Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul

by Douglas Adams

Mass Market Paperback, 320 pages

English language

Published Feb. 15, 1991 by Pocket.

ISBN:: 978-0-671-74251-5

(157 reviews)

Douglas Adams for those who may not be familiar with either him or his books writes rather tangentialy than linearly, this consideration may help those, possibly especially Americans who don't seem to fathom his humour. This thought may also help explain the rationale behind the eponymous hero Svlad Cjelli the Holistic Detective, with a zen approach to driving, who's as likely to follow a vehicle which seems to know where it's going, it may not lead where he thinks he has to go, but he invariably finds the journey worthwhile. Here in the UK there has finally been radio versions of both Holistic Detective novels, tragic that the BBC had to wait until Douglas Adams had died before they commissioned them. They featured the English comic Harry Enfield, and worked after their fashion, especially if you heard them before you read them. They also took a more literal approach to …

24 editions

jonn reviewed The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams (Dirk Gently, #2)

Great for Adams's fans, a bit stretched for the normal people.

4 stars

Surreal, but a bit jumbled. I liked it, but could have been a short story.

The topic discussed the most was the topic of cheating the systems' constraints and the backlash of consequences.

It's somewhere between 3¹/₂ and 4, but I'm giving it 4 because it is seriously underrated. Of course, it's less of a banger compared to the first book, but there's no need to go Gentle Giant fan on it.

Gentle Giant was a British progressive rock band that released a number of albums so novel and captivating, almost nobody have understood them. But those who did, at least to a degree, got very upset when they have started making music that was just good, if not a little poppy. It led to the bands eventual demise.

Granted, Douglas Adams neither cares, nor cared for the people calling his works "rambling" or his thinking too shallow (or indeed …

Surreal, but a bit jumbled. I liked it, but could have been a short story.

The topic discussed the most was the topic of cheating the systems' constraints and the backlash of consequences.

Granted, Douglas Adams neither cares, nor cared for the people calling his works "rambling" or his thinking too shallow (or indeed too deep, by those boasting about their ignorance), I still feel it would be a bit unfair to reduce the overall rating of the book by rating it as 3.5.

Paul Oldham reviewed The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams

Rambling, and disappointing

2 stars

I bought this book for a second time (it turned out, although I still can't find my original copy but it is allegedly lurking somewhere in the house) and read it after a recommendation from someone on Mastodon but as I read it I remembered how disappointed I'd been the first time.

Fundamentally I think there's an interesting plot idea here but Adams' unravelling of it is confusing and assumes the reader knows as much as he does about Norse mythology and hence he can't be arsed to explain.

Shychipmunk reviewed Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams (Dirk Gently, #2)

Review of 'Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

This was an incredibly entertaining read. Douglas Adams has some very enjoyable turns of phrase. And the sheer wtf-ery of the plot, centered around the fundamental interconnectedness of all things, also kept me enthralled. The parts about the gods reminded me of Rick Riordan's books.

lijadora reviewed Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams (Dirk Gently, #2)

Review of 'Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

A good pass time, funny & witty.

leighelse reviewed Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams (Dirk Gently, #2)

Review of 'Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Disappointingly, far less coherent and far less amusing than the first Dirk Gently outing.

reverse reviewed Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams (Dirk Gently, #2)

Review of 'Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Good, but not feeling as naturally well paced as the first book.

matt reviewed Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams (Dirk Gently, #2)

Review of 'Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Not as funny as the previous book. As with the late Adams in the Hitchhiker's series, he goes completely off the rails in the final act and leaves a rather unsatisfying ending.