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Book Details

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

71.4% complete
1980
1983
1 time
1 - 34 Chapters
Book Cover
Has a genre Has a synopsis Has a year read Has a rating In my library In a series 
69
© 1980 by Douglas Adams
To Jane and James
The story so far:
In the beginning the Universe was created.
May contain spoilers
"I don't think I'll be wanting it any more," said Arthur Dent
No comments on file
Synopsis* (may contain spoilers)
Restaurant at the end of the Universe is a book written by Douglas Adams, which is a sequel to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It is a science fiction comedy that takes the reader on a journey beyond the boundaries of the universe, exploring the unknown and bizarre.

The story starts with the characters from the first book, Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Zaphod Beeblebrox, Trillian, and Marvin the Paranoid Android, who are still on their quest to find the answer to the ultimate question of life. They are aboard the stolen spaceship Heart of Gold, where they have been traveling for a while. Along the way, they decide to stop at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, which is located in a time warp in the future.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe is a popular hangout spot for the wealthy and curious from all over the universe. To each table, the guests are given a copy of the menu that features dishes from different planets and dimensions. The whole restaurant is designed to cater to the guests' desires, and the menu is tailored to their tastes.

During their meal, the group is introduced to Hotblack Desiato, a rock star who has recently died in a freak accident. Hotblack's estate has hired a group of creatures called the Disaster Area crew to play a final concert in his memory, which will take place in the heart of a massive artificial black hole. The crew's ship will generate the energy required for the performance, and the ship's engines will be ignited just before the show, causing a giant explosion that will destroy the whole planet.

While the crew is watching the show, Arthur Dent discovers a new plan to find the ultimate question to life. The plan involves him going back in time and discovering the question that prompts the answer "42" – a reference to the first book in the series, where it is revealed that the answer to the ultimate question is 42. To do this, he enlists the help of a group of beings known as the Grebulons, who are notorious for their love of cricket, and who have traveled to the end of the universe to witness the final cricket match, where they will be asked the ultimate question.

However, as the group tries to leave the restaurant in their stolen spaceship, they are intercepted by a group of robots called the Golgafrinchams. The Golgafrinchams are responsible for deceiving their own civilization into thinking that they are a lower form of intelligence, therefore allowing them to be sent to another planet to continue their existence away from their home planet. However, they have now become stranded in the past and are looking for a way out. In their desperation, they decide to steal the Heart of Gold and take the rest of the group with them.

The group is taken to a new planet where the Golgafrinchams attempt to set up a new civilization with the help of the advanced technology they have stolen. While there, Arthur meets Fenchurch, a woman who has been struck by the same phenomenon that caused every living being on Earth to be teleported away before its destruction.

Eventually, the group succeeds in rescuing the Heart of Gold, but are still pursued by the Golgafrincham ship. They make it back to the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, where they are able to escape from the Golgafrinchams and the Heart of Gold is destroyed in the process. The group is then able to continue on their journey, with Trillian remaining on the planet where they had made their stop over.

The book ends with a final message from Douglas Adams about the universe, and how it is important to have fun, even in the face of danger and uncertainty.

Overall, Restaurant at the End of the Universe is a hilarious and thought-provoking book that explores concepts of time travel and the potential dangers of advanced technology. The vivid characters and bizarre situations make for an entertaining read, and the book raises questions about the nature of existence and the purpose of life.

Extract not on file

 

Added: 29-Dec-2002
Last Updated: 22-Mar-2023

Publications

 01-Oct-1982
Pocket Books
Mass Market Paperback
In my libraryI read this editionOrder from amazon.comHas a cover imageBook Edition Cover
Date Issued:
Cir 01-Oct-1982
Format:
Mass Market Paperback
Cover Price:
$2.95
Pages*:
250
Read:
Once
Cover Link(s):
Internal ID:
204
Publisher:
ISBN:
0-671-44268-6
ISBN-13:
978-0-671-44268-2
Printing:
8
Country:
United States
Language:
English
IN THE BEGINNING THE UNIVERSE WAS CREATED... THIS MADE A LOT OF PEOPLE ANGRY AND HAS BEEN WIDELY REGARDED AS A BAD MOVE.

You decide.

Come along on a zany journey to the low-rent neighborhood of the Cosmos with earthling Arthur Dent, sexy space cadet Trillian, that imperturbable alien Ford Prefect and Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed, three-armed ex-head Honcho of All Creation.

Don't forget to bring a towel, but don't bother to pack a lunch.  You'll be dining at...

THE RESTURANT AT THE END OF THE UNIVERSE

THE HILARIOUS SUCCESSOR TO THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY
Cover:
Book CoverBook Back CoverBook Spine
Notes and Comments:
First Pocket Books printing October, 1982
Eighth printing based on the number line

Read this after finishing The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
 01-Nov-1995
Ballantine Books
Order from amazon.comHas a cover imageBook Edition Cover
Date Issued:
Cir 01-Nov-1995
Pages*:
245
Cover Link(s):
Internal ID:
208
Publisher:
ISBN:
0-345-39181-0
ISBN-13:
978-0-345-39181-0
Country:
United States
Language:
English
DOUGLAS ADAMS IS A TERRIFIC SATIRIST."  - The Washington Post Book World

Facing annihilation at the hands of the warlike Vogons is a curious time to have a craving for tea.  It could only happen to the cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his curious comrades in arms as the hurtle across space powered by pure improbability - and desperately in search of a place to eat.

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 who suffers nothing and no one very gladly.  Their destination?  The ultimate hot spot for an evening of apocalyptic entertainment and fine dining, where the food (literally) speaks for itself.

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' sardonically silly eyes."  - Detroit Free Press
Cover:
Book Cover
Notes and Comments:
 01-Jun-1997
Ballantine Books
Order from amazon.comHas a cover imageBook Edition Cover
Date Issued:
Cir 01-Jun-1997
Cover Link(s):
Internal ID:
209
Publisher:
ISBN:
0-345-41892-1
ISBN-13:
978-0-345-41892-0
Country:
United States
Language:
English
Cover:
Book Cover
Notes and Comments:
 01-Jan-1999
Millenium Books
Has a cover imageBook Edition Cover
Date Issued:
Cir 01-Jan-1999
Internal ID:
210
Publisher:
ISBN:
Unknown
Country:
United States
Language:
English
THE RESTAURANT AT THE END OF THE UNIVERSE

When all questions of space, time, matter and the nature of being have been resolved, only one question remains - "Where shall we have dinner?"  The Restaurant at the End of the Universe provides the ultimate gastronomic experience, and for once there is no morning after to worry about.

VOLUME TWO IN THE TRILOGY OF FOUR
Cover:
Book Cover
Notes and Comments:
Image File
01-Oct-1982
Pocket Books
Mass Market Paperback

Image File
01-Nov-1995
Ballantine Books


Image File
01-Jun-1997
Ballantine Books


Image File
01-Jan-1999
Millenium Books


Related

Author(s)

 Douglas Adams
Birth: 11 Mar 1952 Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK
Death: 11 May 2001 Santa Barbara, California, USA

Notes:
Douglas Noel Adams was born in Cambridge on March 11, 1952.  He went to school at Brentwood School, Essex and St John's College, Cambridge.  In 1974 he gained an MA in English Literature.

He started writing at Cambridge.  Some of his earlier writings were featured on the radio.  He went on from radio to become the script editor of Doctor Who where he wrote a couple of stories for the Tom Baker incarnation of the Doctor (4th Doctor).  He wrote The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy which was comissioned and aired as a radio series in March 1978.  Since then it has been transformed into a series of best-selling novels, a television series, records, cassettes and CDs, a computer game and several stage adaptations.

In 1991 he married Jane Elizabeth Belson and leaves a daughter, Polly Jane Rocket.  Douglas Adams died suddenly of a heart attack on May 11, 2001

Awards

No awards found
*
  • I try to maintain page numbers for audiobooks even though obviously there aren't any. I do this to keep track of pages read and I try to use the Kindle version page numbers for this.
  • Synopses marked with an asterisk (*) were generated by an AI. There aren't a lot since this is an iffy way to do it - AI seems to make stuff up.
  • When specific publication dates are unknown (ie prefixed with a "Cir"), I try to get the publication date that is closest to the specific printing that I can.
  • When listing chapters, I only list chapters relevant to the story. I will usually leave off Author Notes, Indices, Acknowledgements, etc unless they are relevant to the story or the book is non-fiction.
  • Page numbers on this site are for the end of the main story. I normally do not include appendices, extra material, and other miscellaneous stuff at the end of the book in the page count.






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Presented: 21-Nov-2024 03:23:43

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