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The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy #0.5
Young Zaphod Plays It Safe
Young Zaphod Plays it Safe is a novella by Douglas Adams set in his The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy universe. It doesn't appear as a standalone work, but is included with several collections. The story is a prequel to the events in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and has the young Zaphod Beeblebrox working as a salvage ship operator. He guides some bureaucrats to a crashed spaceship which may be leaking some hazardous materials. The bureaucrats are determined to "make it safe". The comic asides in the story include some of the time travel paradoxes which are a common running theme in Adams' SF work, and plenty of material about lobsters
11 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1986
About the author
Douglas Adams
184 books22.4k followersDouglas Noël Adams was an English author, comic radio dramatist, and musician. He is best known as the author of the
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
series. Hitchhiker's began on radio, and developed into a "trilogy" of five books (which sold more than fifteen million copies during his lifetime) as well as a television series, a comic book series, a computer game, and a feature film that was completed after Adams' death. The series has also been adapted for live theatre using various scripts; the earliest such productions used material newly written by Adams. He was known to some fans as Bop Ad (after his illegible signature), or by his initials "DNA".
In addition to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams wrote or co-wrote three stories of the science fiction television series Doctor Who and served as Script Editor during the seventeenth season. His other written works include the Dirk Gently novels, and he co-wrote two Liff books and Last Chance to See, itself based on a radio series. Adams also originated the idea for the computer game Starship Titanic, which was produced by a company that Adams co-founded, and adapted into a novel by Terry Jones. A posthumous collection of essays and other material, including an incomplete novel, was published as The Salmon of Doubt in 2002.
His fans and friends also knew Adams as an environmental activist and a lover of fast cars, cameras, the Macintosh computer, and other "techno gizmos".
Toward the end of his life he was a sought-after lecturer on topics including technology and the environment.
In addition to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams wrote or co-wrote three stories of the science fiction television series Doctor Who and served as Script Editor during the seventeenth season. His other written works include the Dirk Gently novels, and he co-wrote two Liff books and Last Chance to See, itself based on a radio series. Adams also originated the idea for the computer game Starship Titanic, which was produced by a company that Adams co-founded, and adapted into a novel by Terry Jones. A posthumous collection of essays and other material, including an incomplete novel, was published as The Salmon of Doubt in 2002.
His fans and friends also knew Adams as an environmental activist and a lover of fast cars, cameras, the Macintosh computer, and other "techno gizmos".
Toward the end of his life he was a sought-after lecturer on topics including technology and the environment.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 307 reviews
February 15, 2024
Unnecessary.
The “safest” ship in the universe has crashed on an unnamed planet in a freak lobster incident, and young Zaphod Beeblebrox is a salvage operator on a secret mission to rescue parts of the wreckage. Things don’t go smoothly as originally planned, as among the “totally inoffensive” contents of the ship are revealed to be unspeakable “custom made Personalities.”
A totally unnecessary prequel story about the origins of Zaphod Beeblebrox, president of the Galaxy, and how he came to be. This was not bad per se but it was hardly worth it, since it adds little to nothing to the series, and should NOT be read before starting the series, as it would probably turn away possible new readers. If anything this should be read at last, with null expectations, and only advisable for Zaphod enthusiasts or die hard Hitchhikers fans.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1986] [11p] [Humor] [1.5] [Not Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
★★☆☆☆ 0.5. Young Zaphod Plays It Safe [1.5]
★★★★★ 1. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
★★☆☆☆ 2. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe [2.5]
★★★☆☆ 3. Life, the Universe and Everything
★★★★☆ 4. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
★☆☆☆☆ 5. Mostly Harmless
★★★☆☆ 1-5. The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
★★★☆☆ 6. And Another Thing... [2.5]
-----------------------------------------------
Innecesario.
La nave más “segura” del universo se ha estrellado en un planeta sin nombre en un insano incidente involucrando langostas, y el joven Zaphod Beeblebrox es un operador de salvataje en una misión secreta para rescatar partes del naufragio. Las cosas no salen tan bien como originalmente fueron planeadas, mientras que entre los “completamente inofensivos” contenidos de la nave se revela que hay innombrables “Personalidades hechas a medida.”
Una totalmente innecesaria precuela sobre los orígenes de Zaphod Beeblebrox, presidente de la Galaxia, y cómo llegó a ser quien es. Esto no fue malo en sí pero apenas si valió la pena, ya que añade poco y nada a la serie, y NO debería ser leído antes de empezar la serie, ya que podría probablemente alejar posibles nuevos lectores. En todo caso esto debería ser leído al final, con nulas expectativas, y sólo aconsejable para entusiastas de Zaphod y fans encarnizados de la serie Hitchhikers.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1986] [11p] [Humor] [1.5] [No Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
The “safest” ship in the universe has crashed on an unnamed planet in a freak lobster incident, and young Zaphod Beeblebrox is a salvage operator on a secret mission to rescue parts of the wreckage. Things don’t go smoothly as originally planned, as among the “totally inoffensive” contents of the ship are revealed to be unspeakable “custom made Personalities.”
A totally unnecessary prequel story about the origins of Zaphod Beeblebrox, president of the Galaxy, and how he came to be. This was not bad per se but it was hardly worth it, since it adds little to nothing to the series, and should NOT be read before starting the series, as it would probably turn away possible new readers. If anything this should be read at last, with null expectations, and only advisable for Zaphod enthusiasts or die hard Hitchhikers fans.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1986] [11p] [Humor] [1.5] [Not Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
★★☆☆☆ 0.5. Young Zaphod Plays It Safe [1.5]
★★★★★ 1. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
★★☆☆☆ 2. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe [2.5]
★★★☆☆ 3. Life, the Universe and Everything
★★★★☆ 4. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
★☆☆☆☆ 5. Mostly Harmless
★★★☆☆ 1-5. The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
★★★☆☆ 6. And Another Thing... [2.5]
-----------------------------------------------
Innecesario.
La nave más “segura” del universo se ha estrellado en un planeta sin nombre en un insano incidente involucrando langostas, y el joven Zaphod Beeblebrox es un operador de salvataje en una misión secreta para rescatar partes del naufragio. Las cosas no salen tan bien como originalmente fueron planeadas, mientras que entre los “completamente inofensivos” contenidos de la nave se revela que hay innombrables “Personalidades hechas a medida.”
Una totalmente innecesaria precuela sobre los orígenes de Zaphod Beeblebrox, presidente de la Galaxia, y cómo llegó a ser quien es. Esto no fue malo en sí pero apenas si valió la pena, ya que añade poco y nada a la serie, y NO debería ser leído antes de empezar la serie, ya que podría probablemente alejar posibles nuevos lectores. En todo caso esto debería ser leído al final, con nulas expectativas, y sólo aconsejable para entusiastas de Zaphod y fans encarnizados de la serie Hitchhikers.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1986] [11p] [Humor] [1.5] [No Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
May 18, 2021
Young Zaphod Plays It Safe (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #0.5), Douglas Adams (Editor)
Young Zaphod Plays it Safe is a novella by Douglas Adams set in his The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy universe.
The story is a prequel to the events in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and has the young Zaphod Beeblebrox working as a salvage ship operator.
He guides some bureaucrats to a crashed spaceship which may be leaking some hazardous materials.
The bureaucrats are determined to "make it safe".
The comic asides in the story include some of the time travel paradoxes which are a common running theme in Adams' work, and plenty of material about lobsters.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش
عنوان: زافود جوان بیخطر بازی میکند؛ نویسنده: داگلااس آدامز؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان بریتانیایی - سده 20م
این داستان پیش درآمد رویدادهای «راهنمای کهکشان برای اتواستاپزنها» است، و «زافود بیبلبروکس» جوان، به عنوان اپراتور، در یک کشتی نجات کار میکند؛ و ...؛
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 27/02/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
Young Zaphod Plays it Safe is a novella by Douglas Adams set in his The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy universe.
The story is a prequel to the events in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and has the young Zaphod Beeblebrox working as a salvage ship operator.
He guides some bureaucrats to a crashed spaceship which may be leaking some hazardous materials.
The bureaucrats are determined to "make it safe".
The comic asides in the story include some of the time travel paradoxes which are a common running theme in Adams' work, and plenty of material about lobsters.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش
عنوان: زافود جوان بیخطر بازی میکند؛ نویسنده: داگلااس آدامز؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان بریتانیایی - سده 20م
این داستان پیش درآمد رویدادهای «راهنمای کهکشان برای اتواستاپزنها» است، و «زافود بیبلبروکس» جوان، به عنوان اپراتور، در یک کشتی نجات کار میکند؛ و ...؛
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 27/02/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
October 5, 2012
I first read this story in the Ultimate Hitchhiker omnibus, about twenty years ago. Though it was enjoyable to read a new Zaphod story, if brief, the denouement left me totally and completely baffled. Only today do I find that it's because the final sentence was edited, upon republication from the original:
My reaction?
To misquote Adams himself:
"And this is very odd, because without that fairly simple and obvious piece of knowledge, nothing that ever happened [in this story] could possibly make the slightest bit of sense."
My reaction?
To misquote Adams himself:
"And this is very odd, because without that fairly simple and obvious piece of knowledge, nothing that ever happened [in this story] could possibly make the slightest bit of sense."
March 17, 2016
First off there is some confusion around this story. Goodreads seems to show it as being a 146 page novella, but the version I read was little more than a short story. I double checked with my B&N Omnibus edition and it's also a short story there. Online, it seems many other people had discoverd the same thing. It looks like the 146 page count is for some sort of collected shorts and not a singular work. Unless of course it's 146 pages in some higher dimension and we only see a small portion of it in our paltry 4 dimensions:)
March 17, 2014
This short story is a prequel to the first Hitchhiker's novel and is a story about Zaphod Beeblebrox, the man with the odd, or rather even, number of heads.
It's a very brief story and nothing much of interest happens at all. It is a bit intriguing that since this is a prequel about Zaphod it means that it takes place before he blocked off sections of his mind, so I suppose it's nice to see what he was like before he became what we know him to be in the main series. Plus there's some nice references to events that take place later on.
Many people who read this in The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy omnibus (which I did at first) may be slightly perplexed by it. This is due to the removal of a few words at the end. At the end of the original version it is very blatantly suggested that the escaped insane "Designer Person" is actually President Ronald Reagan. In the original, which ended up being omitted in many later editions, the thing was actually called a "Reagan." "A kindly looking man with lots of pleasant laugh lines around his face" and "seemed to be babbling gently to himself" and who was "totally benign, which is what makes him so dangerous" and there is "nothing he will not do if allowed, and there is nothing he will not be allowed to do."
It's obvious that Adams only wrote this short story to express his political views. Reread it with Ronald Reagan in mind and it's actually quite funny.
It's a very brief story and nothing much of interest happens at all. It is a bit intriguing that since this is a prequel about Zaphod it means that it takes place before he blocked off sections of his mind, so I suppose it's nice to see what he was like before he became what we know him to be in the main series. Plus there's some nice references to events that take place later on.
Many people who read this in The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy omnibus (which I did at first) may be slightly perplexed by it. This is due to the removal of a few words at the end. At the end of the original version it is very blatantly suggested that the escaped insane "Designer Person" is actually President Ronald Reagan. In the original, which ended up being omitted in many later editions, the thing was actually called a "Reagan." "A kindly looking man with lots of pleasant laugh lines around his face" and "seemed to be babbling gently to himself" and who was "totally benign, which is what makes him so dangerous" and there is "nothing he will not do if allowed, and there is nothing he will not be allowed to do."
It's obvious that Adams only wrote this short story to express his political views. Reread it with Ronald Reagan in mind and it's actually quite funny.
January 25, 2020
This is a short story, apparently written for The Utterly Utterly Merry Comic Relief Christmas Book, 1986, but now available somewhere towards the back of The Salmon Of Doubt, which is a collection of various amusing things Douglas Adams wrote that was published posthumously.
Despite saying that I wasn't going to read any more Douglas Adams, because despite his engaging style (when not technobabbling) and wit (when not too bleakly satirical) I never enjoy his books as much at the end as I do at the start, I did just want to read this story. After reading all of the Hitch Hiker books last year, I was excited to note that there was one other bit of the story out there, starring by far my favourite character Zaphod - or should we say the only character in all of the Adams-verse who I genuinely like.
So anyway, now I have read it. Goodreads is rather exaggerating and raising false hopes by calling this a 'novella'. It is only 14 pages long. Zaphod himself does not disappoint and is as likeable a character to be around as before. I missed him after Adams for some reason got bored and stopped writing about him in the final couple of books, even though he's the only character who ever had any plot going on. The story is suitably creepy and intriguing, in a kind of classic SF horror way. But at 14 pages long, most of that being used to set up atmosphere, and one amusing sequence in which Zaphod keeps throwing up in horror, we arrive very quickly at the end, and since we are only just about to discover the 'revelation' you realise that it must just be a gag (really this set up could have been the start of a novel... which I suppose if this is taken as a prequel to the first book, it is). So there you get it, all the build up is just for a silly political gag that is terribly dated here in the year 2020. Sigh. I guess this follows the same pattern of all Adams' stories - great set up, disappointing ending.
Oh well, it was nice to see Zaphod again.
Despite saying that I wasn't going to read any more Douglas Adams, because despite his engaging style (when not technobabbling) and wit (when not too bleakly satirical) I never enjoy his books as much at the end as I do at the start, I did just want to read this story. After reading all of the Hitch Hiker books last year, I was excited to note that there was one other bit of the story out there, starring by far my favourite character Zaphod - or should we say the only character in all of the Adams-verse who I genuinely like.
So anyway, now I have read it. Goodreads is rather exaggerating and raising false hopes by calling this a 'novella'. It is only 14 pages long. Zaphod himself does not disappoint and is as likeable a character to be around as before. I missed him after Adams for some reason got bored and stopped writing about him in the final couple of books, even though he's the only character who ever had any plot going on. The story is suitably creepy and intriguing, in a kind of classic SF horror way. But at 14 pages long, most of that being used to set up atmosphere, and one amusing sequence in which Zaphod keeps throwing up in horror, we arrive very quickly at the end, and since we are only just about to discover the 'revelation' you realise that it must just be a gag (really this set up could have been the start of a novel... which I suppose if this is taken as a prequel to the first book, it is). So there you get it, all the build up is just for a silly political gag that is terribly dated here in the year 2020. Sigh. I guess this follows the same pattern of all Adams' stories - great set up, disappointing ending.
Oh well, it was nice to see Zaphod again.
December 24, 2023
A very interesting and fun, but extremely short prequel story to “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”… reading this makes me even more excited to finally start that series very soon! I can’t justify 5 stars for an 11 page story… so 4 stars! I’ll be starting the first book in the series soon!
February 14, 2014
An enjoyable short story. I have no idea what it had to do with anything, but it was enjoyable to read nonetheless.
July 3, 2016
This doesn't give anything to the story, but is funny and sometimes kind of gross and i like that :D
December 5, 2015
3.5/5 Rating Orignialy posted at MyLifeMyBooksMyEscape as part of the Time Traveler's Almanac group read.
Follow along with #TimeTravelThursday
One hundred percent perfectly safe!
Might as well start off this review by saying, embarrassingly, that I have never read The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Sorry, folks! I do own the ultimate edition though, and saw the movie! (Which I thought was hilarious!) So anyways, this an extract from a novella, I think? The narrator's voice is hilarious (which I've heard Adams is known for), and so are the characters, too. This is another story where time-travel takes a back seat to the main story, but this was still a fairly fun read.
Zaphod has been hired by two officials from the Safety and Civil Reassurance Administration to find a space craft that had crashed into the ocean of this particular planet - a space craft that would one hundred percent never crash. As they venture deeper into the water, the find the ship - which is perfectly safe - has been it had been cracked open in half.
Zaphod has been trying to figure out what is so "perfect safe" in there, that they won't tell him about. He jokes around asking if it's full of epsilonic radiating aorist rods. Turns out, his guess wasn't far off.
The narrator's voice is hilarious! He puts his own two-cents into the situations, and give funny little one-liners. It felt more like I was being told a story, someone talking directly to me, rather me simply reading something. The narrator has their own personality. I guess what I'm saying, in the narrator almost felt a characters of the story too.
The actual characters of the story were pretty good themselves. The main protagonist is Zaphod. (Before he has become president of the galaxy). He is a very free-spirited, loud, and energetic; very funny guy, with many good lines. Basically the complete opposite of the two up-tight officials he has sitting with him on the journey. The dynamic of hose three (or four?) was good, I got a lot of chuckles reading this.
For time-travel, this is another story where it was very lacking. Not that that is a bad thing, but it was only as precursor to the story to set up the plot. The time-travel is pretty cool, and draws upon the butterfly effect!!! (My favorite!) The ship is actually hold aorist rods. What are aorist rods? When they are devices that are used to draw upon energy from the past, to feed the energy deficit of the present. Seems like a flawless logic, except when you realize that this means the people of your future are doing it to, which makes you their pasts, and means they are taking your energy. See where things can go wrong?
That is pretty cool, and would be a great set up for a plot, but, like I said, it just background to the story. They are just what is in the ship.
I'm not sure there was anything I didn't like. I mean, I thought the humor was amazing, but nothing really stood. The one thing that did bother we though was ending. (Read spoiler for that).
I was quite confused and disappointed with that ending, so I checked up on Goodreads to see if the short story was on there and if there were reviews for it. When I did this, that is when I found out that Young Zaphod Plays it Safe is actually a 146 pages novella! If you go back to the top and read the author bio provided by the anthology, you will notice it is not mentioned there.
With that in mind, the ending (or, lack-of) of the story doesn't bother me as much, and makes much more sense knowing that it is only a piece of the story - and by piece, I mean 8 pages.
Now that I know this is a novella, I would absolutely read the full version. I wished the time-travel was more of a focus - the paradox those aorist cause would awesome to read about more - but maybe they actually in the full story? Regardless, before I do read this, I think I would read The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy first. I think it would make more sense, and I now how funny a writer Douglas Adams is.
And if you have read The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, I am going to guess that you would like this story.
Be sure to check out my fellow time-travelers' reviews!
Alesha Escobar
H.M. Jones
Laurel’s Writing Desk
Timothy C. Ward
3.5/5 Rating
-DJ
Follow along with #TimeTravelThursday
One hundred percent perfectly safe!
Might as well start off this review by saying, embarrassingly, that I have never read The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Sorry, folks! I do own the ultimate edition though, and saw the movie! (Which I thought was hilarious!) So anyways, this an extract from a novella, I think? The narrator's voice is hilarious (which I've heard Adams is known for), and so are the characters, too. This is another story where time-travel takes a back seat to the main story, but this was still a fairly fun read.
Zaphod has been hired by two officials from the Safety and Civil Reassurance Administration to find a space craft that had crashed into the ocean of this particular planet - a space craft that would one hundred percent never crash. As they venture deeper into the water, the find the ship - which is perfectly safe - has been it had been cracked open in half.
Zaphod has been trying to figure out what is so "perfect safe" in there, that they won't tell him about. He jokes around asking if it's full of epsilonic radiating aorist rods. Turns out, his guess wasn't far off.
The narrator's voice is hilarious! He puts his own two-cents into the situations, and give funny little one-liners. It felt more like I was being told a story, someone talking directly to me, rather me simply reading something. The narrator has their own personality. I guess what I'm saying, in the narrator almost felt a characters of the story too.
The actual characters of the story were pretty good themselves. The main protagonist is Zaphod. (Before he has become president of the galaxy). He is a very free-spirited, loud, and energetic; very funny guy, with many good lines. Basically the complete opposite of the two up-tight officials he has sitting with him on the journey. The dynamic of hose three (or four?) was good, I got a lot of chuckles reading this.
For time-travel, this is another story where it was very lacking. Not that that is a bad thing, but it was only as precursor to the story to set up the plot. The time-travel is pretty cool, and draws upon the butterfly effect!!! (My favorite!) The ship is actually hold aorist rods. What are aorist rods? When they are devices that are used to draw upon energy from the past, to feed the energy deficit of the present. Seems like a flawless logic, except when you realize that this means the people of your future are doing it to, which makes you their pasts, and means they are taking your energy. See where things can go wrong?
That is pretty cool, and would be a great set up for a plot, but, like I said, it just background to the story. They are just what is in the ship.
I'm not sure there was anything I didn't like. I mean, I thought the humor was amazing, but nothing really stood. The one thing that did bother we though was ending. (Read spoiler for that).
I was quite confused and disappointed with that ending, so I checked up on Goodreads to see if the short story was on there and if there were reviews for it. When I did this, that is when I found out that Young Zaphod Plays it Safe is actually a 146 pages novella! If you go back to the top and read the author bio provided by the anthology, you will notice it is not mentioned there.
With that in mind, the ending (or, lack-of) of the story doesn't bother me as much, and makes much more sense knowing that it is only a piece of the story - and by piece, I mean 8 pages.
Now that I know this is a novella, I would absolutely read the full version. I wished the time-travel was more of a focus - the paradox those aorist cause would awesome to read about more - but maybe they actually in the full story? Regardless, before I do read this, I think I would read The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy first. I think it would make more sense, and I now how funny a writer Douglas Adams is.
And if you have read The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, I am going to guess that you would like this story.
Be sure to check out my fellow time-travelers' reviews!
Alesha Escobar
H.M. Jones
Laurel’s Writing Desk
Timothy C. Ward
3.5/5 Rating
-DJ
September 27, 2023
Sama priča nema veze s ničim, ali je bila prepuna Adamsovih fora i sad mi se opet čita Vodič kroz galaksiju.
Bookopoly – Short Story
Bookopoly – Short Story
November 27, 2021
To summarize the most insightfully penned insights of the more insightful other reviews of this story in 3 points:
1. This is a nice little short story. Quite pleasant.
2. It hinges entirely on one itty bitty tiny detail, without which the story would be entirely perplexing.
3. It conveniently happens to omit said absolutely essential itty bitty tiny detail.
If you have come here, like me, in search of the meaning behind this brief interlude in your copy of The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I encourage you to consider these other (hopefully) insightful 3 points:
1. Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha contains the Earth.
2. Some Earthling political leaders—in fact, one American one in particular—could be described as "kindly looking... with lots of pleasant laugh lines around his face."
3. Young Zaphod Plays It Safe was written in 1986.
If you are still perplexed, try some of the other reviews, or Wikipedia. They'll certainly clear it up.
All perplexing insightfulness aside, the fact that this short story is essentially meaningless without the aforementioned detail perfectly exemplifies why I love Douglas Adams's writing. I've always cherished the belief that his stories were entirely "pure"—that is, for the sole purpose of telling a good story that has absolutely no subtler, anecdotal, metaphorical, or otherwise studyable-in-English-class meaning. As written in The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide, that is precisely how this story comes across—and though it drove me to search for the true meaning behind the story elsewhere (which I know somewhat defeats my "cherishing" and all that, but don't ruin it for me) I think it is a terrific inside joke for fans of the series.
~Z~
1. This is a nice little short story. Quite pleasant.
2. It hinges entirely on one itty bitty tiny detail, without which the story would be entirely perplexing.
3. It conveniently happens to omit said absolutely essential itty bitty tiny detail.
If you have come here, like me, in search of the meaning behind this brief interlude in your copy of The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I encourage you to consider these other (hopefully) insightful 3 points:
1. Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha contains the Earth.
2. Some Earthling political leaders—in fact, one American one in particular—could be described as "kindly looking... with lots of pleasant laugh lines around his face."
3. Young Zaphod Plays It Safe was written in 1986.
If you are still perplexed, try some of the other reviews, or Wikipedia. They'll certainly clear it up.
All perplexing insightfulness aside, the fact that this short story is essentially meaningless without the aforementioned detail perfectly exemplifies why I love Douglas Adams's writing. I've always cherished the belief that his stories were entirely "pure"—that is, for the sole purpose of telling a good story that has absolutely no subtler, anecdotal, metaphorical, or otherwise studyable-in-English-class meaning. As written in The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide, that is precisely how this story comes across—and though it drove me to search for the true meaning behind the story elsewhere (which I know somewhat defeats my "cherishing" and all that, but don't ruin it for me) I think it is a terrific inside joke for fans of the series.
~Z~
March 28, 2020
brief synopsis:
Zaphod is tasked to salvage byproducts from a crashed ship that could one hundred per cent positively never crash.
setting:
Western Galaxy
named personalities:
Zaphod Beeblebrox - a salvager; a man with the odd, or rather the even number of heads
Zaphod is tasked to salvage byproducts from a crashed ship that could one hundred per cent positively never crash.
setting:
Western Galaxy
named personalities:
Zaphod Beeblebrox - a salvager; a man with the odd, or rather the even number of heads
September 27, 2012
The final book (book #5) or should I say the prelude to The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy....where the end is just the beginning. ^_^
January 18, 2022
This is a very short story. If you haven’t read H2G2 then this won’t make much sense. You need to know the characters to understand and appreciate this story.
Great introduction to Zaphod and with Adam’s signature comedy makes this fun to read but not an amazing short story.
Great introduction to Zaphod and with Adam’s signature comedy makes this fun to read but not an amazing short story.
September 6, 2021
This short story includes some irony about safety in developed countries.
November 10, 2023
"He also heard the Official from the Safety and Civil Reassurance Administration issue instructions that the planet in ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha must be made "perfectly safe."
May 26, 2022
Short little prequel of sorts, witty but mostly a setup for a cheap satirical gag. The universe is very large and he makes it very small by singling out a particular politician of his day.
April 1, 2021
„You’re one hundred percent positive that the ship which is crashed on the bottom of this ocean is the ship which you said you were one hundred percent positive could one hundred percent positively never crash?” said the owner of the two remaining heads. “Hey,” he put up two of his hands, “I’m only asking.“
„The two officials from the Safety and Civil Reassurance Administration responded to this with a very cold stare, but the man with the odd, or rather the even, number of heads missed it.“
„Zaphod wondered what to do about all this, and after a brief but hectic internal debate decided that passing out would be the very thing.
He came to a few minutes later and pretended not to know who he was, where he was or how he had got there, but was not able to convince anybody. He then pretended that his memory suddenly returned with a rush and that the shock caused him to pass out again, but he was helped unwillingly to his feet by the empty suit- which he was beginning to take a serious dislike to - and forced to come to terms with his surroundings.“
„The ship went right out of control! I couldn’t believe what we were doing and just to prove a point about lobster which is really so overrated as a food, I’m sorry to go on about lobsters so much, I’ll try and stop in a minute, but they’ve been on my mind so much for the months I’ve been in this tank, can you imagine what it’s like to be stuck in a ship with the same guys for months eating junk food when all one guy will talk about is lobster and then spend six months floating by yourself in a tank thinking about it. I promise I will try and shut up about the lobsters, I really will. Lobsters, lobsters, lobsters—enough! I think I’m the only survivor. I’m the only one who managed to get to an emergency tank before we went down. I sent out the Mayday and then we hit. It’s a disaster, isn’t it? A total disaster, and all because the guy liked lobsters. How much sense am I making? It’s really hard for me to tell.“
„When the hunt for new sources of energy had at one point got particularly frantic, one bright young chap suddenly spotted that one place which had never used up all its available energy—the past. And with the sudden rush of blood to the head that such insights tend to induce, he invented a way of mining it that very same night, and within a year huge tracts of the past were being drained of all their energy and simply wasting away. Those who claimed that the past should be left unspoiled were accused of indulging in an extremely expensive form of sentimentality. The past provided a very cheap, plentiful and clean source of energy, there could always be a few Natural Past Reserves set up if anyone wanted to pay for their upkeep, and as for the claim that draining the past impoverished the present, well, maybe it did, slightly, but the effects were immeasurable and you really had to keep a sense of proportion.“
„They claimed it was for the sake of their grandparents and grandchildren, but it was of course for the sake of their grandparent’s grandchildren, and their grandchildren’s grandparents.“
„You see?” said the official, examining the ultra-titanium outer seals of the aorist rod hold. “Perfectly secure, perfectly safe.”
He said the same thing as they passed holds containing chemical weapons so powerful that a teaspoonful could fatally infect an entire planet.
He said the same thing as they passed holds containing zeta-active compounds so powerful that a teaspoonful could blow up a whole planet.
He said the same thing as they passed holds containing theta-active compounds so powerful that a teaspoonful could irradiate a whole planet.
“I’m glad I’m not a planet,” muttered Zaphod.“
„ „The reason,” he said, quietly, “why everything else in this ship is, I maintain, safe, is that no one is really crazy enough to use them. No one. At least no one that crazy would ever get near them. Anyone that mad or dangerous rings very deep alarm bells. People may be stupid but they’re not that stupid.“
„The two officials from the Safety and Civil Reassurance Administration responded to this with a very cold stare, but the man with the odd, or rather the even, number of heads missed it.“
„Zaphod wondered what to do about all this, and after a brief but hectic internal debate decided that passing out would be the very thing.
He came to a few minutes later and pretended not to know who he was, where he was or how he had got there, but was not able to convince anybody. He then pretended that his memory suddenly returned with a rush and that the shock caused him to pass out again, but he was helped unwillingly to his feet by the empty suit- which he was beginning to take a serious dislike to - and forced to come to terms with his surroundings.“
„The ship went right out of control! I couldn’t believe what we were doing and just to prove a point about lobster which is really so overrated as a food, I’m sorry to go on about lobsters so much, I’ll try and stop in a minute, but they’ve been on my mind so much for the months I’ve been in this tank, can you imagine what it’s like to be stuck in a ship with the same guys for months eating junk food when all one guy will talk about is lobster and then spend six months floating by yourself in a tank thinking about it. I promise I will try and shut up about the lobsters, I really will. Lobsters, lobsters, lobsters—enough! I think I’m the only survivor. I’m the only one who managed to get to an emergency tank before we went down. I sent out the Mayday and then we hit. It’s a disaster, isn’t it? A total disaster, and all because the guy liked lobsters. How much sense am I making? It’s really hard for me to tell.“
„When the hunt for new sources of energy had at one point got particularly frantic, one bright young chap suddenly spotted that one place which had never used up all its available energy—the past. And with the sudden rush of blood to the head that such insights tend to induce, he invented a way of mining it that very same night, and within a year huge tracts of the past were being drained of all their energy and simply wasting away. Those who claimed that the past should be left unspoiled were accused of indulging in an extremely expensive form of sentimentality. The past provided a very cheap, plentiful and clean source of energy, there could always be a few Natural Past Reserves set up if anyone wanted to pay for their upkeep, and as for the claim that draining the past impoverished the present, well, maybe it did, slightly, but the effects were immeasurable and you really had to keep a sense of proportion.“
„They claimed it was for the sake of their grandparents and grandchildren, but it was of course for the sake of their grandparent’s grandchildren, and their grandchildren’s grandparents.“
„You see?” said the official, examining the ultra-titanium outer seals of the aorist rod hold. “Perfectly secure, perfectly safe.”
He said the same thing as they passed holds containing chemical weapons so powerful that a teaspoonful could fatally infect an entire planet.
He said the same thing as they passed holds containing zeta-active compounds so powerful that a teaspoonful could blow up a whole planet.
He said the same thing as they passed holds containing theta-active compounds so powerful that a teaspoonful could irradiate a whole planet.
“I’m glad I’m not a planet,” muttered Zaphod.“
„ „The reason,” he said, quietly, “why everything else in this ship is, I maintain, safe, is that no one is really crazy enough to use them. No one. At least no one that crazy would ever get near them. Anyone that mad or dangerous rings very deep alarm bells. People may be stupid but they’re not that stupid.“
September 6, 2017
I was confused. I was so very confused. (And this is the sort of confusion I get when nothing makes sense, not the Hitchhiker's Guide sort of confusion). I decided to do some digging only to find out that the edition I read was censored! Why, you ask? I have no idea. I had to hunt down another copy and it all clicked into place.
(This is why I'm not a fan of censorship)
With censorship, this novella gets one star from me. Without the censorship it gets three. But, because I had to go through the additional pain of research (I get that enough at my job, thank you very much), I'm ending this review with two stars.
This was just frustrating.
(This is why I'm not a fan of censorship)
With censorship, this novella gets one star from me. Without the censorship it gets three. But, because I had to go through the additional pain of research (I get that enough at my job, thank you very much), I'm ending this review with two stars.
This was just frustrating.
July 26, 2020
I don't think this book even merits a review, considering it was only 11 pages long and was anticlimactic.
A tip, read this before you complete the Hitchhiker's series, once you're between book 2 and 3 or before book 2 perhaps. Then you'll have your expectations low.
This story has a lot of stuff about lobsters, an ominous setting that piques your excitement but doesn't deliver and finally a punchline at the end that's edited out but is the payoff that the author was hoping to deliver.
I reduced a star for the size of the book (it's a novella but 11 pages?!), another one for not being as humorous as all the other books and finally one for the poor ending.
A tip, read this before you complete the Hitchhiker's series, once you're between book 2 and 3 or before book 2 perhaps. Then you'll have your expectations low.
This story has a lot of stuff about lobsters, an ominous setting that piques your excitement but doesn't deliver and finally a punchline at the end that's edited out but is the payoff that the author was hoping to deliver.
I reduced a star for the size of the book (it's a novella but 11 pages?!), another one for not being as humorous as all the other books and finally one for the poor ending.
November 5, 2019
Not a bad little short story that adds to Zaphod's character. He was a bit uncharacteristic, but I can tell it was the much more mature Zaphod and why it was suggested to read this after So Long and Thanks for All the Fish. Perhaps this is a prelude to the next book that I will be starting in the series. The final book! Overall, I did enjoy this short read. The beginning was quite funny and in true Douglas Adams fashion. I became very interested when the secret was finally revealed about the "invincible" ship that was being investigated and hope more comes of it.
September 30, 2017
This was just ok. I've always really liked Zaphod's character, and so it was interesting to have a little prequel about him. The bit about mining the past was awesome, but the rest was nothing special. Reading some other reviews it makes it clear that this short story was written just for Douglas Adams to make a political statement. I read it because it was included in my Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and it's very short, but otherwise it doesn't add anything to the series.
February 23, 2018
It's comic and it's hitchhikers' guide to the galaxy. And it contains a young Zaphod. So it is weird, funny, dangerous and nonsense. But perfectly safe. And dangerous.
Nice reading mostly, except for the vomiting part, for which the author apoligizes.
Nice reading for the fans, frustrating it does not seem to have a goal, or a real ending at that.
Nice reading mostly, except for the vomiting part, for which the author apoligizes.
Nice reading for the fans, frustrating it does not seem to have a goal, or a real ending at that.
July 28, 2017
The story is fun and mild unless you open its Wikipedia article and see it ended differently in the original text. After that, the story is perfectly perfect because it perfectly fits Adams' humorously intelligent style.
January 15, 2019
Well 11 pages is hardly considered a book, it's rather an answer to the question once you finish book 4 you ask yourself "OH I wonder where Zaphod is?" and voila, Adam's slaps this very short book as an answer before you dwell into the final adventure
Drink your tea, the party is Almost over
Drink your tea, the party is Almost over
June 9, 2021
A short one, not my favorite but still really good. Especially loved the part about lobster because I read this in Maine, where the lobster really is good enough to cause someone to crash a spaceship.
June 13, 2017
Little more than a collection of paradoxes, but there were some parts of it that I liked. Like this bit: "The two officials waited calmly. They coughed slightly to help pass the time."
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