Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams (Logan)

"Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" by Douglas Adams is described on one edition's cover as a "thumping good detective-ghost-horror-who dunnit-time travel-romantic-musical-comedy-epic" and I believe that just about sums it up.

It is difficult to describe the setting of this book. There is a time machine, so the span is from about four million years ago to present. As for location, there are several places of interest. A majority of the book is set in St Cedd's college, Cambridge, England. Other times are spent in the main character's houses, Dirk Gently's office, and even Mauritius (a small island east of Madagascar).

The main characters are Dirk Gently, Richard MacDuff, Professor Urban Chronotis (Reg), Gordon Way, Susan Way, Michael Wenton-Weakes, and an unnamed alien ghost. Dirk Gently is intelligent but lazy, possibly clairvoyant, and rips off old ladies with missing cats as a detective. Richard MacDuff is a young software engineer who works for WayForward technologies II. His Anthem software is extremely popular, but he fails to meet many of his deadlines. Reg is a professor at St Cedd's college. He operates a time machine and is "on the older side of completely indeterminate". His position, Regius Professor of Chronology was appointed by King Richard III. Gordon Way is the founder of WayForward technologies. He is the brother of Susan Way. Susan Way is a professional cellist, Richard's girlfriend, and Gordon's sister. Michael Wenton-Weakes is a spoilt son of publishing giant Lord Magna. His magazine, Fathom, was sold to Gordon Way after his mother took over the family business. This upsets him and makes him susceptible to hypnotism and possession. I will not describe the alien ghost's background as that would spoil the story.

The sentence at the start is a good indication of all the themes. The name Holistic Detective Agency refers to Dirk Gently’s “conviction that what we are concerned with here is the fundamental interconnectedness of all things”. This book suggests an afterlife, and makes links from this to the interconnectedness and perfect music. There are several puzzles the characters face in this book. Richard has a sofa that is wedged in his hallway, and his computer simulation shows it is impossible to get out or into its position without fundamental restructuring of the walls. Reg performs an impossible conjuring trick involving an ancient pot and a salt shaker. Samuel Taylor Coleridge is possessed by a spirit who influences his poems the Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla Khan. This book also goes into computer generated music, suggesting that natural beauties are actually complex maths.

This book is very entertaining to read and interesting to think about. At the start many of the events seem unrelated, but as the book progresses you notice the fundamental interconnectedness of things. It was just as amusing, if not more, to read for the second time, as you find many intricate details. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants an intelligent comedy read. There is also a sequel which I have not read but should find a copy of.

-- Logan