I was also interested in the material related to Y2K but found there was nothing included of any value. The Y2K 'checklist' had, I believe, two items - barely qualifying itself as a 'list'.

I also quickly came across typos, which is a serious concern for me with books which are dealing with technical subjects. I confess that I did not spend long with the book before deciding to return it, so I do not have more detail.

I'm tired of people saying things like, "It was the only fitting end" or "How did you think he would end it?" Hello, people! The series was over! Both LTUAE and SLATFATF are final chapters- this book was entirely unnecessary. Adams didn't need to finish the series, he already had... twice!

Read this novel carefully, try to understand what is being done here. This book is a jab at all of you out there who would not let well enough alone. Adams was upset at the reaction to SLATFATF, and people would not cease begging for yet another installment. So you got what you asked for, and now you're ticked off.

Listen, I would have no problem with the ending, had it been done well and entertainingly. Some of my favorite novels and movies are very dark and feature bad ends for the heros (the Dune books, 12 Monkeys). I have no problem with a change of tone (I personally love SLATFATF), so long as there is a quality story to be told.

I hate wasted characters- If you liked Fenchurch, tough. She is dispatched retro-actively in a space-time accident and doesn't even appear once. Random, Arthur and Trillian's daughter (don't ask), is an entirely pointless character who is best at being annoying. The only thing she is capable of bringing out in other characters is irritation.

Here and there, there are little sparks of brilliance, as if for a brief moment Adams allowed himself to actually enjoy writing about this group of characters that he's obviously grown to resent. However, they quickly give way to the relentless mean-spiritedness of this book.

I wish you knew, Douglas, that there are those of us who were (and are) very grateful for what you had given to us and would have been content had you never written about these characters again.

Douglas Adams is now writing the screenplay for the film version of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I only hope he doesn't decide to infect it with the derision and spite that run rampant through this joyless volume.

The "Guide Mark 2" is really pretty creepy. It makes you think about some of the big questions, unsurprisingly, if you have read any of Douglas Adams' other stuff... Also, although the plot just goes hogwild for 95% of the book, it really does all pull together at the end. The book is relatively self-contained, compared to some of the others in the series. In general this book is less wacky, and generally a bit darker, than the other books in the "trilogy". Reading this is a little like going to "The Cable Guy", when you are expecting a usual Jim Carey movie. It does make you laugh, but also makes you think, and not always in very comforting ways.