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Book Reviews of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1)

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1)
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - Dirk Gently, Bk 1
Author: Douglas Adams
ISBN-13: 9780330301626
ISBN-10: 0330301624
Publication Date: 6/24/1988
Pages: 256
Rating:
  • Currently 3.4/5 Stars.
 16

3.4 stars, based on 16 ratings
Publisher: Pan MacMillan
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

31 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 87 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
Very funny. Very fun. Do spend some time with this other character of Douglas Adams'. If you enjoyed Hitchhiker's Guide, you'll like this too.
reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
This is a highly entertaining book by the author of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. There is a lot of similar humor in this book, covering a lot of new material.
reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 32 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
It's refreshing to read Douglas Adams and his bizarre sense of story. From seemingly random story lines in the beginning, they all come together in the end...sort of. I'm not sure I understand it all, but time-travelling tends to do that to you. Anyway, a nice, funny, Douglas Adams read.
reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 19 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
This is a great book and definitely a good read if you like any of Douglas Adams other books.
reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 39 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
A different series from the Hitchhiker's Guide author. Interesting and clever.
ataraxia avatar reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 19 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This story starts off on several tangents, then towards the last quarter of the book, braids together. It may be hard going at first, and I admit, I had to go back to re-read subtle clues I previously missed, but is a fine read. Douglas Adams not only wrote the Hitchhiker books, but he also wrote scripts for Tom Baker's Dr. Who.
taosing avatar reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 76 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
A great fun read from the guy who brought you Hitchiker's Guide to the Universe!
Erinyes avatar reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 279 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Douglas Adams was a genius. I wish he had written more books. This one is worth it. It's not as accessible as Hitchhikers, but it is just as good. Most days I wish I lived in Douglas Adams universe.
reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 25 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
If you liked the Hitchhikers Guide (now misnamed) Trilogy, you will like this. It's just as wacky as always with Douglas Adams...
vavoice avatar reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 158 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A very good detective story, though the author tends to ramble on, in places. I was completely duped into following the "obvious" mystery, when everything did a complete flip, and Dirk brought out out the REAL problem. If you stopped reading Adams' books after Hitchhiker's Guide, you would enjoy getting back into the craziness of Dirk Gently.
susieqmillsacoustics avatar reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 1062 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I was very pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I read it because it is on the list of "1,001 Books to read before you die". I was skeptical because very often I disagree with "critics" in that I do not look for political statements or rhetoric against the human race, etc. etc.-but I do enjoy books that make me think, move me, scare me or just purely entertain me. This was very entertaining. It was quite strange and in the first few chapters, I was not sure-but it really hooked me and became hard to put down. I'm not sure I would go so far as to say it is vital to read before you die-but it is fun reading and quite unique!
reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 142 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Strange, very, very strange. Then again, that's Douglas Adams.
katzen0466 avatar reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 55 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Solving all the parts of a mystery is quite important to Dirk Gently. A mystery can't be considered properly solved until all the loose ends are tied up in a neat little bow, and if complications occur along the way, that's just what happens in life.
reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Definately worth a read. Douglas Adams presents a fairly absurd noir story. Any Adams fan will enjoy.
reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Great book. Especially if you are a music lover!
bookaddict avatar reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on
Helpful Score: 1
If you are a Douglas Adams fan, you have to read this one. There ain't no more coming from him, sadly enough.
reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on
Helpful Score: 1
Douglas Adams does it again with a storyline as surreal as The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Dirk Gently solves the mystery of the sofa stuck in the hallway and the psychotic homicidal ghost alien that wants to go back in time to correct the mistake that created life on this planet. He also is looking for an old lady's missing cat. A good read.
reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 29 more book reviews
Honestly, I didn't enjoy this book at all. I have read the entire Hitchhiker's Guide (loved it!) as well as The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (pretty good), but just could not get into this one at all. It does end up having a decent plot, but the book just drags on and wasn't worth the time it took to read.
reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 8 more book reviews
Interesting when paired with The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, seeing the character of Dirk Gentley evolve. It's an easy, fun read.
reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 48 more book reviews
From the back cover: There is a long tradition of Great Detectives, and Dirk Gently does not belong to it. But his search for a missing cat uncovers a ghost, a time-traveller, AND...the devastating secret of humankind!
reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 39 more book reviews
a fun read
uncannyem avatar reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 6 more book reviews
What a fun book!
I spent the first few chapters trying to figure out how it all connected; the robot, the poetry dinner and the title character. But about halfway through (around the time Dirk entered the story) I was enjoying the story so much I stopped worrying about the haphazard plot making sense. Adams even managed to include the bit with the couch into the ending. Bravo!
The second book is already on its way here.
lmntree avatar reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 37 more book reviews
After all the sad stuff I've been reading, I needed something funny. I didn't like this as much as the Hitchhiker series, but it was kind of funny. It took awhile for me to get the characters straight, maybe that was the big difference. I already knew the Hitchhiker crew from the Commodore 64 computer game! Now that I know the characters, I will probably order the second book at some point.
reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 76 more book reviews
Another Douglas Adams insteresting book!
reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on
I'm a big fan of Adams. i met him on the set of Mike Douglas years ago. The best part of the show was during comercial breaks. The man is absolutely hilareous. I don't think he could help it. This book though, left me in the dirt. I just never was able to get onboard. I was dissapointed in that British humor is usually juvinile; very easy to follow and rather like Benny Hill. It's good for a chuckle but certainly not difficult. I could never get into this one. Not sure why. I tried. G-d knows I tried. Nuthin'
reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 813 more book reviews
I you think that the Hitchhiker series is far out, you havent read this book. Its so far out no one knows what it really is. Step aside, Twilight Zone this is the most convoluted sci-fi tale ever dreamed up. Adams makes Ray Bradbury seem like a novice. Im not sure who is the madder, Adams, or his publisher. This book has everything that makes no sense. The last page contains an ominous warning. Rather than say The End, it says to be continued. Makes the reader shudder, doesnt it?
reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on
This was a fun and yet, very weird book. I enjoyed the British humor. Doug Adams has a wild imagination!
Defraggler avatar reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 13 more book reviews
A must read. Really out of the box.
aeonsablaze avatar reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on
Excellent detective story from one of my favorite sci-fi authors. A great book for anyone that finished the Hitchhikers series and still needs that Douglas Adams fix.
reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 14 more book reviews
There is a long tradition of Great Detectives, and Dirk Gently does not belong to it. But his search for a missing cat uncovers a ghost, a time-traveller, and the devastating secret of humankind.
reviewed Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, Bk 1) on + 50 more book reviews
the back cover is crumbling on this book but it is still readable