The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul

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While Douglas Adams will forever be known for the Hitchhiker trilogy, he also produced two books based on the quirky private detective named Dirk Gently. The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul is the second novel starring this character, and while not as profound or witty as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, it does offer a quick and entertaining read.

It starts with an ominous fireball at an airport. Unexplainable, newspapers are reporting it as an act of God. For Dirk Gently, it's just another event in the world with little effect on him. As of late, he's been in a bit of a slump with no customers or money coming in. His last client just got himself killed, and as he investigates further into the man's murder/suicide he begins to see connections to the airport disaster. Also, he'd like to have his fridge cleaned out if he can find the time.

Adams is a natural at what he does, thus starting The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul off with the funniest part of the book. His wit and commentary on airports and airport consistencies is just as funny now as it was when it was written in 1988. He writes:

Airports are ugly. Some are very ugly. Some attain a degree of ugliness that can only be the result of a special effort. This ugliness arises because airports are full of people who are tired, cross, and have just discovered that their luggage has landed in Murmansk (Murmansk airport is the only known exception to this otherwise infallible rule), and architects have on the whole tried to reflect this in their designs.

Much like Kim Wilkins' Giants of the Frost and a slew of other stories, Norse mythology plans an integral part. Adams' take on Midgard, Asgard, and the mystical gods is, not surprisingly, lighter than those previously mentioned. Still, for any fan of such mythology, it's an interesting take on it and will capture your imagination from the word Thor.

As funny as he is, I do have two major problems with The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul. Mr. Adams really loves his adverbs; in any standard paragraph the reader is likely to come across three or more. At times, it can be a bit much. Also, the ending was a bit confusing and not entirely clear on why things happened. It left much to be desired.

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