The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a five-part comedic science-fiction series by Douglas Adams, with an additional sixth installment by Eoin Colfer. Based off of the 1978 BBC radio show, HG2G details the eventful life of average Englishman Arthur Dent, whose story begins on a dull Thursday with the demolition of his house.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

In the first volume, Arthur and his unusual friend Ford Prefect find themselves in very slight danger when they discover that an alien race of Vogons has arrived to remove Earth for the construction of an interstellar freeway - but Arthur is more worried about the removal of his house. With a narrow escape, Ford and Arthur begin their journey through the cosmos to evade the forced removal of Arthur's brain and discover the Ultimate Question to the Ultimate Answer: 42.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

At the supposed end of their hyperspatial journey, Arthur, Ford, and the President of the Universe Zaphod Beeblebrox find themselves at the end of existence: also known as Milliways, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe. Zaphod has discovered that he is part of a plot to discover the real Universal ruler, Arthur and Ford discover that the ancestors of the human race were actually just useless Golgafrinchans instead of primitive humanoids, and the first game of Scrabble is played with a handful of pebbles.

Life, the Universe, and Everything

With the aid of an eddy in the space-time continuum cleverly disguised as a sofa, Arthur and Ford return from prehistoric Earth to modern times - in the middle of a cricket match at Lord's Cricket Ground. It's up to Arthur, Ford, the President, the human girl Trillian, and robot Marvin to prevent the destruction of the Universe by a race of xenophobic Krikkit people, whose only wish is to escape their planet and annihilate everything.

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

After a long time away, Arthur gladly returns home to present-day Earth, only to be greeted by an exquisite fishbowl and a very strange young woman named Fenchurch and to discover that the Earth he is standing on is a replacement provided by dolphins. Arthur and Ford travel to see God's Final Message to His Creation with Marvin as aid, who contains just enough energy to read the message before his death.

Mostly Harmless

Not happy with the return of the Earth, the Vogons from the first book return to take over the Hitchhiker's Guide publishing offices and destroy the planet once and for all. Meanwhile, Arthur has become official sandwich maker on a remote planet called Lamuella. A sudden visit from Trillian surprises Arthur with the knowledge that his DNA donations for travelling money have given him a daughter by Trillian: Random, who steals Arthur's updated Guide and returns angrily to Earth. When they chase after to bring her back, she shoots at Arthur and misses, hitting a disguised alien instead. The Guide deletes the Earth and everybody except for Zaphod appears to die.

Despite the lack of an ultimate resolution and the somewhat confused plotline, The Hitchhiker's Guide series is one of the most memorable you'll ever read. Full of comedic adventure, lighthearted sci-fi, and plenty of perfectly worded insults, Adams's books will leave you wanting ever more.