nouveau

fairly clear from the way [b:Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy|11|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)|Douglas Adams|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327656754s/11.jpg|3078186] ends, as well as Restaurant at the End of the Universe that the series was originally conceived of, by Adams, as a trilogy, and while HHG2TG and R@TEOTU were a clear 5 and high 4, the closing volume of the original sequence is a lower 4, but the average 5+4+4 = 17 / 3 = 4.33 sounds about right as a judgment of the work, and I'm only somewhat surprised at the drop off of ratings:

500,000 ratings for 1
82,000 for 2
69,000 for 3

although some of the fact that people are rating the series as a whole (130,000 ratings) shows where some of the traffic might be / offers an explanation for the statistical drop off. (although crowd disagrees with me, and feels 4.15, 4.18, 4.15-- in other words, near statistical exactly sameness).

(maybe I'm just not all that enamored with the Slartibartfast character?)

(comment #2-- read this series originally as a teenager, and now again, more than ten years later, and actually find the work very humanistic, gentle, and actually kind of wistful ?! maturity is a weird thing... wonder if there'll be another turnaround in assessment in my 50s)

I think in some ways I prefer Douglas Adams to Kurt Vonnegut, and it's not just anglophilic snob factor. dunno... seems a nicer person somehow. but anyways... this book bogged down a little bit with slartibartfast and then picked up again with Krikket. books 1 and 2 were seamless; ... and philosophical?

anyway, at the trilogy block off point; 1979-1980-1982, Douglas Adams a mere 27, 28, 30 years old, by god, probably must note that D.A. has developed more as a person than many 50 year olds...

4/5. reiterate 5-4-4 for the trilogy and two thumbs up to the dearly departed D. Adams. the world is poorer.