"Deep in the fundamental heart of mind and Universe there is a reason." 
 The cast from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has been dispersed about the galaxy, and Arthur Dent was unwillingly sent back in time to prehistoric Earth--where he's been forced to eke out a survivalist existence in solitude. 
 Technically, you shouldn't go into a series like this expecting much by way of cohesive plot. One reads books like this for the entertainment, the wondrous absurdity, and the occasional cunning turn of phrase. But while you do get that here, readers of the previous two books may also sense in this a case of series entropy. Overall, it simply lacks the luster of Hitchhiker's Guide--though it does bring back a few familiar characters and befuddling conundrums. 
 I felt significantly less amusement with this installment than I had the previous two, and the available cleverness lingered less in my memory. 
 On the upshot, since coherent narration wasn't particularly a goal, I don't feel much pressure to write a coherent review. 
 Random Personal Note: I came to hate the name Slartibartfast. I don't know what it is about it, exactly, but it's right up there with 'moist' as one of my top least favorite compositions of lettering and sound. The rate at which it recurred was borderline torturous. 
 Also... Trillian could have actually been a character, but for the most part she came across more like a convenient piece of furniture. 
 Favorite Quotes: 
 "He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn't an afterlife." 
 "What I need... is a strong drink and a peer group." 
 "The Somebody Else's Problem field is much simpler and more effective, and what's more can be run for over a hundred years on a single torch battery. This is because it relies on people's natural disposition not to see anything they don't want to, weren't expecting, or can't explain." 
 "My doctor says that I have a malformed public-duty gland and a natural deficiency in moral fibre and that I am therefore excused from saving universes."