I think I might be in the minority when I say that I preferred the Dirk Gently books to the Hitchhiker's trilogy. It's not that they're better written, but I just love how everything comes together in the end. It doesn't quite build to a crescendo, but everything ends up making such perfect sense when Adams is done, that I feel like I've read a combination of a mystery novel and a slightly ridiculous science fiction novel. Adams is at his finest here, especially with his occasional insights into people and the complaints he puts in the mouths of his characters that are clearly his own issues. It just makes it more fun.