Book Details
“Young Zaphod Plays it Safe” by Douglas Adams | The Time Traveler’s Almanac collection
Editors: Ann VanderMeer, Jeff VanderMeer
Total Pages in the collection: 960
Published: March 18, 2014 by Tor Books
My Review
So this short story is a prequel of sorts to The Hitchhiker’s Guide (fun!). Zaphod operates a ship and must take a group of men to a crash site. The “materials” are dangerous in and of themselves, yet safe because no one would be crazy enough to mess with them–or would they?
There’s a strong ironic use of the word “safe” in this story, and that very dangerous thing that escaped the crashed ship–uh, yeah, the author obviously doesn’t hide his political ideology preachiness. This story was okay for me, but not amazing.
My Rating:
3 out of 5
About The Time Traveler’s Almanac
The Time Traveler’s Almanac is the largest and most definitive collection of time travel stories ever assembled. Gathered into one volume by intrepid chrononauts and world-renowned anthologists Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, this book compiles more than a century’s worth of literary travels into the past and the future that will serve to reacquaint readers with beloved classics of the time travel genre and introduce them to thrilling contemporary innovations.
This marvelous volume includes nearly seventy journeys through time from authors such as Douglas Adams, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, William Gibson, Ursula K. Le Guin, George R. R. Martin, Michael Moorcock, H. G. Wells, and Connie Willis, as well as helpful non-fiction articles original to this volume (such as Charles Yu’s “Top Ten Tips For Time Travelers”).
The Time Traveler’s Almanac Review Group
This review is part of an on-going review series. We’re trying to review a short story per week from The Time Traveler’s Almanac. Please join us and share your thoughts! My partners in crime on this reading adventure includes the following authors and bloggers. Check out their reviews as well:
I read it not as “preachy” but snarky, which I appreciate. Being a huge snark.
Bearing in mind, Douglas Adams is English, not American! Not that he can’t have views on the subject, lol! Yeah. What *is* perfectly safe when the most dangerous cargo of all gets out??! Nuts lol
This was short and fun and very funny! I got a good kick out of the over use of “perfectly safe” and “one hundred percent”