A seance to communicate with Zaphod's dead grandfather? A ruler of the universe who doesn't believe in the existence of the universe? A talking cow begging to be slaughtered? Ford Prefect staggeringly drunk for half the novel? The long-awaited return of the Messiah just before the end of the universe? How do these elements fit into a science-fiction novel?

Well, they don't. This follow-up suffers from the same problem as the first Hitchhiker's Guide book (though to a slightly lesser extent), namely, the episodic nature of the story. To be sure, this one has a slightly more coherent plot than the first, but there are a lot of pointless (and sometimes lengthy) digressions. Some of them (the Messiah bit, for instance), are very funny, but some of them, well, aren't. Adams is funnier when he doesn't try to do philosophy. The cow that wants to be eaten isn't nearly so amusing nor thought-provoking as Adams apparently intended it to be, and the solipsistic philosopher-king is just stupid. And again, as in the first book, one is not too sure when Adams is doing satire or when he's being serious, but there are some disturbing indications (the protagonists, for instance, feel quite good about the inane ramblings of the philosopher-king, while the bad guys are quite appalled by him).

However, the book also shares some of the first book's virtues, such as Adams' knack for hilarious dialogue, and his great science fiction premises like the restaurant itself and the supernova concert finale (despite also throwing in garbage like seances).

On the whole, definitely worth a read, especially as a preliminary to the rest of the series--which, on the whole, gets better from here.

Martin Freeman's deadpan (except for when he's doing Beeblebrox) narration is quite appropriate and enjoyable--but I can't compare it to Adams' own, as I haven't heard that version yet, so take it for what it's worth.