Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams: As a longtime fan of Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Guide series, I’ve been meaning to read this for quite a while. Unfortunately, it’s clear why this series does not have the cult following of the other. It has the same random humor and just-go-with-it meandering style of plot, but somehow it doesn’t quite gel as a novel. The titular character doesn’t even show up until about halfway through the book. The narration shifts constantly between a computer programmer, his boss, his girlfriend, an Electric Monk, and Bizarre Omniscient. The characters are amusing on their own but one needs more than good characters to make a good novel. Don’t get me wrong: there are some very funny anecdotes and asides, but the main story is so confusing that the humor is nearly overshadowed. I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to read the sequel.

Also posted on BookCrossing.