The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Marvin, the Paranoid Android, who, although 37 times older than the universe itself (what with time travel and all), has just enough power left in his failing body to read the message and feel better about it all before expiring. This was the first "Hitchhiker's" novel which was not an adaptation of any previously written story or script. In 2005 it was adapted for radio as the Quandary Phase of the radio series. Finally, in "Mostly Harmless" (published in 1992), Vogons take over "The Hitchhiker's Guide" (under the name of InfiniDim Enterprises), to finish, once and for all, the
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (novel) of an encyclopedia. The book begins with city council workmen arriving at Arthur Dent's house. They wish to demolish his house in order to build a bypass. Arthur's best friend, Ford Prefect, arrives, warning him of the end of the world. Ford is revealed to be an alien who had come to Earth to research it for the titular "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", an enormous work providing information about every planet and place in the universe. The two head to a pub, where the locals question Ford's knowledge of the Apocalypse. An alien race, known as Vogons, show up