So, at the end of the last story we left Ford and Arthur on the idyllic world of earth-to-come with a couple of pretty girls.  And no pesky Hitchhiker’s Guide anymore. We didn’t know where Zaphod and Trillian had got to but they had been convinced that the Universe was in good hands and went off.

As this story opened, Arthur had been alone on Earth for four long years while Ford spent his time trying to go mad. The Golgafrinchans, those who survived the winter, had all left on holiday.  But Ford reappeared just in time for the two to catch a ride off planet and out of time.  On a velvet paisley sofa.  Yes, if you weren’t sure before, now you know you’re in a Douglas Adams book.

They end up in the middle of a cricket game and then are picked up by Slartibartfast.  He needs their help in confronting “…an ancient nightmare…”  What follows next, onboard Slartibartfast’s ship, is another of those almost incomprehensible explanations of a technical nature; which never fail to be the most absurd thing I’ve read…until he comes up with the next one.  So, apparently, an ancient race of Krikkits had once decided they wanted to be the only beings in the universe so they set about destroying everything.  This was met with some disapproval, of course, and the whole planet was sealed up.  Unfortunately, the sealing process had failed to account for every killer robot the Krikkits had sent out and not all of them got sealed up.  The missing robots have spent the last few billion years stealthily planning a break-out; and it looks like, to Slartibartfast, that they are about to succeed.  But to do so, they have to collect a certain number of items that, when constructed properly, will create a key to unlock the sealed planet.  One of those items had been at the aforementioned cricket game.  Another is the device that powers The Heart of Gold. 

Yes, Zaphod and Trillian are still with each other…right up until Trillian gets completely fed up with Zaphod’s existential crisis – he has no purpose in life.  And right after she leaves is when the killer robots plunder Zaphod’s ship.

The largish part of the story is taken up with typically absurd stories that don’t always seem to have a point or even a connection to anything else.  My advice? Go with the flow; Adams is always right. Interestingly enough, the group does manage to reconnect at a party where the killer robots are there to pick up another artifact.  And, in true Adams’ style, it is completely bonkers.  Almost forgot:  Marvin does have a walk-on cameo as the robots stole one of his legs. Funny enough, Zaphod runs into both Marvin and Trillian and they all make an attempt to keep the Krikkits from destroying the universe…and everything.

After all is said and done, Adams has a last word in telling us just why the Krikkits went so bonkers so many billions of years before.  And it was a doozy.  And, of course, Arthur is still trying to determine the Ultimate Question and comes very, very close this time.  ~ Catherine Book

P.S. This story had the first printed reference to “… the long dark teatime of the soul.” A fabulous phrase.

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