Until I read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, I thought all science fiction was science first. The very thought of something labeled science fiction being satirical was unknown to me. Heck! I hadn’t even considered it. Then Wham! Like a salmon to the side of my head, this book, and ultimately this series, changed everything. The world was diminished quite a bit when Douglas Adams died unexpectedly in California. Not that him dying unexpectedly in Nevada would have been any better. It might have been a more colorful story though. His wit is missed, and I am glad we have what we have of him.