What: Arthur Dent makes his way back to Earth, which is quite an accomplishment since the planet was destroyed three books previously to make way for a hyperspace bypass.
Opening lines: "Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-eight million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea."
Representative quote: "His name was simply John Watson, though he preferred to be called --- and some of his friends had now reluctantly agreed to do this --- Wonko the Sane."
Bonus representative quote: "She was most immensely relieved to think that virtually everything that anybody had ever told her was wrong."
You might not like it if: This was the first story in The Hitchhiker's Guide series that Douglas Adams wrote specifically as a book instead of adapting it from something else. You might object to a result that's slightly more straightforward than usual.
How to get it: Buyable, borrowable, Kindle-able
Connections to previous Wreckage: Celebrate Douglas Adams with List #25
[Originally posted 3/5/13.]
