So I felt it was time to check in with the gang from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy again, and dove into book four of the trilogy.

This one seems a bit shorter than the previous tale, and to my chagrin, Ford Prefect is barely in it, Marvin makes only an appearance, and Zaphod and Trillian are completely absent, though get a mention.

Instead the story mainly sticks with Arthur Dent, who finds himself on Earth. This is an impossibility as Arthur, and the reader, is fairly sure that his home planet was destroyed by the Vogons to make way for a bypass.

Taking up residence in his now restored home, Arthur gets on with his life. He puzzles over a fish bowl that was left as a gift, bumps into a Rain God, and finally, after a number of adventures, meets a woman and falls in love.

Happily, she falls in love with him, as well.

As Arthur and Fenchurch develop their relationship, we learn she has a secret, he teaches her to fly, and then to fly and do other things with Walkmen. Finally after learning of all Arthur’s adventures, Fenchurch wants to explore the universe with him, and visit an important landmark, God’s final message to his creation, on a far distant planet.

Goofy, witty, and as always, laugh out loud funny, this story feels like a bit of a departure for the series. Yes, some outrageous things happen to Arthur, but the love story is at the forefront of the tale.

Well, that and the disappearance of the dolphins. They are all gone, and no one knows how, or why. Well almost no one. There’s one man, Wonko the Sane. He says he knows.

Perhaps Fenchurch and Arthur will find answers with him.

This is a series of books that have entertained for decades and continue to do so, because they are smartly written, filled with fantastic dialogue, bizarre moments, and such wonderful characters.

Arthur Dent is so typically English, and he reacts as you would expect an Englishman react, which is to say, he takes a lot of things in stride, except for when an enchanting woman comes along.

It’s fun to see Arthur in love, and seeing the way their relationship begins, the coincidences that bring them together, and the two of them together are a joy.

Arthur was long overdue to have something go his way, and when it finally does in this book, you can’t help but be happy for him, even an encounter with Marvin the Robot can’t bring him down.

This was a joyful read, and I look forward to the next one!