The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 7 books · 1979 to 1992

Douglas Adams

Crime and mysteryScience fictionAmateur sleuthComic science fiction

Douglas Adams began The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as a radio comedy, then turned it into a five-book "trilogy" about Arthur Dent, rescued from the demolition of Earth by his friend Ford Prefect. He also wrote two Dirk Gently detective novels.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip.

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Who appears in which book

Click a name to follow that character from book to book, or a book title to see its cast.

LLeadMMajor·MinorHas a note
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Douglas Adams books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

Hitchhiker's Guide

5 books · Set in spaceComic science fiction
  1. 1The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy1979With Arthur DentBuy on Amazon
  2. 2The Restaurant at the End of the Universe1980With Arthur DentBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Life, the Universe and Everything1982With Arthur DentBuy on Amazon
  4. 4So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish1984With Arthur DentBuy on Amazon
  5. 5Mostly Harmless1992With Arthur DentBuy on Amazon

Dirk Gently

2 books · Set in CambridgeComic science fictionAmateur sleuth
  1. 1Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency1987With Dirk GentlyBuy on Amazon
  2. 2The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul1988With Dirk GentlyBuy on Amazon

Characters

11 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

The Hitchhiker's Guide

Dirk Gently