The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams

Lots of sequels make the mistake of following the original winning formula too closely. Others make the mistake of not following the blueprints close enough. I tend to think that The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, the second Dirk Gently novel by Douglas Adams, fits into the second category.

What can only be described as an 'act of God' at the London Heathrow airport results in a giant of a man in a coma, a missing bag check clerk and another woman seriously injured. Meanwhile, Dirk arrives at a paying client's home only to find the residence swarming with police and his client's head spinning atop a turntable. Add in a very angry eagle who swoops down on just about every character in the book, an elderly man in a high priced health clinic who might be Odin, the High Father of Asgard, and a whole bunch of fender benders and you've got one heck of a puzzle. Unfortunately, I think it's a puzzle that has all of the pieces. 

The previous Dirk Gently novel wrapped everything up in a very nice tiny package. It was kinda like one of those huge Hickory Farms gift sets where every inch of space is smarty filled with beef sticks, cheeses, spreads and those tiny little strawberry candies. With book two, several key elements are left unanswered. For example, Dirk's client had a TV addicted child living in the upstairs attic. Sadly, now he's an orphan. It felt like Douglas Adams didn't really know what to do with the lad and that's infuriating because of how everything is supposed to fit together. Dirk's holistic approach to solving a mystery, all clues, participants and events are supposed to tie in to one another. Could it have been that Adams was going to explain everything in a third book?

Basically none of the characters or events of the first book are mentioned in this book except for Dirk and his long-suffering secretary who finally got the nerve to quit the detective agency. When I was reading The Salmon of Doubt, I was very lost because a lot of the characters and fallout from The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul unfolds and appear in that book. 

Some trilogies start off as a single volume. Since it's a new concept, creators make a story that can go one of two ways. First, you have a happy ending that should audiences not make the work a success, it can stand on its own. Secondly, your piece becomes a colossal hit and so you end volume two on a cliffhanger of sorts so that fans have to know what happens in the final act. Perhaps this book felt so unfinished was that the author was going to give fans a thrilling ending that tied both books in the series together in a climatic crescendo. Instead, in reality Douglas Adams got bored with making a third book and instead began focusing on non-fiction articles about  conservation and technology, along with a very poorly received 5th Hitchhikers book. Then when came not time but interest in Adams wrapping up the Dirk Gently trilogy, he passed away too soon for it to be completed. 

Maybe I will get my answers in volume 2 of IDW's adaptation of The Salmon of Doubt. I'm eager to find out if that's the case. Though I might need to re-read volume 1 again. No, I definitely need a re-read.

A good read. But I expected a lot more. Plus it helps if you have an understanding of British debt law of which I have zero knowledge. But it plays into the ending and use of Wikipedia for guidance is a must. At least the explanation behind the Coke machine and the angry bird was executed brilliantly!

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.