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Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams was born in Cambridge in March 1952. He was creator of all the various manifestations of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Douglas died unexpectedly in May 2001 of a sudden heart attack at the age of 49.
Life, the Universe and Everything
Synopsis
The third book in Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's saga finds Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect stranded on prehistoric Earth, only to be flung back into the wider universe just as it faces its gravest threat yet. The ancient, xenophobic inhabitants of the planet Krikkit — long imprisoned inside an impenetrable envelope of Slo-Time — are on the verge of breaking free to finish what they started: the annihilation of all life everywhere.
Reunited with Zaphod, Trillian, and a spectacularly unhelpful Marvin, Arthur is swept into a scramble to stop the Krikkit robots from assembling the Wikkit Gate and unleashing catastrophe. There are immortal beings with grudges, flying lessons that hinge on forgetting to hit the ground, and a great deal of very confusing cricket.
Fast, strange, and stuffed with Adams's trademark logic-bending humor, Life, the Universe and Everything is comic science fiction operating at full tilt.
Collected in
Genres
Characters
Arthur DentProtagonist
The reluctant Earthman, drawn into a plot to save the universe from the Krikkit robots.
Ford PrefectSupporting
Arthur's alien friend and companion through prehistoric Earth and beyond.
SlartibartfastSupporting
The elderly planet-designer who recruits Arthur to the fight against Krikkit.
MarvinSupporting
The Paranoid Android, gloomier and more long-suffering than ever.
Frequently asked questions
Is Life, the Universe and Everything a standalone book?
This book is the third installment in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. While it continues the adventures of Arthur Dent and his companions, it is best appreciated after reading the preceding books to fully understand the ongoing plot and character developments.
Are there any adaptations of Life, the Universe and Everything?
This story was originally conceived as a radio series before being adapted into a novel. It has also been adapted into a stage play and a computer game, offering different interpretations of the narrative.
How does this book connect to the broader Hitchhiker's Guide universe?
Life, the Universe and Everything delves deeper into the lore of the universe, introducing the concept of the Krikkit Wars and exploring the origins of the universe's ultimate question. It significantly expands on themes and elements established in the earlier books.