Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

12 reviews

riverofhorton's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This isn't my first time reading this, however it has been over a decade since I last read it. I had managed to forget a lot of the finer points of the story in that time, so to a certain extent it felt like reading a book that I had previously only read a summary of.

It was as enjoyable as I remember it being, with Adams having the ability to encapsulate the British sense of humour perfectly, while maintaining the level of seriousness required at various points.

The only thing I had a problem with was the descriptions of Marvin, with 'Manic Depression' and 'Paranoid' being used interchangeably, implying they are the same disorder, which is wholly inaccurate. I do, however, feel that this is more indicative of the time this was published. Thankfully this doesn't affect the plot in anyway.

Overall this was an enjoyable read and I will be reading the rest of this trilogy and likely some of the author's other work.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

cursed10fold's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

Moderate: Suicide and Violence

Minor: Genocide, Sexism, Police brutality, and War

maddie_can_read's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This is my favourite book of all time. I can't remember the first time I read it , but it was over 10 years ago. Just re-reading it again in January 2024. Douglas Adams has such a unique, creative voice and this book is so fun to read. I've read books trying to emulate this style and there is just no comparison. I could see how this book might not be for some readers, because Adams has a very distinctive, quirky and weird writing style and a lot of the book is really "out there" but those are all the reasons I absolutely love this book. There is a plot, an interesting set of characters, tons of tangents, and lots of fantastic examinations into modern society. Some of the references might go over your head because its almost 50 years old and its very British, but there's enough it the book that it doesn't matter if you miss some things. It's so sad the author died when he was only 49, I believe we missed out on so many wonderful and wacky stories when we lost such a creative mind. Rest in peace Douglas Adams, and thanks for all the fish ! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Mental illness

Minor: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Police brutality, and War

More details on animal death:

a missile in space gets turned into a sperm whale and falls to the ground

reptilinius's review against another edition

adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Genocide

Moderate: Ableism

Minor: Suicide and Police brutality

theirgracegrace's review against another edition

funny lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A classic of British science fiction, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy follows Arthur Dent, a normal English man who is the sole survivor of Earth after it is instantly demolished to make way for an intergalactic freeway. His journey takes him to space ships (properly owned and stolen), terrible poetry recitals, and a planet shrouded in myth that manufactures planets. Along the way, he learns absolutely wacky (and generally useless) information about the cosmos, meets a depressed robot, and discovers the answer to Life, The Universe and Everything.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Genocide, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, Violence, Xenophobia, and Police brutality

Minor: Misogyny, Cannibalism, and War

spookily's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and Alcohol

Minor: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

nerdkitten's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Police brutality, and Deportation

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Mental illness, Medical content, and Grief

Minor: Ableism, Sexual content, Violence, Excrement, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

botanicpanic's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

Moderate: Death and Alcohol

Minor: Suicide, Police brutality, and War

wellreadandhalfdead's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Being a longtime fan of the movie adaptation of this novel, I was overdue to finally read the book. Read it and wished I had gotten to it sooner. This book is hysterical! In the beginning, I had to reread several passages I had just read because the humor was so nonsensical that it was like trying to comprehend a textbook; however, once I got used to Adams' strange British comedic tone, I enjoyed myself immensely.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Police brutality

maaathiiilde's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Suicide, Police brutality, and War