Science fiction comedy.

Hmmm.

No really, it’s the best.

So what is it?

In 1978, a young man named Douglas Adams wrote a radio series called The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which began with the total destruction of the earth, and went on to more cheerful things like depressive robots, spaceships and towels. Since it was going so well, he decided to turn it into a novel. And then several more. There are currently six novels (the last one is by someone else), a radio series, a TV series and a film. Oh and a computer game.

And then?

Adams’ books took all kinds of perfectly regular things (tea, for example) and some completely ridiculous things (two-headed aliens) and then squished them together with some wonderful-to-read- loud writing, into what he christened the Whole Sort of General Mish Mash.

So it’s nice?

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is probably the funniest science fiction book you will ever read – it is also the most frightening, the saddest, and quite clearly, the oddest one.

Okay, I’ve finished it.

Now what? Read Adams’ other stuff: his detective novels featuring the pizza-loving Dirk Gently and Last Chance to See, his book on endangered animals.

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by Shalini Srinivasan