holistically funny book!, 19 May 2005
Dirk Gently owns a 'holistic detective agency', believing that as all things are connected, seemingly random coincidences can solve a mystery. The mystery needing to be solved now involves a coke machine, disappearing- and re-appearing- norse gods, an american woman in england, a strange eagle that may have more to it than meets the eye, a private hospital for 'strange' cases, a demon with a contract, and, god forbid, LAWYERS.The same, random, bizarre and genuinely funny humour from the writer of 'The HitchHikers Guide To the Galaxy' and while not as hysterical, incisive or purely brilliant as that series, is still a fantastic, and not wholly light-hearted piece of fiction.
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