Roughly twenty-five years ago when audiobooks could still be gotten on cassette tape, I picked up the story Douglas Adams’ Starship Titanic and laughed all the way through it—several times. I’ve been waiting for that book to come out on Audible, but in the meantime, I picked up the e-book version and it’s just as funny as I remember. There’s a plot to destroy the galaxy’s greatest luxury star liner and three earthlings who are in the wrong place at the wrong time are the only ones who can save it. Based on the video game of the same name, this novel makes fun of just about everything and provides a really fun story at the same time.

I originally bought the game, found it beautiful to browse through and daunting to play, so I put it aside. Years later on a binge of "books on tape" buying I bought a used copy of the audio version. Then I read the bad reviews and never even tried to start it. A month ago I bought a nice used car with a cassette player in it and needed something to test the player, so I popped in "Titanic". I've just now finished listening to it, and I'm awfully sorry I waited. Certainly it's not on a par with the first three "Hitchhiker's" books, mostly because it's not that densely funny. And yes, there are echoes of "Hitchhiker's" concepts and story construction in this book. But it's pretty clever and engrossing all on it's own terms, and to my mind, it's better than some of Douglass' other books, say, the fifth Hitchhiker's novel. There's something else that's different, there's a fair amount of sex and profanity. It's all still comic and cheerful, and frankly, a welcome change. If I have any complaint, it's that there's probably too much complaining by the main characters about their relationship problems, and (as mentioned by another reviewer) far too little of the parrot. As to the charge leveled at this book that's it's just an advertisement for the game, actually, it's a nice way of learning how to approach the game. The irony is that, unless you're an old technology geek, you're not going to be able to play the game, as it's written for outdated computers, and has not been (and sadly will probably never be) updated for the newest operating systems. Finally, I must mention how surprised I was at the high level of Terry Jones' narration. He manages to do a fair number of distinct voices, including a couple of women, and his normal speaking voice is much more light and pleasant than the voice he assumes when acting. It's a very nice read, and may be the best way to enjoy the piece. Dig out your old cassette players and buy a copy!

Silly, fun exercise in spirited nonsense. I enjoyed it without taking it seriously for a second.

Douglas Adams was a genius. if you have not yet read his works, you have to! i am especially fond of his dirk gently books and last chance to see. of course everyone knows the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy which is also awesome. i would recommend the audio books which were narrated by the author himself and were very well done. like i said, he was a genius. there is some mild sex in his books but really more of a hint and the "violence" is of comic science fiction which is his genre. all his books, except last chance to see, which is first person, are alternating between a narrator and switching from character perspectives. if you have heard the bbc dramatization of hitchhikers guide, highly recommended, you get a good feel for his style. note that the audio book for this is not done my Adams but by Jones. this is the only book i know that he is a co-author, well, other than last chance to see, but you can see his style and flavor in them both.

I could almost see the characters in this story doing their thing! Funny, witty, sarcastic, AND and adventure all rolled into one. This has little to do with the modern-day world in spite of any similarities you might see in the way things are run. Laugh and enjoy while life and death decisions are made about the characters and their homes. Nothing is "normal" and Mr Jones does an excellent job of honoring Douglas Adams.

You either love British humor or you hate it. Those who love it should find much to enjoy here - after all, it was written by one of the members of Monty Python! It embodies the spirit of Douglas Adams and his Hitchhiker series so perfectly. One wishes Mr. Jones had taken up the quill to carry on the Hitchhiker novels after Mr. Adams’ passing, as opposed to Eoin Colfer. Regardless, we have this gem of a story!

It was a good read. A story taken straight out of a footnote in one of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the demise of the Starship Titanic.

The book is very tongue in cheek and had its good bits, just don't expect it to be off the same caliber as even the worst of the Hitchhiker's books. I'm not sorry I read it, but if you're not a huge fan of Douglas Adams and his work, you'll probably be very underwhelmed.

Just like that jingle reminds us, “Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t.” Sure, the bar with nuts is different from the one with containing the delicious, well loved nutless filling. But, sometimes you have to ignore the terror of the unfamiliar and go for it! I mean even if you don’t feel like a nut, without risking change, it could be that your life will be the next one to get caught in a rut.

So, I took a chance on “Titanic”, although well aware it was highly unlikely to be equal to Doug Adam’s masterpiece “Hitchhiker‘s Guide” (or most of his other works).

And I guess I was in the mood for a nut....because I liked this undemanding, silly romp through the stars. My recommendation? Set aside your expections. And should you be so unfortunate to have earned a diploma (for whatever level) in English Lit. - fulfill that promise you made to yourself ever so long ago...and burn the foul thing! Then meditate on nuts, and enjoy the read.

Love Douglas Adams.

Prezzo fantastico per un libro difficile da reperire

Classic Douglas Adams

S

This was typical of a Douglas Adams novel even though it is written by Terry Jones . Full of irrelevance and impractical information making it a great read full of back handed humour.

Recommended for all Douglas Adams fans who have run out of books written by him and feel lost. A short and fun read, Terry Jones does a good job of keeping it peppy.

Exactly as described/expected