Customer Reviews
Do not go Gently into that good night... - By: Binro The Heretic, 10 Mar 2008 
I have to admit to being a little disappointed by this long-awaited audio version of Adams' peerless (unless you count the sequel 'The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul') late 80s sci-fi/fantasy/drama/comedy novel. I have to be honest & say that Harry Enfield was miscastin the title role - his smug tones are not at all how I envisaged the underhand but essentially likeable Dirk - I also found the constant contemporary references that the audio version has added to the original novel ('Asbo'), rather annoying -in the same way that the current incarnation of Doctor Who's Timelord insists on littering his talk with references to 'Teletubbies', 'Eastenders' etc.
These grumbles aside I found the rest of the cast to be perfectly...well, cast - Billy Boydin particular captures hapless computer programmer 'Richard' precisely as he is whirled along by events far beyond his comprehension. I'm not sure why Dirk's receptionist, Janet, needed to have her (extremely minor) rolein the novel fleshed out, as she adds little to the story but this is not a major concern as she can be ignored.
Overall, the package is very impressive; I guess it's never going to be how you imagine it, especially after twenty years or so. Hopefully they'll serialise 'Teatime' - with some minor improvements it could be awesome.
Loved it - By: Mr. D. Holder-twomlow, 09 Nov 2007 
Like many others I was less than convinced about the casting of Harry Enfield, but with persistence I grew to love him. I liked Dirk Gently as a character because, like Ford Prefect, he had an infuriating habit of appearing to know everything without ever having gone through a learning process - despite knowing that Dirk went to Cambridge too my mind seemed to brush it aside almost as a formality!
Something about the way Harry Enfield delivered complex linesin an almost simplistic way reinforced the idea that, like Ford, he was several steps ahead of everyone, one felt guilty needing to hear them again & it was clear that Dirk Gently had a very sharp mind indeed.
I loved the odd homage to Douglas Adam's magnum opus, for example, the sound of the lift openingin the last episode, which was taken from the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I only wish Adams had lived to hear it. He would have adored it. I did.
This was always going to be difficult ... - By: Matt Wills, 09 Nov 2007 While H2G2 III-V had it's key characters & central cast for continuity, Dirk (both of them) had to work from the ground up for this outing. And they do. To be honest, I wouldn't have had Harry Enfield (wonderful though he is) at the top of my list, but as it turns out, he does a rather splendid job. And yes, there are a few touches missing - the odd line I was listening out for - but I'm more than happy to be happy with this, & embrace it as part of Adams' Radio 4 canon. Billy Boyd, Andrew Sachs, Olivia Colman & Felicity Montagu are all superb (do bears...), & play against many of the hugely talented & versatile voice actors from the recent Hitchhikers series. Oh, & Jim Carter is perfect as Gilks. I look forward to the next series.
"Shada" does the better job - By: Aloisson, 07 Nov 2007 
It's fairly common knowledge that some parts of the storyline & some characters were first used by Adams for his Doctor Who script of "Shada", which is available both from the BBC online as a webcast & from BigFinish on CD. Comparing those two productions where possible & taking into account the impact of the humor of certain dialogues I must say, that the BigFinish/Doctor Who incarnation beats Dirk Maggs/Gently by far. Dirk Gently by itself is a wonderful book. There are parts of the radio play that live up to the book. But on the whole it failed to go that last extra mile for me. But I can't wait until my copy arrives to see if there is again some extra material on CD that didn't make itin the broadcast version. For the moment, after the concluding episode on the air tonight, 3 stars.
The sleevenotes say it all - By: ds, 04 Oct 2007 "A thumping good detective-ghost-horror-whodunnit-time-travel-romantic-musical-comedy-epic".
This just about does it justice becasue, possibly even more than anything else that DNA wrote, this defied any kind of meaningful categorisation.
For those aware of DNA's time at Doctor Who, there are two obvious ideas which are blended together to form the ocre of the story, but further than that the non-linear & sometimes confusing narrative create sometihng altogether new. The inital focus of this novel is Richard Macduff, a software developer & alumnus of St Cedd's College Cambridge who is summoned back to his alma mater by Professor Urban Chronotis. In this process he becomes caught upin the investigation of his friend & employer Gordon Way's death. Help comesin the guise of old college friend Dirk Gently (formerly Svlad Cjelli & a man with a very murky past), who now works as a very unusual detective indeed.
What is amazing about this book is the sheer volume of ideas & wonders bursting out of each page. The prose has more than tone of PG Wodehouse, a particular favourite of DNA's & the quality of the scientific think ing & explanation of esoteric phenomena is quite beauifully perspicuous.
And of course, it's funny. Notin the same way as HHGTTG, but at times laugh out loud, uproarious. Mostly though it is full of wry, droll observations about the rareified atmosphere of Cambridge colleges, the vicissitudes of corporatism & the various aburdities of modern life. It also manages to cramin Coleridge, Bach & the fundamental interconnectedness of all things. A potent mix.
