Douglas Adams has 32 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 40 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.7★ across 5,052 ratings. The most-rated is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Summary
Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last 15 years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor. Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have.") and a galaxy full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; and Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years. Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? Why do we spend so much time in between wearing digital watches? For all the answers stick your thumb to the stars. And don't forget to bring a towel!
©1980 Serious Productions Ltd (P)2005 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.
The Blade Itself
Summary
Inquisitor Glokta, a crippled and bitter relic of the last war, former fencing champion turned torturer, is trapped in a twisted and broken body - not that he allows it to distract him from his daily routine of torturing smugglers. Nobleman, dashing officer and would-be fencing champion Captain Jezal dan Luthar is living a life of ease by cheating his friends at cards. Vain and shallow, the biggest blot on his horizon is having to get out of bed in the morning to train with obsessive and boring old men. And Logen Ninefingers, an infamous warrior with a bloody past, is about to wake up with plans to settle a blood feud with Bethod, the new King of the Northmen, once and for all - ideally by running away from it. But as he's discovering, old habits die hard....especially when Bayaz gets involved. An old man with a terrible temper and a pathetic assistant, he could be the First of the Magi, he could be a spectacular fraud, but whatever he is, he's about to make the lives of Glokta, Jezal, and Logen a whole lot more difficult....
©2010 Joe Abercrombie (P)2010 Orion Publishing Group
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Summary
“Douglas Adams is a terrific satirist.” (The Washington Post Book World) Facing annihilation at the hands of the warlike Vogons? Time for a cup of tea! Join the cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his uncommon comrades in arms in their desperate search for a place to eat as they hurtle across space powered by pure improbability. Among Arthur's motley shipmates are Ford Prefect, a longtime friend and expert contributor to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the three-armed, two-headed ex-president of the galaxy; Tricia McMillan, a fellow Earth refugee who's gone native (her name is Trillian now); and Marvin, the moody android. Their destination? The ultimate hot spot for an evening of apocalyptic entertainment and fine dining, where the food speaks for itself (literally). “What’s such fun is how amusing the galaxy looks through Adams’s sardonically silly eyes.” (Detroit Free Press)
©1980 Serious Productions, Ltd. (P)2006 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.
Life, the Universe, and Everything
Summary
“Wild satire.... The feckless protagonist, Arthur Dent, is reminiscent of Vonnegut heroes.” (Chicago Tribune) The unhappy inhabitants of planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky above their heads - so they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals stand between the killer robots of Krikkit and their goal of total annihilation. They are Arthur Dent, a mild-mannered space and time traveler who tries to learn how to fly by throwing himself at the ground and missing; Ford Prefect, his best friend, who decides to go insane to see if he likes it; Slartibartfast, the indomitable vice president of the Campaign for Real Time, who travels in a ship powered by irrational behavior; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed, three-armed ex-president of the galaxy; and Trillian, the sexy space cadet who is torn between a persistent Thunder God and a very depressed Beeblebrox. How will it all end? Will it end? Only this stalwart crew knows as they try to avert "universal" Armageddon and save life as we know it - and don't know it! “Adams is one of those rare treasures: an author who, one senses, has as much fun writing as one has reading.” (Arizona Daily Star)
©1982 Serious Productions, Ltd. (P)2006 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
Summary
“A madcap adventure...Adams’s writing teeters on the fringe of inspired lunacy.” (United Press International) Back on Earth with nothing more to show for his long, strange trip through time and space than a ratty towel and a plastic shopping bag, Arthur Dent is ready to believe that the past eight years were all just a figment of his stressed-out imagination. But a gift-wrapped fishbowl with a cryptic inscription, the mysterious disappearance of Earth's dolphins, and the discovery of his battered copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy all conspire to give Arthur the sneaking suspicion that something otherworldly is indeed going on. God only knows what it all means. Fortunately, He left behind a Final Message of explanation. But since it's light-years away from Earth, on a star surrounded by souvenir booths, finding out what it is will mean hitching a ride to the far reaches of space aboard a UFO with a giant robot. But what else is new? “The most ridiculously exaggerated situation comedy known to created beings.... Adams is irresistible.” (The Boston Globe)
©2006 Douglas Adams (P)2006 Random House, Inc.
Mostly Harmless
Summary
It's not just a trilogy any more. In the fifth book of this popular series, Arthur Dent makes the terrible mistake of starting to enjoy life, and immediately all hell breaks loose. In short, it's up to him to save the world from total multi-dimensional obliteration, the Guide from a hostile alien takeover, and the daughter he never knew he had from herself. A tall order, to say the least. And one he's really not up to, thank you very much.
©1992 Serious Productions, Ltd (P)2006 Random House, Inc.
Thud!
Summary
Koom Valley? That was where the trolls ambushed the dwarfs, or the dwarfs ambushed the trolls. It was far away. It was a long time ago. But if he doesn't solve the murder of just one dwarf, Commander Sam Vimes of Ankh-Morpork City Watch is going to see it fought again, right outside his office. With his beloved Watch crumbling around him and war drums sounding, he must unravel every clue, outwit every assassin, and brave any darkness to find the solution. And darkness is following him. Oh, and at six o'clock every day, without fail, with no excuses, he must go home to read Where's My Cow? with all the right farmyard noises, to his little boy. There are just some things you have to do. Please note: This is a vintage recording. The audio quality may not be up to modern day standards.
©2005 Terry and Lyn Pratchett (P)2005 Isis Publishing Ltd
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Primary Phase (Dramatized)
Summary
A dynamic remastering of the original BBC Radio 4 full-cast serial - Fit the First to Fit the Sixth - which spawned a phenomenal hitchhiking legend.
The original series of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, remastered by Dirk Maggs (director of the Tertiary, Quandary and Quintessential Phases) to give a full, vibrant sound, now with Philip Pope’s version of the familiar theme tune and specially re-recorded announcements by John Marsh.
Join Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Trillian, Zaphod Beeblebrox and Marvin the Paranoid Android in their first series of adventures as they witness the destruction of Earth to make way for a hyperspace bypass, stumble upon the ancient planet of Magrathea, dine at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, and seek an answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe And Everything.
Peter Jones, Simon Jones, Geoffrey McGivern, Mark Wing-Davey, Susan Sheridan, Stephen Moore and a full supporting cast star in these BBC Radio 4 episodes.
A special 55-minute bonus programme, Douglas Adams’s Guide to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, explores the genesis of the radio series and its incredible success, with contributions from the original cast and production team.
©2008 BBC Audiobooks Ltd (P)2008 BBC Audiobooks Ltd
Kushiel's Dart
Summary
The land of Terre d'Ange is a place of unsurpassing beauty and grace. It is said that angels found the land and saw it was good...and the ensuing race that rose from the seed of angels and men live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt. Phèdre nó Delaunay is a young woman who was born with a scarlet mote in her left eye. Sold into indentured servitude as a child, her bond is purchased by Anafiel Delaunay, a nobleman with very a special mission...and the first one to recognize who and what she is: one pricked by Kushiel's Dart, chosen to forever experience pain and pleasure as one. Phèdre is trained equally in the courtly arts and the talents of the bedchamber but, above all, the ability to observe, remember, and analyze. Almost as talented a spy as she is courtesan, Phèdre stumbles upon a plot that threatens the very foundations of her homeland. Treachery sets her on her path; love and honor goad her further. And in the doing, it will take her to the edge of despair...and beyond. Hateful friend, loving enemy, beloved assassin; they can all wear the same glittering mask in this world, and Phèdre will get but one chance to save all that she holds dear.Set in a world of cunning poets, deadly courtiers, heroic traitors, and a truly Machiavellian villainess, this is a novel of grandeur, luxuriance, sacrifice, betrayal, and deeply laid conspiracies. Not since Dune has there been an epic on the scale of Kushiel's Dart - a massive tale about the violent death of an old age and the birth of a new.
©2008 Jacqueline Carey (P)2009 Tantor
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dramatised)
Summary
Harry Enfield and Billy Boyd star in a brand new, full-cast dramatisation of Douglas Adams' first Dirk Gently book, directed by the award-winning Dirk Maggs.
Dirk Gently has an unshakeable belief in the interconnectedness of all things, but his Holistic Detective Agency mainly succeeds in tracking down missing cats for old ladies. Then Dirk stumbles upon an old friend behaving bizarrely - and he's drawn into a four-billion-year-old mystery that must be solved if the human race is to avoid immediate extinction.
Harry Enfield stars as Douglas Adams' much-loved psychic sleuth, with Billy Boyd (The Lord of the Rings), Andrew Sachs (Fawlty Towers), Jim Carter (The Golden Compass), and Olivia Colman (Peepshow).
©1987 Douglas Adams (P)2007 BBC Audiobooks Ltd
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Secondary Phase (Dramatized)
Summary
A dynamic remastering of the second BBC Radio 4 full-cast serial - Fit the Seventh to Fit the Twelfth - which spawned a phenomenal hitchhiking legend.
The second original series of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy remastered by Dirk Maggs (director of the Tertiary, Quandary and Quintessential Phases) to give a full, vibrant sound, now with Philip Pope’s version of the familiar theme tune and specially re-recorded announcements by John Marsh.
Stranded on Prehistoric Earth since the end of the first series, Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect are once again trying to hitch their way off the planet. Zaphod finds his visit to the offices of the Guide rudely interrupted by Frogstar fighters, who further threaten to feed him to the Total Perspective Vortex. Eventually reunited, the three fetch up on the planet Brontitall and discover the indigenous species in something of a flap. Arthur meets Lintilla (several of her), Marvin gets to be a hero once again, and there is a meeting with the Man in the Shack who apparently runs the Universe....
Peter Jones, Simon Jones, Geoffrey McGivern, Mark Wing-Davey, Stephen Moore and a full supporting cast star in these BBC Radio 4 episodes.
Also included is a bonus 50-minute interview with Douglas Adams - who died in 2001 - in which he discusses his career and work.
©2008 BBC Audiobooks Ltd (P)2008 BBC Audiobooks Ltd
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Tertiary Phase (Dramatized)
Summary
Don’t panic! The Hitchhiker’s saga continues with a full-cast dramatisation of Life, the Universe and Everything, the third book in Douglas Adams’s famous ‘trilogy in five parts.’
‘The pitch here at Lord’s is blackened, lightly smoking down towards square leg – and two men have just materialised on a Chesterfield sofa....’
And so the scene is set for the Tertiary Phase of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the phenomenon which began life as a BBC radio series and went on to spawn a best-selling series of novels. With this full-cast radio dramatisation, the Guide returns to its original medium with its original cast.
Stranded on prehistoric Earth, Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect find escape in the form of a time-travelling sofa. But as eleven homicidal, bat-wielding robots proceed to blow up Lord’s Cricket Ground, it seems that Arthur is far from Home and Dry. In fact, he is not even Home and Vigorously Towelling Himself.
Off. Soon he is on an explosive quest to save the Universe, equipped with only a rabbit bone, a worn dressing gown, and a spaceship which looks remarkably like an Italian bistro.
Simon Jones returns as Arthur, Geoffrey McGivern as Ford, Susan Sheridan as Trillian, Mark Wing-Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox, and Stephen Moore as Marvin the Paranoid Android. William Franklyn is the Book, the late Douglas Adams himself appears in the role of Agrajag, and guest stars include Richard Griffiths, Chris Langham, Joanna Lumley and Leslie Phillips.
This extended edition features 20 minutes of material not heard on BBC Radio 4.
©2004 BBC Audiobooks Ltd (P)2004 BBC Audiobooks Ltd
The Devil's Thief
Summary
In this spellbinding sequel to the New York Times best seller The Last Magician, Esta and Harte set off on a cross-country chase through time to steal back the elemental stones they need to save the future of magic. Hunt the Stones. Beware the Thief. Avenge the Past. Esta’s parents were murdered. Her life was stolen. And everything she knew about magic was a lie. She thought the Book of Mysteries held the key to freeing the Mageus from the Order’s grasp, but the danger within its pages was greater than she ever imagined. Now the Book’s furious power lives inside Harte. If he can’t control it, it will rip apart the world to get its revenge, and it will use Esta to do it. To bind the power, Esta and Harte must track down four elemental stones scattered across the continent. But the world outside the city is like nothing they expected. There are Mageus beyond the Brink not willing to live in the shadows - and the Order isn’t alone in its mission to crush them. In St. Louis, the extravagant World’s Fair hides the first stone, but an old enemy is out for revenge and a new enemy is emerging. And back in New York, Viola and Jianyu must defeat a traitor in a city on the verge of chaos. As past and future collide, time is running out to rewrite history - even for a time-traveling thief.
©2018 Lisa Maxwell (P)2018 Simon & Schuster
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Hexagonal Phase (Dramatized)
Summary
The brand new BBC Radio 4 full-cast series based on And Another Thing… the sixth book in the famous Hitchhiker’s Guide 'trilogy'. Winner of the 2019 Audie Award for Science Fiction. Forty years on from the first ever radio series of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Arthur Dent and friends return in six brand new episodes, in which they are thrown back into the Whole General Mish Mash in a rattling adventure involving Viking Gods and Irish Confidence Tricksters, with our first glimpse of Eccentrica Gallumbits and a brief but memorable moment with The Ravenous Bugblatter Beast Of Traal. Starring John Lloyd as The Book, with Simon Jones as Arthur, Geoff McGivern as Ford Prefect, Mark Wing-Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox, Sandra Dickinson and Susan Sheridan as Trillian, Jim Broadbent as Marvin the Paranoid Android and Jane Horrocks as Fenchurch, the cast also includes Samantha Béart, Toby Longworth, Andy Secombe, Ed Byrne, Lenny Henry, Philip Pope, Mitch Benn, Jon Culshaw and Professor Stephen Hawking. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2018, the series is written and directed by Dirk Maggs and based on And Another Thing… by Eoin Colfer with additional unpublished material by Douglas Adams. This edition also includes over 50 minutes of unbroadcast bonus material. Listeners are reminded that the relaxed attitude to danger provided by Joo Janta 200 Super-Chromatic Peril Sensitive Sunglasses is no substitute for running around, screaming. Cast: The Voice Of The Book…John Lloyd Arthur Dent…Simon Jones Ford Prefect…Geoff McGivern Zaphod Beeblebrox…Mark Wing-Davey Trillian/Tricia McMillan…Sandra Dickinson Trillian…Susan Sheridan Random…Samantha Béart Jeltz/Wowbagger…Toby Longworth Constant Mown…Andy Secombe Left Brain/Thor…Mitch Benn Fenchurch…Jane Horrocks Hillman Hunter…Ed Byrne Cthulu…Jon Culshaw Marvin…Jim Broadbent The Guide MkII…Professor Stephen Hawking The Consultant…Lenny Henry Heimdall/Barzoo/Buckeye Brown/Eccentrica /Gunner Vogon…Tom Alexander Aseed Preflux/Sub-Etha Voice/HOG Door …Philip Pope Modgud/The Viking…Theo Maggs Baldur… Phillipe Bosher Announcer…John Marsh Music by Philip Pope Production research by Kevin Jon Davies. Written and directed by Dirk Maggs. Based on the novel And Another Thing… by Eoin Colfer, with additional material by Douglas Adams. Recorded at The Soundhouse Ltd. by Gerry O'Riordan. Sound Design by Dirk Maggs. Produced by Dirk Maggs, Helen Chattwell and David Morley. A Perfectly Normal Production for BBC Radio 4.
©2018 BBC Worldwide Ltd (P)2018 BBC Worldwide Ltd
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Quandary Phase (Dramatized)
Summary
Don't panic! The Hitchhiker's saga returns once again with a brand new full-cast dramatisation of
So Long and Thanks For All the Fish, the fourth book in Douglas Adams's famous 'trilogy in five parts'. The Earth has miraculously reappeared and, even more miraculously, Arthur Dent has found it. Returning to his cottage after...well...ages, he falls in love with the girl of his dreams.
But Ford Prefect is onto something which might well burst Arthur's bubble. There is, after all, something very fishy about his girlfriend's feet, and what has happened to all the dolphins? Perhaps, at last, all will be revealed in God's Last Message to His Creation....
Simon Jones returns as Arthur, Geoffrey McGivern as Ford, and Stephen Moore as Marvin. William Franklyn is the Book, and there is a whole host of famous guest stars.
This extended edition features 30 minutes of material not heard on BBC Radio 4.
©2005 BBC Audiobooks Ltd (P)2005 BBC Audiobooks Ltd
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Quintessential Phase (Dramatized)
Summary
Don’t panic! The Hitchhiker’s saga returns once again with a full-cast dramatisation of Mostly Harmless, the fifth book in Douglas Adams’s famous ‘trilogy in five parts’.
While frequent flyer Arthur Dent searches the universe for his lost love, Ford Prefect discovers a disturbing blast from the past at The Hitchhiker’s Guide HQ. Meanwhile, on one of many versions of Earth, a blonder, more American Trillian gets tangled up with a party of lost aliens having an identity crisis. And just when Arthur thinks he has found his true vocation on the backwater planet of Lamuella, the original Trillian turns up with more than a little spanner in the works. A stolen ship, a dramatic stampede and a new and sinister Guide lead to a race to save the Earth...again. But this time, will they succeed?
Simon Jones returns as Arthur, Geoffrey McGivern as Ford, Mark Wing-Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox, Susan Sheridan as Trillian, Sandra Dickinson as Tricia McMillan, and Stephen Moore as Marvin. William Franklyn is the Book, Rula Lenska is also the Book and Samantha Béart is Random. Guest stars include Miriam Margolyes, Griff Rhys Jones, John Challis, Roy Hudd, Saeed Jaffrey, and Jonathan Pryce.
This extended edition features 40 minutes of material not heard on BBC Radio 4.
©2005 BBC Audiobooks Ltd (P)2005 BBC Audiobooks Ltd
The Salmon of Doubt
Summary
Rescued from his beloved Macintosh, The Salmon of Doubt provides us with the opportunity to linger and frolic one last time in the uniquely entertaining and richly informative mind of Douglas Adams. For the millions of readers who expressed their grief and shock at his untimely death, this is a treasure; his final book and our last chance to see new work from an acknowledged comic genius.
©2005 Douglas Adams (P)2009 Phoenix
Dirk Gently
Summary
Harry Enfield stars once again in a brand new full-cast dramatisation of Douglas Adams's second Dirk Gently novel, directed by the award-winning Dirk Maggs
Harry Enfield exuberantly returns as Dirk Gently, who, fallen on hard times and dressed as a gypsy woman, is using his irritatingly accurate clairvoyant powers to read palms. He is saved when a frantic client turns up with a ludicrous story about being stalked by a goblin waving a contract accompanied by a hairy, green-eyed, scythe-wielding monster. When Detective Superintendent Gilks decides a headless body found in a sealed room is the result of a particularly irritating suicide, Dirk is plunged into a mystery where the interconnectedness of all things is tested to the limit...
This is the second of three series adapted from the Dirk Gently books, directed by Dirk Maggs (chosen by Douglas Adams to conclude the award-winning Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy). Guest stars include Peter Davison (Doctor Who), Jan Ravens (Dead Ringers), Philip Jackson (Poirot), John Fortune (Bremner, Bird & Fortune), Morwenna Banks (Absolutely), Stephen Moore (The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy) and returning cast members Olivia Colman (Peep Show), Jim Carter (The Golden Compass) and Billy Boyd (The Lord Of The Rings). This release contains over 30 minutes of additional unbroadcast material.
©2008 BBC Audiobooks Ltd (P)2008 BBC Audiobooks Ltd
Dirk Gently: Two BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramas
Summary
The complete BBC Radio collection bringing together two full-cast dramatisations of Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently novels. In Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency Dirk Gently has an unshakable belief in the interconnectedness of all things, but his Holistic Detective Agency mainly succeeds in tracking down missing cats for old ladies. Then Dirk stumbles upon an old friend behaving bizarrely - and he's drawn into a four-billion-year-old mystery that must be solved if the human race is to avoid immediate extinction. In The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul Harry Enfield exuberantly returns as Dirk Gently, who, fallen on hard times and dressed as a gypsy woman, is using his irritatingly accurate clairvoyant powers to read palms. He is saved when a frantic client turns up with a ludicrous story about being stalked by a goblin waving a contract accompanied by a hairy, green-eyed, scythe-wielding monster. When Detective Superintendent Gilks decides a headless body found in a sealed room is the result of a particularly irritating suicide, Dirk is plunged into a mystery where the interconnectedness of all things is tested to the limit. Starring Harry Enfield as Dirk Gently along with Billy Boyd, Olivia Coleman, Andrew Sachs and Jim Carter. Guest stars include Peter Davison (Doctor Who), Jan Ravens (Dead Ringers), Philip Jackson (Poirot), John Fortune (Bremner, Bird & Fortune), Morwenna Banks (Absolutely) and Stephen Moore (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy). For the best listening experience, make sure to download in high quality.
©2019 Douglas Adams (P)2019 BBC Worldwide Ltd
Le guide du voyageur galactique
Summary
Comment garder tout son flegme quand on apprend dans la même journée : que sa maison va être abattue dans la minute pour laisser place à une déviation d'autoroute ; que la Terre va être détruite d'ici deux minutes, se trouvant, coïncidence malheureuse, sur le tracé d'une future voie express intergalactique ; que son meilleur ami, certes délicieusement décalé, est en fait un astrostoppeur natif de Bételgeuse, et s'apprête à vous entraîner aux confins de la galaxie ? Pas de panique ! Car Arthur Dent, un Anglais extraordinairement moyen, pourra compter sur le fabuleux Guide du voyageur galactique pour l'accompagner dans ses extraordinaires dérapages spatiaux moyennement contrôlés.
©1979 / 1982 Douglas Adams / Éditions Denoël (pour la traduction française) (P)2019 Éditions Gallimard