Buy it,you wont regret i promise, 06 Feb 2002
Buy this and you'll be happy.You will not regret.
And Kate Winslet is the narrator don't forget that.It's not so expensive,just buy it.

Buy it,you wont regret i promise, 06 Feb 2002
Buy this and you'll be happy.You will not regret.
And Kate Winslet is the narrator don't forget that.It's not so expensive,just buy it.

Not whodunnit but why, 17 Nov 2008
My first thought was that this would make a cracking good film. (Well, apparently there was a 1950s film version but I've never seen it. And if there's been a TV version, I've missed that, too.)
'The fog was like a saffron blanket soaked in ice-water.' Margery Allingham's descriptions of an old-fashioned London pea-souper and the disenfranchised characters inhabiting its underworld are worthy of Dickens. A jolly good read, highly recommended.

The Tiger in the Smoke, 09 Mar 2006
I have been reading all the Campion novels in order and having just finished this one I can safely say this is not Allingham or Campion at their best. The plot seemed thin, the characters not very interesting and crucially the villan of the piece just fails to come across as frightening as he should. I know this is considered to be a classic but Allingham has written better adventures than this one, in my opinion. Disappointingly Campion is hardly in this one, a shame as he is one of the more interesting period detectives around.

genuinely thrilling, 19 Jan 2006
it is sad that so much of margery allingham's oeuvre is currently out of print; vintage are to be commended for (slowly) rectifying this. the success of poirot and wimsey has relegated campion to a thoroughly undeserved third place in the canon of golden age crime-busters. although campion is not the central character of 'tiger', this gives the reader the chance to savour allingham's evocative prose style. in this london, former soldiers who found a home in the army are now misfits, cut off from normal society. voices from the past can be heard through the fog. oates, luke and campion seem powerless to apprehend a magnificently ruthless enemy. do yourself a favour and read...

Tiger tiger, burning bright, in the fogbound London night, 29 Jun 2005
A thriller rather than a mystery. If you are new to Allingham's Campion stories this is not a good place to start, partly because it is so atypical of the series and also because the array of minor characters that flit through the pages, and which will be familiar to readers of previous Campion books, can be rather bewildering for the newcomer.

Written in 1952, the story is interesting for its insight into aspects of life in post-war London. Some of the references, and much of the slang, will be lost on young, and non-British, readers. It will also perpetuate the myth of London being permanently fogbound. Present-day London hardly ever experiences fog, but in the fifties, when it was still an industrial city and suffered heavy smogs, it was commonly known as "The Smoke", hence the book's title.

In truth, the author's grasp of underworld culture is somewhat shaky. She doesn't get the language or the behaviour quite right. She was from the rural English midlands and from a different social class, so this is very much an outsider's view.

The intriguing story and the intense drama are what make this book worthwhile. It is well written and one episode, Lugg's driving through the fog, is hilarious. He wonders aloud at one stage whether he is approaching a roundabout or the side of a bank building. The villain, Havoc, is memorable. Oddly, there is no one, central hero. That role is shared between three or four characters. Campion himself is incidental.

My one complaint about the plot is that it relies on a very remarkable coincidence, which is something that always undermines credibility. But if you are willing to accept it (and remarkable coincidences do occur in real life) then you can relax and enjoy this first-rate thriller.

If you do enjoy "Tiger in the Smoke", you might also like Graham Greene's "Brighton Rock", which features the razor gangs of pre-war Brighton, and which has an equally memorable villain.

Allingham's finest, 19 Mar 2004
Tiger in the Smoke is Marjory Allingham's finest novel, and the pinnacle of the Inspector Campion series. A comparison with the first Campion, 'The Gyrth Chalice Mystery' reveals just how far she had taken her art from rather flat stereotypes and set pieces to a dark, memorable and perfectly drawn thriller.

Interestingly, Campion is only an incidental figure in Tiger in the Smoke. It is really a novel about the anti-hero Jack Havoc, a knife-murderer following a religion he has created himself 'the science of luck'. The chilling encounter which sets the seal on this novel is not murderer-meets-detective, but when the murderer meets a clergyman who has the power to transfix him. Havoc tells the clergyman about his 'science of luck', and the clergyman tells him that he already knows this philosophy, but it is called the 'science of death'.

From here in the demise of Havoc is artistically certain. The plot accelerates, through to the final, chillingly ambiguous 'His body was never recovered.'

If you have seen Allingham as a lesser figure, after Sayers and Christie, this book should set you straight. It belongs with Conan Doyle's 'Valley of Fear' and Sayers' 'Murder must advertise' at the top of the list of British crime thrillers.

Buy it,you wont regret i promise, 06 Feb 2002
Buy this and you'll be happy.You will not regret.
And Kate Winslet is the narrator don't forget that.It's not so expensive,just buy it.

Not whodunnit but why, 17 Nov 2008
My first thought was that this would make a cracking good film. (Well, apparently there was a 1950s film version but I've never seen it. And if there's been a TV version, I've missed that, too.)
'The fog was like a saffron blanket soaked in ice-water.' Margery Allingham's descriptions of an old-fashioned London pea-souper and the disenfranchised characters inhabiting its underworld are worthy of Dickens. A jolly good read, highly recommended.

The Tiger in the Smoke, 09 Mar 2006
I have been reading all the Campion novels in order and having just finished this one I can safely say this is not Allingham or Campion at their best. The plot seemed thin, the characters not very interesting and crucially the villan of the piece just fails to come across as frightening as he should. I know this is considered to be a classic but Allingham has written better adventures than this one, in my opinion. Disappointingly Campion is hardly in this one, a shame as he is one of the more interesting period detectives around.

genuinely thrilling, 19 Jan 2006
it is sad that so much of margery allingham's oeuvre is currently out of print; vintage are to be commended for (slowly) rectifying this. the success of poirot and wimsey has relegated campion to a thoroughly undeserved third place in the canon of golden age crime-busters. although campion is not the central character of 'tiger', this gives the reader the chance to savour allingham's evocative prose style. in this london, former soldiers who found a home in the army are now misfits, cut off from normal society. voices from the past can be heard through the fog. oates, luke and campion seem powerless to apprehend a magnificently ruthless enemy. do yourself a favour and read...

Tiger tiger, burning bright, in the fogbound London night, 29 Jun 2005
A thriller rather than a mystery. If you are new to Allingham's Campion stories this is not a good place to start, partly because it is so atypical of the series and also because the array of minor characters that flit through the pages, and which will be familiar to readers of previous Campion books, can be rather bewildering for the newcomer.

Written in 1952, the story is interesting for its insight into aspects of life in post-war London. Some of the references, and much of the slang, will be lost on young, and non-British, readers. It will also perpetuate the myth of London being permanently fogbound. Present-day London hardly ever experiences fog, but in the fifties, when it was still an industrial city and suffered heavy smogs, it was commonly known as "The Smoke", hence the book's title.

In truth, the author's grasp of underworld culture is somewhat shaky. She doesn't get the language or the behaviour quite right. She was from the rural English midlands and from a different social class, so this is very much an outsider's view.

The intriguing story and the intense drama are what make this book worthwhile. It is well written and one episode, Lugg's driving through the fog, is hilarious. He wonders aloud at one stage whether he is approaching a roundabout or the side of a bank building. The villain, Havoc, is memorable. Oddly, there is no one, central hero. That role is shared between three or four characters. Campion himself is incidental.

My one complaint about the plot is that it relies on a very remarkable coincidence, which is something that always undermines credibility. But if you are willing to accept it (and remarkable coincidences do occur in real life) then you can relax and enjoy this first-rate thriller.

If you do enjoy "Tiger in the Smoke", you might also like Graham Greene's "Brighton Rock", which features the razor gangs of pre-war Brighton, and which has an equally memorable villain.

Allingham's finest, 19 Mar 2004
Tiger in the Smoke is Marjory Allingham's finest novel, and the pinnacle of the Inspector Campion series. A comparison with the first Campion, 'The Gyrth Chalice Mystery' reveals just how far she had taken her art from rather flat stereotypes and set pieces to a dark, memorable and perfectly drawn thriller.

Interestingly, Campion is only an incidental figure in Tiger in the Smoke. It is really a novel about the anti-hero Jack Havoc, a knife-murderer following a religion he has created himself 'the science of luck'. The chilling encounter which sets the seal on this novel is not murderer-meets-detective, but when the murderer meets a clergyman who has the power to transfix him. Havoc tells the clergyman about his 'science of luck', and the clergyman tells him that he already knows this philosophy, but it is called the 'science of death'.

From here in the demise of Havoc is artistically certain. The plot accelerates, through to the final, chillingly ambiguous 'His body was never recovered.'

If you have seen Allingham as a lesser figure, after Sayers and Christie, this book should set you straight. It belongs with Conan Doyle's 'Valley of Fear' and Sayers' 'Murder must advertise' at the top of the list of British crime thrillers.

The weirdest book ever!, 30 Dec 2007
I have never read any of Douglas Adams books before; I found this book strange and a bit unusual. But I still enjoyed the story based on an Earthling called Arthur Dent, who wakes up one morning to find the council preparing to demolish his home. This is also the day when the alien Vogons demolish the planet Earth to make way for a hyperspace express bypass.
I decided to watch the film which I thought was good, but the book is in much more detail than the film. So I would recommend you read the book before you watch the film.
If you are somebody that enjoys funny and unusual things then this is the book for you. I think this book would mainly be aimed towards young teenagers and older as it has some things in it, which might be a bit hard for a child to understand. When I read and watched the Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy I felt like I was there, watching the Earth being demolished by the alien Vogons.


Best Books that I Have Ever Read, 08 Mar 2007
These are, without a doubt, the best books that I have ever read. Not because of the story , but because of the storytelling.
Douglas Adams has the uncanny ability to take any subject and make it tense, funny, or anything else that you happen to mention.
For example, he takes a perfectly ordinary metting between two people at a train station, and makes into a tense situation that has you on the edge of your seat.
Now, onto the story. The basic premise is that there is a single person, and a lot of very extraordinary things happen to him. In some books, similar things happen, and you start thinking about how improbable it is, and the chances that any of the things would actually happen. That is not the case in these stories for the plain and simple reason that it rapidly becomes apparent that Arthur Dent really is God's plaything (despite the fact that God no longer exists), and that, to quote the book "when [he] is least expecting it, the Universe will suddenly leap out from behind a corner and yell BOO at [him]".
There is one other thing that bears mentioning before I let you get on with ordering the book, and that is Mr. Adams' tendancy to shoot off on real tangents (i.e. a small leap at first but quickly become uttery unconnected). These are, in my opinion, the best parts of the book, but you will have to read it yourself and decide.

Fantastic Book, 23 Oct 2006
After I saw the film, I got the book, and found it much more enjoyable, and I now find the film quite dull compared with the book. Be warned, there is no sanity whatsoever in the book, just a lot of funny stuff!

Reading it again and again I still find it to be most enjoyable, a wonderful work of fiction, thoroughly recommended

Amazingly Brilliant...., 27 Jul 2006
I thoroughly enjoyed these books. It had always been something that had "been there" throughout life and I ahd always thought about reading them, but frankly, couldnt be bothered (much like LotR, which I also read for the same reasons) but once the film's release was announced, I decided to read at least the first book before seeing it. That way, Id get the "right" (although, the Radio and TV series' were different in parts to the books anyway...) story.

I love how they are written and all the little bits that are just thrown in at not-so-random places (they have some relevance). I think its because that is how I tend to talk. I say something, then have to explain something else so you know what the first thing was, then I go back again. Adams does that in these books, so it was very easy for me to come to grips with.

I reccommend these to anyone who enjoys random, but well thought out silliness. They'll make you laugh and can be read over and over again.

And who knows, you might even understand more about Life, the Universe and Everything *shifts eyes and hides at the end of book 5*

Enjoy!!

Avoid Number 4, 19 May 2005
The fact that I tore through all five books would suggest it was a good read. I would definitely recommend the orginal trilogy.

I first read all five books when I was a young teenager (at least 10 years ago), and have fond, but hazy memories of them. After seeing the film, I decided to reread them. Although I still loved retreading the journey of Arthur, Ford Prefect, Marvin, Trillian and Zaphod, I became annoyed with Adams' style. He flits about for no apparent reason, throwing up repetitive stories about alien civilisitations (usually based round a familiar Earth household object). He also leaves stories in the air, with no explanation. What happended to Arthur with that girl he met on ancient Earth? What was the whole point of 'So Long...Thanks for All the Fish'? And so many other points, that you are left feeling frustrated.

Despite all this, Douglas Adams' ideas, and views of what the universe may be like, draws you in. The simple idea of the book itself has proved it has enormous mileage. True they could have been written a bit better, but I think most people forgive that. The first sequel (fourth) adds absolutely nothing to the story (rather like a Matrix sequel), but 'Most Harmless' is quite an entertaining diversion. You still come out a bit confused, but it's an ending, at least.

Buy it,you wont regret i promise, 06 Feb 2002
Buy this and you'll be happy.You will not regret.
And Kate Winslet is the narrator don't forget that.It's not so expensive,just buy it.

Not whodunnit but why, 17 Nov 2008
My first thought was that this would make a cracking good film. (Well, apparently there was a 1950s film version but I've never seen it. And if there's been a TV version, I've missed that, too.)
'The fog was like a saffron blanket soaked in ice-water.' Margery Allingham's descriptions of an old-fashioned London pea-souper and the disenfranchised characters inhabiting its underworld are worthy of Dickens. A jolly good read, highly recommended.

The Tiger in the Smoke, 09 Mar 2006
I have been reading all the Campion novels in order and having just finished this one I can safely say this is not Allingham or Campion at their best. The plot seemed thin, the characters not very interesting and crucially the villan of the piece just fails to come across as frightening as he should. I know this is considered to be a classic but Allingham has written better adventures than this one, in my opinion. Disappointingly Campion is hardly in this one, a shame as he is one of the more interesting period detectives around.

genuinely thrilling, 19 Jan 2006
it is sad that so much of margery allingham's oeuvre is currently out of print; vintage are to be commended for (slowly) rectifying this. the success of poirot and wimsey has relegated campion to a thoroughly undeserved third place in the canon of golden age crime-busters. although campion is not the central character of 'tiger', this gives the reader the chance to savour allingham's evocative prose style. in this london, former soldiers who found a home in the army are now misfits, cut off from normal society. voices from the past can be heard through the fog. oates, luke and campion seem powerless to apprehend a magnificently ruthless enemy. do yourself a favour and read...

Tiger tiger, burning bright, in the fogbound London night, 29 Jun 2005
A thriller rather than a mystery. If you are new to Allingham's Campion stories this is not a good place to start, partly because it is so atypical of the series and also because the array of minor characters that flit through the pages, and which will be familiar to readers of previous Campion books, can be rather bewildering for the newcomer.

Written in 1952, the story is interesting for its insight into aspects of life in post-war London. Some of the references, and much of the slang, will be lost on young, and non-British, readers. It will also perpetuate the myth of London being permanently fogbound. Present-day London hardly ever experiences fog, but in the fifties, when it was still an industrial city and suffered heavy smogs, it was commonly known as "The Smoke", hence the book's title.

In truth, the author's grasp of underworld culture is somewhat shaky. She doesn't get the language or the behaviour quite right. She was from the rural English midlands and from a different social class, so this is very much an outsider's view.

The intriguing story and the intense drama are what make this book worthwhile. It is well written and one episode, Lugg's driving through the fog, is hilarious. He wonders aloud at one stage whether he is approaching a roundabout or the side of a bank building. The villain, Havoc, is memorable. Oddly, there is no one, central hero. That role is shared between three or four characters. Campion himself is incidental.

My one complaint about the plot is that it relies on a very remarkable coincidence, which is something that always undermines credibility. But if you are willing to accept it (and remarkable coincidences do occur in real life) then you can relax and enjoy this first-rate thriller.

If you do enjoy "Tiger in the Smoke", you might also like Graham Greene's "Brighton Rock", which features the razor gangs of pre-war Brighton, and which has an equally memorable villain.

Allingham's finest, 19 Mar 2004
Tiger in the Smoke is Marjory Allingham's finest novel, and the pinnacle of the Inspector Campion series. A comparison with the first Campion, 'The Gyrth Chalice Mystery' reveals just how far she had taken her art from rather flat stereotypes and set pieces to a dark, memorable and perfectly drawn thriller.

Interestingly, Campion is only an incidental figure in Tiger in the Smoke. It is really a novel about the anti-hero Jack Havoc, a knife-murderer following a religion he has created himself 'the science of luck'. The chilling encounter which sets the seal on this novel is not murderer-meets-detective, but when the murderer meets a clergyman who has the power to transfix him. Havoc tells the clergyman about his 'science of luck', and the clergyman tells him that he already knows this philosophy, but it is called the 'science of death'.

From here in the demise of Havoc is artistically certain. The plot accelerates, through to the final, chillingly ambiguous 'His body was never recovered.'

If you have seen Allingham as a lesser figure, after Sayers and Christie, this book should set you straight. It belongs with Conan Doyle's 'Valley of Fear' and Sayers' 'Murder must advertise' at the top of the list of British crime thrillers.

The weirdest book ever!, 30 Dec 2007
I have never read any of Douglas Adams books before; I found this book strange and a bit unusual. But I still enjoyed the story based on an Earthling called Arthur Dent, who wakes up one morning to find the council preparing to demolish his home. This is also the day when the alien Vogons demolish the planet Earth to make way for a hyperspace express bypass.
I decided to watch the film which I thought was good, but the book is in much more detail than the film. So I would recommend you read the book before you watch the film.
If you are somebody that enjoys funny and unusual things then this is the book for you. I think this book would mainly be aimed towards young teenagers and older as it has some things in it, which might be a bit hard for a child to understand. When I read and watched the Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy I felt like I was there, watching the Earth being demolished by the alien Vogons.


Best Books that I Have Ever Read, 08 Mar 2007
These are, without a doubt, the best books that I have ever read. Not because of the story , but because of the storytelling.
Douglas Adams has the uncanny ability to take any subject and make it tense, funny, or anything else that you happen to mention.
For example, he takes a perfectly ordinary metting between two people at a train station, and makes into a tense situation that has you on the edge of your seat.
Now, onto the story. The basic premise is that there is a single person, and a lot of very extraordinary things happen to him. In some books, similar things happen, and you start thinking about how improbable it is, and the chances that any of the things would actually happen. That is not the case in these stories for the plain and simple reason that it rapidly becomes apparent that Arthur Dent really is God's plaything (despite the fact that God no longer exists), and that, to quote the book "when [he] is least expecting it, the Universe will suddenly leap out from behind a corner and yell BOO at [him]".
There is one other thing that bears mentioning before I let you get on with ordering the book, and that is Mr. Adams' tendancy to shoot off on real tangents (i.e. a small leap at first but quickly become uttery unconnected). These are, in my opinion, the best parts of the book, but you will have to read it yourself and decide.

Fantastic Book, 23 Oct 2006
After I saw the film, I got the book, and found it much more enjoyable, and I now find the film quite dull compared with the book. Be warned, there is no sanity whatsoever in the book, just a lot of funny stuff!

Reading it again and again I still find it to be most enjoyable, a wonderful work of fiction, thoroughly recommended

Amazingly Brilliant...., 27 Jul 2006
I thoroughly enjoyed these books. It had always been something that had "been there" throughout life and I ahd always thought about reading them, but frankly, couldnt be bothered (much like LotR, which I also read for the same reasons) but once the film's release was announced, I decided to read at least the first book before seeing it. That way, Id get the "right" (although, the Radio and TV series' were different in parts to the books anyway...) story.

I love how they are written and all the little bits that are just thrown in at not-so-random places (they have some relevance). I think its because that is how I tend to talk. I say something, then have to explain something else so you know what the first thing was, then I go back again. Adams does that in these books, so it was very easy for me to come to grips with.

I reccommend these to anyone who enjoys random, but well thought out silliness. They'll make you laugh and can be read over and over again.

And who knows, you might even understand more about Life, the Universe and Everything *shifts eyes and hides at the end of book 5*

Enjoy!!

Avoid Number 4, 19 May 2005
The fact that I tore through all five books would suggest it was a good read. I would definitely recommend the orginal trilogy.

I first read all five books when I was a young teenager (at least 10 years ago), and have fond, but hazy memories of them. After seeing the film, I decided to reread them. Although I still loved retreading the journey of Arthur, Ford Prefect, Marvin, Trillian and Zaphod, I became annoyed with Adams' style. He flits about for no apparent reason, throwing up repetitive stories about alien civilisitations (usually based round a familiar Earth household object). He also leaves stories in the air, with no explanation. What happended to Arthur with that girl he met on ancient Earth? What was the whole point of 'So Long...Thanks for All the Fish'? And so many other points, that you are left feeling frustrated.

Despite all this, Douglas Adams' ideas, and views of what the universe may be like, draws you in. The simple idea of the book itself has proved it has enormous mileage. True they could have been written a bit better, but I think most people forgive that. The first sequel (fourth) adds absolutely nothing to the story (rather like a Matrix sequel), but 'Most Harmless' is quite an entertaining diversion. You still come out a bit confused, but it's an ending, at least.

Mostly Harmless . . ., 12 Sep 2005
. . . but is that what we really want from our H2G2?

The Zarniwoop/Bird sequences are maddeningly ill-executed and suffer from chasms in logic and continuity, which throws the rest of the series into shadow. The ending is a nice tying together of loose ends, and would seem to satisfy Adams' plans to continue the H2G2 metaplot, but is a bit too sentimental and perfect. Radio H2G2's strength is (or was) its lack of sentimentality and fluff, which have since permeated the last three series to saturation point. Furthermore, the new abilities attributed to the babel fish become unbelievable, even for H2G2.

"Mostly Harmless" was an interesting book; as a radio series it is too slow. Adams was a good writer; Dirk Maggs isn't Douglas Adams and never will be. That, it would seem, is his greatest failing, but he also fails to grasp the true essence of the H2G2 multiverse. Fans will be disappointed. However, if you plan to read the book, this may be a faster alternative.

Excellent Stuff, 04 Jul 2005
When I originally listened to the HHGTTG in the 80s, I listened to it countless times, each time picking up on a new thread of the story, discovering more jokes and catch lines. This, as with the 3rd and 4rd phases, is in the same vein. You need to listen to it several times to really appreciate it.
Brilliant stuff, and about time.

That's it. No more!, 29 Jun 2005
It's quite an undertaking to draw to a close a cult sage that spans four decades, but the BBC manages to pull it off in fine style.

Part of the attraction of listening to this is not just the assured performances of the 'original' cast, (Geoffery McGivern and Simon Jones are completely at home as Ford and Arthur) but recognising the other less central characters and the familiar voices behind them.

The last phase not only manages to neatly tie up all loose ends from all other series, but also be a less downbeat finale than the book was. To get the benefit of this, though, you have to listen to the Hollywood happy ending which is unexpected to those familiar with the book. It works, but takes a leap of faith to hope that it is as the author would want it.

Nice to hear Douglas Adams one more time, too.

Over all, a joy to behold.

Quintessential not essential, 23 Jun 2005
While the universe apparently has no boundaries, the same cannot be said of the shelf-life of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I wanted to like this as much as I've liked all the other Hitchhiker radio plays, books and TV series...all of which I proudly own and contentedly devour. But, there is a point from beyond which there is no return. In fact, listening to this, I finally realized why it is a good thing that the Beatles never reunited. Sometimes, you need to Let it Be.

The play starts out well. In fact, the beginning (including the description and story of the Grebulons) had me laughing out loud. Very, very funny stuff. Ford's return to the Hitchhiker building...very funny. But then, the play tried to do something it shouldn't have done...it tried to be clever and plot-driven...at the expense of being just plain funny and lighthearted.

It was a string of marvelous, lustrous pearls...without the string. The last time a plot was this thick and complex, Peter Jackson directed it into more than 10 delightful hours of The Lord of the Rings. With only two hours at their disposal, the writer/director threw in everything he possibly could to, evidently, employ as many actors as humanly possible in as short a space of time as possible.

Trillian, as Ford once said, is a girl "full of hidden shallows." To expand her into two characters and a major role is spreading the butter a bit thin on the bread. And it's not butter, it's margarine. Zarniwoop deadened the plot just as it was getting started, which seems to be his function. The Vogons who, according to the Guide, are "not actually evil" are now actually evil. Subtlety: gone. Nuance: gone. Different word for subtlety or nuance: gone. This is what happens when thoughts are replaced with afterthoughts.

I'm glad the cast had the chance to say goodbye. But a simple, etched fishbowl would have done the job. I've kept my receipt, in case reverse temporal engineering ever becomes a reality. My opinion in a nutshell: 41.

The BBC have done a terrific job........, 05 May 2005
.....with adapting the spoken word audiobooks into "new" HHGTHG episodes, and its wonderful to hear Mark Wing-Davey and the gang again.

Buy it,you wont regret i promise, 06 Feb 2002
Buy this and you'll be happy.You will not regret.
And Kate Winslet is the narrator don't forget that.It's not so expensive,just buy it.

Not whodunnit but why, 17 Nov 2008
My first thought was that this would make a cracking good film. (Well, apparently there was a 1950s film version but I've never seen it. And if there's been a TV version, I've missed that, too.)
'The fog was like a saffron blanket soaked in ice-water.' Margery Allingham's descriptions of an old-fashioned London pea-souper and the disenfranchised characters inhabiting its underworld are worthy of Dickens. A jolly good read, highly recommended.

The Tiger in the Smoke, 09 Mar 2006
I have been reading all the Campion novels in order and having just finished this one I can safely say this is not Allingham or Campion at their best. The plot seemed thin, the characters not very interesting and crucially the villan of the piece just fails to come across as frightening as he should. I know this is considered to be a classic but Allingham has written better adventures than this one, in my opinion. Disappointingly Campion is hardly in this one, a shame as he is one of the more interesting period detectives around.

genuinely thrilling, 19 Jan 2006
it is sad that so much of margery allingham's oeuvre is currently out of print; vintage are to be commended for (slowly) rectifying this. the success of poirot and wimsey has relegated campion to a thoroughly undeserved third place in the canon of golden age crime-busters. although campion is not the central character of 'tiger', this gives the reader the chance to savour allingham's evocative prose style. in this london, former soldiers who found a home in the army are now misfits, cut off from normal society. voices from the past can be heard through the fog. oates, luke and campion seem powerless to apprehend a magnificently ruthless enemy. do yourself a favour and read...

Tiger tiger, burning bright, in the fogbound London night, 29 Jun 2005
A thriller rather than a mystery. If you are new to Allingham's Campion stories this is not a good place to start, partly because it is so atypical of the series and also because the array of minor characters that flit through the pages, and which will be familiar to readers of previous Campion books, can be rather bewildering for the newcomer.

Written in 1952, the story is interesting for its insight into aspects of life in post-war London. Some of the references, and much of the slang, will be lost on young, and non-British, readers. It will also perpetuate the myth of London being permanently fogbound. Present-day London hardly ever experiences fog, but in the fifties, when it was still an industrial city and suffered heavy smogs, it was commonly known as "The Smoke", hence the book's title.

In truth, the author's grasp of underworld culture is somewhat shaky. She doesn't get the language or the behaviour quite right. She was from the rural English midlands and from a different social class, so this is very much an outsider's view.

The intriguing story and the intense drama are what make this book worthwhile. It is well written and one episode, Lugg's driving through the fog, is hilarious. He wonders aloud at one stage whether he is approaching a roundabout or the side of a bank building. The villain, Havoc, is memorable. Oddly, there is no one, central hero. That role is shared between three or four characters. Campion himself is incidental.

My one complaint about the plot is that it relies on a very remarkable coincidence, which is something that always undermines credibility. But if you are willing to accept it (and remarkable coincidences do occur in real life) then you can relax and enjoy this first-rate thriller.

If you do enjoy "Tiger in the Smoke", you might also like Graham Greene's "Brighton Rock", which features the razor gangs of pre-war Brighton, and which has an equally memorable villain.

Allingham's finest, 19 Mar 2004
Tiger in the Smoke is Marjory Allingham's finest novel, and the pinnacle of the Inspector Campion series. A comparison with the first Campion, 'The Gyrth Chalice Mystery' reveals just how far she had taken her art from rather flat stereotypes and set pieces to a dark, memorable and perfectly drawn thriller.

Interestingly, Campion is only an incidental figure in Tiger in the Smoke. It is really a novel about the anti-hero Jack Havoc, a knife-murderer following a religion he has created himself 'the science of luck'. The chilling encounter which sets the seal on this novel is not murderer-meets-detective, but when the murderer meets a clergyman who has the power to transfix him. Havoc tells the clergyman about his 'science of luck', and the clergyman tells him that he already knows this philosophy, but it is called the 'science of death'.

From here in the demise of Havoc is artistically certain. The plot accelerates, through to the final, chillingly ambiguous 'His body was never recovered.'

If you have seen Allingham as a lesser figure, after Sayers and Christie, this book should set you straight. It belongs with Conan Doyle's 'Valley of Fear' and Sayers' 'Murder must advertise' at the top of the list of British crime thrillers.

The weirdest book ever!, 30 Dec 2007
I have never read any of Douglas Adams books before; I found this book strange and a bit unusual. But I still enjoyed the story based on an Earthling called Arthur Dent, who wakes up one morning to find the council preparing to demolish his home. This is also the day when the alien Vogons demolish the planet Earth to make way for a hyperspace express bypass.
I decided to watch the film which I thought was good, but the book is in much more detail than the film. So I would recommend you read the book before you watch the film.
If you are somebody that enjoys funny and unusual things then this is the book for you. I think this book would mainly be aimed towards young teenagers and older as it has some things in it, which might be a bit hard for a child to understand. When I read and watched the Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy I felt like I was there, watching the Earth being demolished by the alien Vogons.


Best Books that I Have Ever Read, 08 Mar 2007
These are, without a doubt, the best books that I have ever read. Not because of the story , but because of the storytelling.
Douglas Adams has the uncanny ability to take any subject and make it tense, funny, or anything else that you happen to mention.
For example, he takes a perfectly ordinary metting between two people at a train station, and makes into a tense situation that has you on the edge of your seat.
Now, onto the story. The basic premise is that there is a single person, and a lot of very extraordinary things happen to him. In some books, similar things happen, and you start thinking about how improbable it is, and the chances that any of the things would actually happen. That is not the case in these stories for the plain and simple reason that it rapidly becomes apparent that Arthur Dent really is God's plaything (despite the fact that God no longer exists), and that, to quote the book "when [he] is least expecting it, the Universe will suddenly leap out from behind a corner and yell BOO at [him]".
There is one other thing that bears mentioning before I let you get on with ordering the book, and that is Mr. Adams' tendancy to shoot off on real tangents (i.e. a small leap at first but quickly become uttery unconnected). These are, in my opinion, the best parts of the book, but you will have to read it yourself and decide.

Fantastic Book, 23 Oct 2006
After I saw the film, I got the book, and found it much more enjoyable, and I now find the film quite dull compared with the book. Be warned, there is no sanity whatsoever in the book, just a lot of funny stuff!

Reading it again and again I still find it to be most enjoyable, a wonderful work of fiction, thoroughly recommended

Amazingly Brilliant...., 27 Jul 2006
I thoroughly enjoyed these books. It had always been something that had "been there" throughout life and I ahd always thought about reading them, but frankly, couldnt be bothered (much like LotR, which I also read for the same reasons) but once the film's release was announced, I decided to read at least the first book before seeing it. That way, Id get the "right" (although, the Radio and TV series' were different in parts to the books anyway...) story.

I love how they are written and all the little bits that are just thrown in at not-so-random places (they have some relevance). I think its because that is how I tend to talk. I say something, then have to explain something else so you know what the first thing was, then I go back again. Adams does that in these books, so it was very easy for me to come to grips with.

I reccommend these to anyone who enjoys random, but well thought out silliness. They'll make you laugh and can be read over and over again.

And who knows, you might even understand more about Life, the Universe and Everything *shifts eyes and hides at the end of book 5*

Enjoy!!

Avoid Number 4, 19 May 2005
The fact that I tore through all five books would suggest it was a good read. I would definitely recommend the orginal trilogy.

I first read all five books when I was a young teenager (at least 10 years ago), and have fond, but hazy memories of them. After seeing the film, I decided to reread them. Although I still loved retreading the journey of Arthur, Ford Prefect, Marvin, Trillian and Zaphod, I became annoyed with Adams' style. He flits about for no apparent reason, throwing up repetitive stories about alien civilisitations (usually based round a familiar Earth household object). He also leaves stories in the air, with no explanation. What happended to Arthur with that girl he met on ancient Earth? What was the whole point of 'So Long...Thanks for All the Fish'? And so many other points, that you are left feeling frustrated.

Despite all this, Douglas Adams' ideas, and views of what the universe may be like, draws you in. The simple idea of the book itself has proved it has enormous mileage. True they could have been written a bit better, but I think most people forgive that. The first sequel (fourth) adds absolutely nothing to the story (rather like a Matrix sequel), but 'Most Harmless' is quite an entertaining diversion. You still come out a bit confused, but it's an ending, at least.

Mostly Harmless . . ., 12 Sep 2005
. . . but is that what we really want from our H2G2?

The Zarniwoop/Bird sequences are maddeningly ill-executed and suffer from chasms in logic and continuity, which throws the rest of the series into shadow. The ending is a nice tying together of loose ends, and would seem to satisfy Adams' plans to continue the H2G2 metaplot, but is a bit too sentimental and perfect. Radio H2G2's strength is (or was) its lack of sentimentality and fluff, which have since permeated the last three series to saturation point. Furthermore, the new abilities attributed to the babel fish become unbelievable, even for H2G2.

"Mostly Harmless" was an interesting book; as a radio series it is too slow. Adams was a good writer; Dirk Maggs isn't Douglas Adams and never will be. That, it would seem, is his greatest failing, but he also fails to grasp the true essence of the H2G2 multiverse. Fans will be disappointed. However, if you plan to read the book, this may be a faster alternative.

Excellent Stuff, 04 Jul 2005
When I originally listened to the HHGTTG in the 80s, I listened to it countless times, each time picking up on a new thread of the story, discovering more jokes and catch lines. This, as with the 3rd and 4rd phases, is in the same vein. You need to listen to it several times to really appreciate it.
Brilliant stuff, and about time.

That's it. No more!, 29 Jun 2005
It's quite an undertaking to draw to a close a cult sage that spans four decades, but the BBC manages to pull it off in fine style.

Part of the attraction of listening to this is not just the assured performances of the 'original' cast, (Geoffery McGivern and Simon Jones are completely at home as Ford and Arthur) but recognising the other less central characters and the familiar voices behind them.

The last phase not only manages to neatly tie up all loose ends from all other series, but also be a less downbeat finale than the book was. To get the benefit of this, though, you have to listen to the Hollywood happy ending which is unexpected to those familiar with the book. It works, but takes a leap of faith to hope that it is as the author would want it.

Nice to hear Douglas Adams one more time, too.

Over all, a joy to behold.

Quintessential not essential, 23 Jun 2005
While the universe apparently has no boundaries, the same cannot be said of the shelf-life of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I wanted to like this as much as I've liked all the other Hitchhiker radio plays, books and TV series...all of which I proudly own and contentedly devour. But, there is a point from beyond which there is no return. In fact, listening to this, I finally realized why it is a good thing that the Beatles never reunited. Sometimes, you need to Let it Be.

The play starts out well. In fact, the beginning (including the description and story of the Grebulons) had me laughing out loud. Very, very funny stuff. Ford's return to the Hitchhiker building...very funny. But then, the play tried to do something it shouldn't have done...it tried to be clever and plot-driven...at the expense of being just plain funny and lighthearted.

It was a string of marvelous, lustrous pearls...without the string. The last time a plot was this thick and complex, Peter Jackson directed it into more than 10 delightful hours of The Lord of the Rings. With only two hours at their disposal, the writer/director threw in everything he possibly could to, evidently, employ as many actors as humanly possible in as short a space of time as possible.

Trillian, as Ford once said, is a girl "full of hidden shallows." To expand her into two characters and a major role is spreading the butter a bit thin on the bread. And it's not butter, it's margarine. Zarniwoop deadened the plot just as it was getting started, which seems to be his function. The Vogons who, according to the Guide, are "not actually evil" are now actually evil. Subtlety: gone. Nuance: gone. Different word for subtlety or nuance: gone. This is what happens when thoughts are replaced with afterthoughts.

I'm glad the cast had the chance to say goodbye. But a simple, etched fishbowl would have done the job. I've kept my receipt, in case reverse temporal engineering ever becomes a reality. My opinion in a nutshell: 41.

The BBC have done a terrific job........, 05 May 2005
.....with adapting the spoken word audiobooks into "new" HHGTHG episodes, and its wonderful to hear Mark Wing-Davey and the gang again.

filled with meaning, 30 Jun 2007
Listening to the audio CD's has an extra dimension to the book. You do get time to catch your breath. And my CD player is in the car. Somehow I survived. I would say that one great advantage to CD's is the ability to hear how the names are pronounced and you get inflections that intended or not help understand where they are going before they get there. An other advantage is that CD's like acid free paper should outlast the reader.

How many times have you asked a simple question and go the answer as "42." Yep, you are a victim to this book. Many of the clichés and truisms that rival Shakespeare are creeping into our vocabulary. And attitudes - "It has been on file."

If you are the one person that somehow got through life with out reading this series or at least seeing this on TV, then you are in for a treat. Somehow this story is earmarked as sci-fi and I guess it can be in a sense and it has all the elements necessary; it delivers a powerful message to the local Zoning Board.

I will not go though the story, as that is why you are reading the book. You need to sit down for the next sentence.

This book has changed my life.


Monty Python in space, brilliant!, 20 Jul 2001
Douglas Adams's Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy is truly entertaining from the first line. Although at first sight Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy appears just another spoof of the traditional sci-fi genre, in fact it manages to bring it's own original ideas while still affectionately poking fun at the concept in ways which are in turn both subtle and obvious.

Without a doubt most the comedic value of this story comes directly from the characters which inhabit it, not least the hapless Authur Dent who will have you laughing out loud as he struggles to come to terms with the hilarious revelations continually confront him throughout his turbulent journey.

The story is given an added dimension by Adams's fitting character voices.

Buy it. Buy it now

Great listening, makes the miles fly, 11 Apr 2001
I'm a fan of Hitch Hiker's, and have read all the books over and over. So whats the point of having it on Audio? Well its great to hear the author read it, adding his own speech emphasis, after all he wrote it! Also if you do a lot of driving having this cassette in makes the miles fly by. One star deducted - its not on CD !!! All in all a great Listen! - buy it now !

Elizabeth Bennet is the perfect Austen heroine: intelligent, generous, sensible, incapable of jealousy or any other major sin. That makes her sound like an insufferable goody-goody, but the truth is she's a completely hip character who ,if provoked, is not above skewering her antagonist with a piece of her exceptionally sharp, yet always polite, 18th-century wit. The real point of the book though, the critical question which will keep you fixated throughout, is: will Elizabeth and Mr Darcy hook up? Read this genuine all-time classic and discover the answer while enjoying a story that has charmed generation after generation.

Buy it,you wont regret i promise, 06 Feb 2002
Buy this and you'll be happy.You will not regret.
And Kate Winslet is the narrator don't forget that.It's not so expensive,just buy it.

Not whodunnit but why, 17 Nov 2008
My first thought was that this would make a cracking good film. (Well, apparently there was a 1950s film version but I've never seen it. And if there's been a TV version, I've missed that, too.)
'The fog was like a saffron blanket soaked in ice-water.' Margery Allingham's descriptions of an old-fashioned London pea-souper and the disenfranchised characters inhabiting its underworld are worthy of Dickens. A jolly good read, highly recommended.

The Tiger in the Smoke, 09 Mar 2006
I have been reading all the Campion novels in order and having just finished this one I can safely say this is not Allingham or Campion at their best. The plot seemed thin, the characters not very interesting and crucially the villan of the piece just fails to come across as frightening as he should. I know this is considered to be a classic but Allingham has written better adventures than this one, in my opinion. Disappointingly Campion is hardly in this one, a shame as he is one of the more interesting period detectives around.

genuinely thrilling, 19 Jan 2006
it is sad that so much of margery allingham's oeuvre is currently out of print; vintage are to be commended for (slowly) rectifying this. the success of poirot and wimsey has relegated campion to a thoroughly undeserved third place in the canon of golden age crime-busters. although campion is not the central character of 'tiger', this gives the reader the chance to savour allingham's evocative prose style. in this london, former soldiers who found a home in the army are now misfits, cut off from normal society. voices from the past can be heard through the fog. oates, luke and campion seem powerless to apprehend a magnificently ruthless enemy. do yourself a favour and read...

Tiger tiger, burning bright, in the fogbound London night, 29 Jun 2005
A thriller rather than a mystery. If you are new to Allingham's Campion stories this is not a good place to start, partly because it is so atypical of the series and also because the array of minor characters that flit through the pages, and which will be familiar to readers of previous Campion books, can be rather bewildering for the newcomer.

Written in 1952, the story is interesting for its insight into aspects of life in post-war London. Some of the references, and much of the slang, will be lost on young, and non-British, readers. It will also perpetuate the myth of London being permanently fogbound. Present-day London hardly ever experiences fog, but in the fifties, when it was still an industrial city and suffered heavy smogs, it was commonly known as "The Smoke", hence the book's title.

In truth, the author's grasp of underworld culture is somewhat shaky. She doesn't get the language or the behaviour quite right. She was from the rural English midlands and from a different social class, so this is very much an outsider's view.

The intriguing story and the intense drama are what make this book worthwhile. It is well written and one episode, Lugg's driving through the fog, is hilarious. He wonders aloud at one stage whether he is approaching a roundabout or the side of a bank building. The villain, Havoc, is memorable. Oddly, there is no one, central hero. That role is shared between three or four characters. Campion himself is incidental.

My one complaint about the plot is that it relies on a very remarkable coincidence, which is something that always undermines credibility. But if you are willing to accept it (and remarkable coincidences do occur in real life) then you can relax and enjoy this first-rate thriller.

If you do enjoy "Tiger in the Smoke", you might also like Graham Greene's "Brighton Rock", which features the razor gangs of pre-war Brighton, and which has an equally memorable villain.

Allingham's finest, 19 Mar 2004
Tiger in the Smoke is Marjory Allingham's finest novel, and the pinnacle of the Inspector Campion series. A comparison with the first Campion, 'The Gyrth Chalice Mystery' reveals just how far she had taken her art from rather flat stereotypes and set pieces to a dark, memorable and perfectly drawn thriller.

Interestingly, Campion is only an incidental figure in Tiger in the Smoke. It is really a novel about the anti-hero Jack Havoc, a knife-murderer following a religion he has created himself 'the science of luck'. The chilling encounter which sets the seal on this novel is not murderer-meets-detective, but when the murderer meets a clergyman who has the power to transfix him. Havoc tells the clergyman about his 'science of luck', and the clergyman tells him that he already knows this philosophy, but it is called the 'science of death'.

From here in the demise of Havoc is artistically certain. The plot accelerates, through to the final, chillingly ambiguous 'His body was never recovered.'

If you have seen Allingham as a lesser figure, after Sayers and Christie, this book should set you straight. It belongs with Conan Doyle's 'Valley of Fear' and Sayers' 'Murder must advertise' at the top of the list of British crime thrillers.

The weirdest book ever!, 30 Dec 2007
I have never read any of Douglas Adams books before; I found this book strange and a bit unusual. But I still enjoyed the story based on an Earthling called Arthur Dent, who wakes up one morning to find the council preparing to demolish his home. This is also the day when the alien Vogons demolish the planet Earth to make way for a hyperspace express bypass.
I decided to watch the film which I thought was good, but the book is in much more detail than the film. So I would recommend you read the book before you watch the film.
If you are somebody that enjoys funny and unusual things then this is the book for you. I think this book would mainly be aimed towards young teenagers and older as it has some things in it, which might be a bit hard for a child to understand. When I read and watched the Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy I felt like I was there, watching the Earth being demolished by the alien Vogons.


Best Books that I Have Ever Read, 08 Mar 2007
These are, without a doubt, the best books that I have ever read. Not because of the story , but because of the storytelling.
Douglas Adams has the uncanny ability to take any subject and make it tense, funny, or anything else that you happen to mention.
For example, he takes a perfectly ordinary metting between two people at a train station, and makes into a tense situation that has you on the edge of your seat.
Now, onto the story. The basic premise is that there is a single person, and a lot of very extraordinary things happen to him. In some books, similar things happen, and you start thinking about how improbable it is, and the chances that any of the things would actually happen. That is not the case in these stories for the plain and simple reason that it rapidly becomes apparent that Arthur Dent really is God's plaything (despite the fact that God no longer exists), and that, to quote the book "when [he] is least expecting it, the Universe will suddenly leap out from behind a corner and yell BOO at [him]".
There is one other thing that bears mentioning before I let you get on with ordering the book, and that is Mr. Adams' tendancy to shoot off on real tangents (i.e. a small leap at first but quickly become uttery unconnected). These are, in my opinion, the best parts of the book, but you will have to read it yourself and decide.

Fantastic Book, 23 Oct 2006
After I saw the film, I got the book, and found it much more enjoyable, and I now find the film quite dull compared with the book. Be warned, there is no sanity whatsoever in the book, just a lot of funny stuff!

Reading it again and again I still find it to be most enjoyable, a wonderful work of fiction, thoroughly recommended

Amazingly Brilliant...., 27 Jul 2006
I thoroughly enjoyed these books. It had always been something that had "been there" throughout life and I ahd always thought about reading them, but frankly, couldnt be bothered (much like LotR, which I also read for the same reasons) but once the film's release was announced, I decided to read at least the first book before seeing it. That way, Id get the "right" (although, the Radio and TV series' were different in parts to the books anyway...) story.

I love how they are written and all the little bits that are just thrown in at not-so-random places (they have some relevance). I think its because that is how I tend to talk. I say something, then have to explain something else so you know what the first thing was, then I go back again. Adams does that in these books, so it was very easy for me to come to grips with.

I reccommend these to anyone who enjoys random, but well thought out silliness. They'll make you laugh and can be read over and over again.

And who knows, you might even understand more about Life, the Universe and Everything *shifts eyes and hides at the end of book 5*

Enjoy!!

Avoid Number 4, 19 May 2005
The fact that I tore through all five books would suggest it was a good read. I would definitely recommend the orginal trilogy.

I first read all five books when I was a young teenager (at least 10 years ago), and have fond, but hazy memories of them. After seeing the film, I decided to reread them. Although I still loved retreading the journey of Arthur, Ford Prefect, Marvin, Trillian and Zaphod, I became annoyed with Adams' style. He flits about for no apparent reason, throwing up repetitive stories about alien civilisitations (usually based round a familiar Earth household object). He also leaves stories in the air, with no explanation. What happended to Arthur with that girl he met on ancient Earth? What was the whole point of 'So Long...Thanks for All the Fish'? And so many other points, that you are left feeling frustrated.

Despite all this, Douglas Adams' ideas, and views of what the universe may be like, draws you in. The simple idea of the book itself has proved it has enormous mileage. True they could have been written a bit better, but I think most people forgive that. The first sequel (fourth) adds absolutely nothing to the story (rather like a Matrix sequel), but 'Most Harmless' is quite an entertaining diversion. You still come out a bit confused, but it's an ending, at least.

Mostly Harmless . . ., 12 Sep 2005
. . . but is that what we really want from our H2G2?

The Zarniwoop/Bird sequences are maddeningly ill-executed and suffer from chasms in logic and continuity, which throws the rest of the series into shadow. The ending is a nice tying together of loose ends, and would seem to satisfy Adams' plans to continue the H2G2 metaplot, but is a bit too sentimental and perfect. Radio H2G2's strength is (or was) its lack of sentimentality and fluff, which have since permeated the last three series to saturation point. Furthermore, the new abilities attributed to the babel fish become unbelievable, even for H2G2.

"Mostly Harmless" was an interesting book; as a radio series it is too slow. Adams was a good writer; Dirk Maggs isn't Douglas Adams and never will be. That, it would seem, is his greatest failing, but he also fails to grasp the true essence of the H2G2 multiverse. Fans will be disappointed. However, if you plan to read the book, this may be a faster alternative.

Excellent Stuff, 04 Jul 2005
When I originally listened to the HHGTTG in the 80s, I listened to it countless times, each time picking up on a new thread of the story, discovering more jokes and catch lines. This, as with the 3rd and 4rd phases, is in the same vein. You need to listen to it several times to really appreciate it.
Brilliant stuff, and about time.

That's it. No more!, 29 Jun 2005
It's quite an undertaking to draw to a close a cult sage that spans four decades, but the BBC manages to pull it off in fine style.

Part of the attraction of listening to this is not just the assured performances of the 'original' cast, (Geoffery McGivern and Simon Jones are completely at home as Ford and Arthur) but recognising the other less central characters and the familiar voices behind them.

The last phase not only manages to neatly tie up all loose ends from all other series, but also be a less downbeat finale than the book was. To get the benefit of this, though, you have to listen to the Hollywood happy ending which is unexpected to those familiar with the book. It works, but takes a leap of faith to hope that it is as the author would want it.

Nice to hear Douglas Adams one more time, too.

Over all, a joy to behold.

Quintessential not essential, 23 Jun 2005
While the universe apparently has no boundaries, the same cannot be said of the shelf-life of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I wanted to like this as much as I've liked all the other Hitchhiker radio plays, books and TV series...all of which I proudly own and contentedly devour. But, there is a point from beyond which there is no return. In fact, listening to this, I finally realized why it is a good thing that the Beatles never reunited. Sometimes, you need to Let it Be.

The play starts out well. In fact, the beginning (including the description and story of the Grebulons) had me laughing out loud. Very, very funny stuff. Ford's return to the Hitchhiker building...very funny. But then, the play tried to do something it shouldn't have done...it tried to be clever and plot-driven...at the expense of being just plain funny and lighthearted.

It was a string of marvelous, lustrous pearls...without the string. The last time a plot was this thick and complex, Peter Jackson directed it into more than 10 delightful hours of The Lord of the Rings. With only two hours at their disposal, the writer/director threw in everything he possibly could to, evidently, employ as many actors as humanly possible in as short a space of time as possible.

Trillian, as Ford once said, is a girl "full of hidden shallows." To expand her into two characters and a major role is spreading the butter a bit thin on the bread. And it's not butter, it's margarine. Zarniwoop deadened the plot just as it was getting started, which seems to be his function. The Vogons who, according to the Guide, are "not actually evil" are now actually evil. Subtlety: gone. Nuance: gone. Different word for subtlety or nuance: gone. This is what happens when thoughts are replaced with afterthoughts.

I'm glad the cast had the chance to say goodbye. But a simple, etched fishbowl would have done the job. I've kept my receipt, in case reverse temporal engineering ever becomes a reality. My opinion in a nutshell: 41.

The BBC have done a terrific job........, 05 May 2005
.....with adapting the spoken word audiobooks into "new" HHGTHG episodes, and its wonderful to hear Mark Wing-Davey and the gang again.

filled with meaning, 30 Jun 2007
Listening to the audio CD's has an extra dimension to the book. You do get time to catch your breath. And my CD player is in the car. Somehow I survived. I would say that one great advantage to CD's is the ability to hear how the names are pronounced and you get inflections that intended or not help understand where they are going before they get there. An other advantage is that CD's like acid free paper should outlast the reader.

How many times have you asked a simple question and go the answer as "42." Yep, you are a victim to this book. Many of the clichés and truisms that rival Shakespeare are creeping into our vocabulary. And attitudes - "It has been on file."

If you are the one person that somehow got through life with out reading this series or at least seeing this on TV, then you are in for a treat. Somehow this story is earmarked as sci-fi and I guess it can be in a sense and it has all the elements necessary; it delivers a powerful message to the local Zoning Board.

I will not go though the story, as that is why you are reading the book. You need to sit down for the next sentence.

This book has changed my life.


Monty Python in space, brilliant!, 20 Jul 2001
Douglas Adams's Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy is truly entertaining from the first line. Although at first sight Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy appears just another spoof of the traditional sci-fi genre, in fact it manages to bring it's own original ideas while still affectionately poking fun at the concept in ways which are in turn both subtle and obvious.

Without a doubt most the comedic value of this story comes directly from the characters which inhabit it, not least the hapless Authur Dent who will have you laughing out loud as he struggles to come to terms with the hilarious revelations continually confront him throughout his turbulent journey.

The story is given an added dimension by Adams's fitting character voices.

Buy it. Buy it now

Great listening, makes the miles fly, 11 Apr 2001
I'm a fan of Hitch Hiker's, and have read all the books over and over. So whats the point of having it on Audio? Well its great to hear the author read it, adding his own speech emphasis, after all he wrote it! Also if you do a lot of driving having this cassette in makes the miles fly by. One star deducted - its not on CD !!! All in all a great Listen! - buy it now !

Its a classic for a reason, 16 Sep 2008
I really enjoyed this far more then I thought it would. Its lovely to step back into the world of Austen and see what love can be like at its most innocent. Beautifully written with comedy throughout, a must for all romance fans! I only wish I had read this sooner

Who am I to critique such a classic work by Jane Austen?, 30 Jul 2008
Not someone properly suited for such a task, I can tell you that. What I can do, however, is give an honest and heartfelt account of what I thought of Jane Austen's 'PRIDE & PREJUDICE'. I have always wanted to read some of the classics but have never up until now dug up the courage to actually do so. I thought if I was going to start reading a classic novel Jane Austen would probably be a good author to start with and what better choice was there than her stand out 'PRIDE & PREJUDICE' ? I was pleased to find out that I was absolutely right. 'PRIDE & PREJUDICE' has to be one of the most romantic novels that I have ever read. The romance between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy literally made me swoon quite often (and I don't swoon!). Romance mixed with a little bit of drama and Austen's most descriptive prose made it impossible for me to put this book down. Now I see why 'PRIDE & PREJUDICE' is on so many people's favorites list because now it is most certainly on mine.

Fantastic - a timeless classic, 26 Jun 2008
The plot and principal characters are well known. I read this possibly six times in school when I was 14. What emerges for me from reading this much later is that neither Elizabeth, nor Darcy are - initially at least - the perfect, but misunderstood human beings of the screen versions. Darcy, it is clear, is an insufferable snob and it is not at all clear that he ever gets past this. Yes, in the end he has no problem in accepting Elizabeth despite her relatively low social station - that is because he has fallen in love with her. But is he really as transformed as Elizabeth believes by the end of the novel? Does it even matter to her, as Elizabeth will now ascend to a higher social station anyway? Elizabeth is also utterly quick to judge and with Wickham for example, is blind to his faults despite the clear evidence of his mercenary motivations as amply pointed out to her by Mrs Gardiner. What one has to remember however is that Elizabeth is only 21 and Darcy probably no more than 26. They can be forgiven their failings (Elizabeth her prejudice, Darcy his pride and haughtiness) to some extent. This is a novel as much about growing up and reaching maturity, as it is about the danger of judging on first impressions.

Another aspect that one does not appreciate at 14 is the social background to the novel. It is a time of the emergence of mass consumerism in England and of rapid technological and economic innovation. England was the cradle of capitalism and here it is being perfected at this time. This is evident throughout the novel and money and all things money related are always part of the main event.

Although Austen was a master of the novel form, this is not a perfect novel. Compare for example the crisp, no nonsense, galloping opening chapters with some of the final chapters that completely belabour the Wickham episode and how they slow down the narrative and plot resolution. These minor criticisms aside, P&P is a stunning achievement by a literary genius and it will never lose its appeal.


Perfect!, 26 May 2008
Austen's best novel and one of the best in English Literature. A completely realistic and loveable cast of characters and one of the great love stories of all time. It should be compulsary to read this book.

Fabulous!, 17 Mar 2008
Although I don't look like a bookwormy type (unless you know me), this is my favorite book. I read it first aged 11 and now aged nearly 13, it continues to guide me. I own a much abused copy of all the jane austen books which I continue to read, even when in class, when I am reading it under the desk in Latin (which is no mean feat! Do you know how thick it is?!?) or when eat chocolate.

My favorite parts are when Lizzie realises that Mr Darcy isn't as bad as she think's he his, and he has actually secretly been helping her.


EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS!

Buy it,you wont regret i promise, 06 Feb 2002
Buy this and you'll be happy.You will not regret.
And Kate Winslet is the narrator don't forget that.It's not so expensive,just buy it.

Not whodunnit but why, 17 Nov 2008
My first thought was that this would make a cracking good film. (Well, apparently there was a 1950s film version but I've never seen it. And if there's been a TV version, I've missed that, too.)
'The fog was like a saffron blanket soaked in ice-water.' Margery Allingham's descriptions of an old-fashioned London pea-souper and the disenfranchised characters inhabiting its underworld are worthy of Dickens. A jolly good read, highly recommended.

The Tiger in the Smoke, 09 Mar 2006
I have been reading all the Campion novels in order and having just finished this one I can safely say this is not Allingham or Campion at their best. The plot seemed thin, the characters not very interesting and crucially the villan of the piece just fails to come across as frightening as he should. I know this is considered to be a classic but Allingham has written better adventures than this one, in my opinion. Disappointingly Campion is hardly in this one, a shame as he is one of the more interesting period detectives around.

genuinely thrilling, 19 Jan 2006
it is sad that so much of margery allingham's oeuvre is currently out of print; vintage are to be commended for (slowly) rectifying this. the success of poirot and wimsey has relegated campion to a thoroughly undeserved third place in the canon of golden age crime-busters. although campion is not the central character of 'tiger', this gives the reader the chance to savour allingham's evocative prose style. in this london, former soldiers who found a home in the army are now misfits, cut off from normal society. voices from the past can be heard through the fog. oates, luke and campion seem powerless to apprehend a magnificently ruthless enemy. do yourself a favour and read...

Tiger tiger, burning bright, in the fogbound London night, 29 Jun 2005
A thriller rather than a mystery. If you are new to Allingham's Campion stories this is not a good place to start, partly because it is so atypical of the series and also because the array of minor characters that flit through the pages, and which will be familiar to readers of previous Campion books, can be rather bewildering for the newcomer.

Written in 1952, the story is interesting for its insight into aspects of life in post-war London. Some of the references, and much of the slang, will be lost on young, and non-British, readers. It will also perpetuate the myth of London being permanently fogbound. Present-day London hardly ever experiences fog, but in the fifties, when it was still an industrial city and suffered heavy smogs, it was commonly known as "The Smoke", hence the book's title.

In truth, the author's grasp of underworld culture is somewhat shaky. She doesn't get the language or the behaviour quite right. She was from the rural English midlands and from a different social class, so this is very much an outsider's view.

The intriguing story and the intense drama are what make this book worthwhile. It is well written and one episode, Lugg's driving through the fog, is hilarious. He wonders aloud at one stage whether he is approaching a roundabout or the side of a bank building. The villain, Havoc, is memorable. Oddly, there is no one, central hero. That role is shared between three or four characters. Campion himself is incidental.

My one complaint about the plot is that it relies on a very remarkable coincidence, which is something that always undermines credibility. But if you are willing to accept it (and remarkable coincidences do occur in real life) then you can relax and enjoy this first-rate thriller.

If you do enjoy "Tiger in the Smoke", you might also like Graham Greene's "Brighton Rock", which features the razor gangs of pre-war Brighton, and which has an equally memorable villain.

Allingham's finest, 19 Mar 2004
Tiger in the Smoke is Marjory Allingham's finest novel, and the pinnacle of the Inspector Campion series. A comparison with the first Campion, 'The Gyrth Chalice Mystery' reveals just how far she had taken her art from rather flat stereotypes and set pieces to a dark, memorable and perfectly drawn thriller.

Interestingly, Campion is only an incidental figure in Tiger in the Smoke. It is really a novel about the anti-hero Jack Havoc, a knife-murderer following a religion he has created himself 'the science of luck'. The chilling encounter which sets the seal on this novel is not murderer-meets-detective, but when the murderer meets a clergyman who has the power to transfix him. Havoc tells the clergyman about his 'science of luck', and the clergyman tells him that he already knows this philosophy, but it is called the 'science of death'.

From here in the demise of Havoc is artistically certain. The plot accelerates, through to the final, chillingly ambiguous 'His body was never recovered.'

If you have seen Allingham as a lesser figure, after Sayers and Christie, this book should set you straight. It belongs with Conan Doyle's 'Valley of Fear' and Sayers' 'Murder must advertise' at the top of the list of British crime thrillers.

The weirdest book ever!, 30 Dec 2007
I have never read any of Douglas Adams books before; I found this book strange and a bit unusual. But I still enjoyed the story based on an Earthling called Arthur Dent, who wakes up one morning to find the council preparing to demolish his home. This is also the day when the alien Vogons demolish the planet Earth to make way for a hyperspace express bypass.
I decided to watch the film which I thought was good, but the book is in much more detail than the film. So I would recommend you read the book before you watch the film.
If you are somebody that enjoys funny and unusual things then this is the book for you. I think this book would mainly be aimed towards young teenagers and older as it has some things in it, which might be a bit hard for a child to understand. When I read and watched the Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy I felt like I was there, watching the Earth being demolished by the alien Vogons.


Best Books that I Have Ever Read, 08 Mar 2007
These are, without a doubt, the best books that I have ever read. Not because of the story , but because of the storytelling.
Douglas Adams has the uncanny ability to take any subject and make it tense, funny, or anything else that you happen to mention.
For example, he takes a perfectly ordinary metting between two people at a train station, and makes into a tense situation that has you on the edge of your seat.
Now, onto the story. The basic premise is that there is a single person, and a lot of very extraordinary things happen to him. In some books, similar things happen, and you start thinking about how improbable it is, and the chances that any of the things would actually happen. That is not the case in these stories for the plain and simple reason that it rapidly becomes apparent that Arthur Dent really is God's plaything (despite the fact that God no longer exists), and that, to quote the book "when [he] is least expecting it, the Universe will suddenly leap out from behind a corner and yell BOO at [him]".
There is one other thing that bears mentioning before I let you get on with ordering the book, and that is Mr. Adams' tendancy to shoot off on real tangents (i.e. a small leap at first but quickly become uttery unconnected). These are, in my opinion, the best parts of the book, but you will have to read it yourself and decide.

Fantastic Book, 23 Oct 2006
After I saw the film, I got the book, and found it much more enjoyable, and I now find the film quite dull compared with the book. Be warned, there is no sanity whatsoever in the book, just a lot of funny stuff!

Reading it again and again I still find it to be most enjoyable, a wonderful work of fiction, thoroughly recommended

Amazingly Brilliant...., 27 Jul 2006
I thoroughly enjoyed these books. It had always been something that had "been there" throughout life and I ahd always thought about reading them, but frankly, couldnt be bothered (much like LotR, which I also read for the same reasons) but once the film's release was announced, I decided to read at least the first book before seeing it. That way, Id get the "right" (although, the Radio and TV series' were different in parts to the books anyway...) story.

I love how they are written and all the little bits that are just thrown in at not-so-random places (they have some relevance). I think its because that is how I tend to talk. I say something, then have to explain something else so you know what the first thing was, then I go back again. Adams does that in these books, so it was very easy for me to come to grips with.

I reccommend these to anyone who enjoys random, but well thought out silliness. They'll make you laugh and can be read over and over again.

And who knows, you might even understand more about Life, the Universe and Everything *shifts eyes and hides at the end of book 5*

Enjoy!!

Avoid Number 4, 19 May 2005
The fact that I tore through all five books would suggest it was a good read. I would definitely recommend the orginal trilogy.

I first read all five books when I was a young teenager (at least 10 years ago), and have fond, but hazy memories of them. After seeing the film, I decided to reread them. Although I still loved retreading the journey of Arthur, Ford Prefect, Marvin, Trillian and Zaphod, I became annoyed with Adams' style. He flits about for no apparent reason, throwing up repetitive stories about alien civilisitations (usually based round a familiar Earth household object). He also leaves stories in the air, with no explanation. What happended to Arthur with that girl he met on ancient Earth? What was the whole point of 'So Long...Thanks for All the Fish'? And so many other points, that you are left feeling frustrated.

Despite all this, Douglas Adams' ideas, and views of what the universe may be like, draws you in. The simple idea of the book itself has proved it has enormous mileage. True they could have been written a bit better, but I think most people forgive that. The first sequel (fourth) adds absolutely nothing to the story (rather like a Matrix sequel), but 'Most Harmless' is quite an entertaining diversion. You still come out a bit confused, but it's an ending, at least.

Mostly Harmless . . ., 12 Sep 2005
. . . but is that what we really want from our H2G2?

The Zarniwoop/Bird sequences are maddeningly ill-executed and suffer from chasms in logic and continuity, which throws the rest of the series into shadow. The ending is a nice tying together of loose ends, and would seem to satisfy Adams' plans to continue the H2G2 metaplot, but is a bit too sentimental and perfect. Radio H2G2's strength is (or was) its lack of sentimentality and fluff, which have since permeated the last three series to saturation point. Furthermore, the new abilities attributed to the babel fish become unbelievable, even for H2G2.

"Mostly Harmless" was an interesting book; as a radio series it is too slow. Adams was a good writer; Dirk Maggs isn't Douglas Adams and never will be. That, it would seem, is his greatest failing, but he also fails to grasp the true essence of the H2G2 multiverse. Fans will be disappointed. However, if you plan to read the book, this may be a faster alternative.

Excellent Stuff, 04 Jul 2005
When I originally listened to the HHGTTG in the 80s, I listened to it countless times, each time picking up on a new thread of the story, discovering more jokes and catch lines. This, as with the 3rd and 4rd phases, is in the same vein. You need to listen to it several times to really appreciate it.
Brilliant stuff, and about time.

That's it. No more!, 29 Jun 2005
It's quite an undertaking to draw to a close a cult sage that spans four decades, but the BBC manages to pull it off in fine style.

Part of the attraction of listening to this is not just the assured performances of the 'original' cast, (Geoffery McGivern and Simon Jones are completely at home as Ford and Arthur) but recognising the other less central characters and the familiar voices behind them.

The last phase not only manages to neatly tie up all loose ends from all other series, but also be a less downbeat finale than the book was. To get the benefit of this, though, you have to listen to the Hollywood happy ending which is unexpected to those familiar with the book. It works, but takes a leap of faith to hope that it is as the author would want it.

Nice to hear Douglas Adams one more time, too.

Over all, a joy to behold.

Quintessential not essential, 23 Jun 2005
While the universe apparently has no boundaries, the same cannot be said of the shelf-life of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I wanted to like this as much as I've liked all the other Hitchhiker radio plays, books and TV series...all of which I proudly own and contentedly devour. But, there is a point from beyond which there is no return. In fact, listening to this, I finally realized why it is a good thing that the Beatles never reunited. Sometimes, you need to Let it Be.

The play starts out well. In fact, the beginning (including the description and story of the Grebulons) had me laughing out loud. Very, very funny stuff. Ford's return to the Hitchhiker building...very funny. But then, the play tried to do something it shouldn't have done...it tried to be clever and plot-driven...at the expense of being just plain funny and lighthearted.

It was a string of marvelous, lustrous pearls...without the string. The last time a plot was this thick and complex, Peter Jackson directed it into more than 10 delightful hours of The Lord of the Rings. With only two hours at their disposal, the writer/director threw in everything he possibly could to, evidently, employ as many actors as humanly possible in as short a space of time as possible.

Trillian, as Ford once said, is a girl "full of hidden shallows." To expand her into two characters and a major role is spreading the butter a bit thin on the bread. And it's not butter, it's margarine. Zarniwoop deadened the plot just as it was getting started, which seems to be his function. The Vogons who, according to the Guide, are "not actually evil" are now actually evil. Subtlety: gone. Nuance: gone. Different word for subtlety or nuance: gone. This is what happens when thoughts are replaced with afterthoughts.

I'm glad the cast had the chance to say goodbye. But a simple, etched fishbowl would have done the job. I've kept my receipt, in case reverse temporal engineering ever becomes a reality. My opinion in a nutshell: 41.

The BBC have done a terrific job........, 05 May 2005
.....with adapting the spoken word audiobooks into "new" HHGTHG episodes, and its wonderful to hear Mark Wing-Davey and the gang again.

filled with meaning, 30 Jun 2007
Listening to the audio CD's has an extra dimension to the book. You do get time to catch your breath. And my CD player is in the car. Somehow I survived. I would say that one great advantage to CD's is the ability to hear how t