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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams has 6 known books (6 published). It is best read in publication order, starting with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979). Douglas Adams wrote the series; it was continued by Eoin Colfer.
- Books
- 6 known books (6 novels)
- Published
- 6
- First published
- 1979
- Status
- deceased
- Shelved under
- Science Fiction
Start here: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979)
— then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy opens Douglas Adams's series in 1979: moments before Earth is demolished for a hyperspace bypass, Arthur Dent is rescued by his alien friend Ford Prefect. At a slim 132 pages, it's the shortest book in the series. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Book 2:
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe followed in 1980 at 224 pages, continuing Arthur, Ford, Zaphod Beeblebrox, Marvin and Trillian's journey across an increasingly bleak, increasingly funny cosmos. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Restaurant at the End of the Universe - Book 3:
Life, the Universe and Everything
Life, the Universe and Everything , published in 1982 at 221 pages, is the third of Adams's five novels, keeping to the series' absurdist, digressive comic voice. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Life, the Universe and Everything - Book 4:
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish , published in 1984 at 187 pages, is the fourth entry, continuing Adams's precision-engineered deadpan take on a universe indifferent to human concerns. Alternative text for cover: Cover of So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish - Book 5:
Mostly Harmless
Mostly Harmless didn't arrive until 1992 — eight years after So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish — closing out Douglas Adams' own five books in the series at 259 pages. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Mostly Harmless - Book 6:
And Another Thing...
And Another Thing..., published in 2009, is credited to Eoin Colfer as a continuation of Adams' series; at 336 pages it is the longest book in the sequence, arriving seventeen years after Mostly Harmless. Alternative text for cover: Cover of And Another Thing...
Key facts about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series
Our list has 6 books in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. Since all 6 are out now, you can read the whole list today.
Start with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, since it opens the publication order in 1979. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe is book 2, from 1980. Life, the Universe and Everything is book 3, from 1982.
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish is book 4, from 1984. Mostly Harmless is book 5, from 1992. And Another Thing... is book 6, from 2009.
The list keeps the books in date order, while each title links to its own page. Each book page shows its dates and editions. No next book has a date yet.
The books came out between 1979 and 2009, while their length runs from 132 to 336 pages. That is a run of 30 years.
Douglas Adams has 8 books on our list. Additionally, they write Dirk Gently. We shelve the books under science fiction.
About The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Moments before Earth is demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass, mild-mannered Englishman Arthur Dent is rescued by his friend Ford Prefect, who turns out to be an alien researcher for a wildly unreliable electronic travel guide called The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. What began as a BBC radio comedy in 1978 became, with the first novel in 1979, one of science fiction's defining comic voices: absurdist, digressive, and quietly devastating about the universe's total indifference to human concerns, all delivered in Douglas Adams's precision-engineered deadpan. The five novels Adams wrote follow Arthur, Ford, the two-headed ex-President of the Galaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox, the depressed robot Marvin, and Trillian across an increasingly bleak, increasingly funny cosmos, with the tone darkening notably by Mostly Harmless (1992) -- famously, Adams himself considered ending the series there on the grimmest possible note. Adams died suddenly in 2001 with a sixth book long rumored but never started; in 2009 Eoin Colfer, the Artemis Fowl author and a lifelong Adams fan, wrote And Another Thing... with the blessing of Adams's estate and widow, continuing the series from the precise cliffhanger Mostly Harmless left behind.
Frequently asked questions
Who writes the The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series?
Douglas Adams wrote the series; it was continued by Eoin Colfer.
How many books are in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series?
Five novels by Douglas Adams (1979-1992), plus a sixth, And Another Thing... (2009), written by Eoin Colfer after Adams's death.
Who wrote And Another Thing...?
Eoin Colfer, the Artemis Fowl author, wrote it in 2009 with the blessing of Douglas Adams's estate and widow, continuing directly from where Mostly Harmless (1992) left off. Adams died in 2001 without writing any of it himself.
What order should I read the Hitchhiker's Guide books in?
Publication order: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Life, the Universe and Everything, So Long and Thanks for All the Fish, Mostly Harmless, and (if continuing past Adams's own ending) And Another Thing....
Is the series finished?
Douglas Adams's own five novels are complete and were left as a deliberately dark ending at Mostly Harmless. Eoin Colfer's 2009 continuation, And Another Thing..., is a one-off; no further continuation has been written or announced.
When did Douglas Adams die?
11 May 2001, at age 49.
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