The first part was largely directionless, but the characters started getting cohesive goals from the second part on, so the book became progressively better. All through, this was a hilarious read. I knew there was a TV show of the same name, but had no idea the novel was based on the TV show. Moreover, the audiobook narrator, who is fantastic, is the guy who plays Rimmer in the show it seems. All the more reason to check out the original.