It feels so weird that we're finishing up our SciFi class for the year, I'm really going to miss it. I just felt like it was fitting to finish the course by finally reading the book it was named after, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. I will say I greatly enjoyed the book. While it felt very weird and confusing at times, more often than not I found myself laughing internally (or rarely externally) at the unique style of dry, sarcastic humor that Adams so beautifully weaves into his work.
Now Adams was a real interesting person outside of his writing, and you can see the elements of his life show up in his writing. For instance, Adams was a very outspoken atheist, but he says he finds religion very interesting, and loves to study how it affects human motivation. The anti-religious sentiment shows up in his work, as it seems nothing in the story really happens for a reason. It almost seems to the point that he's ridiculing even the notion that things have a preordained reason for happening, as showcased by many events such as the Earth being destroyed to open a travel route, with no real planning or caution involved.
Adams was also a very ardent conservationist, and campaigned on many occasions to preserve endangered species, which also shows up in his work. His vulgar description of species such as the Vogons shows his distaste for brutal species. There's a fairly good argument that Vogons are supposed to be humans, which would make sense in that he thinks humans are destructive beings and condemns us for it.
Adams is a gifted writer in how he delivers his messages though. He weaves an intricate web of content, somehow making sarcasm and anti-religious undertones appear to be part of the same story, without sounding too preachy. This style allows his readers to enjoy his work, yet still ponder the deep human issues Douglas explored his entire life.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is an important piece in SciFi history, and rightfully so. Adams produced a piece that elicits laughs, snickers, and metaphysical debate all in the same train of thought.
