Something Rotten (Thursday Next) - Jasper Fforde

Fforde is back on form

After the slightly less interesting The Well Of Lost Plots, Fforde comes back with this cracking fourth novel in the Thursday Next series. Highly original, entertaining and recommended.

Read in order!

When I happened across this book in a sale I thought that the being a fan of humour novels and science fiction that this could be just my taste. 'Something Rotten' follows a literacy detective called Thursday Next as she tries to juggle several problems including; rewriting Hamlet, cloning Shakespeare, winning a croquet match and getting her husband to exist again.

As you can tell this book has quite a strange storyline and looks quite complicated. However, I was happy to find that it was actually an easy read and that all the subplots flowed quite easily. Fforde should be commended for avoiding a confusing mess.

The main issue I had with the book was the amount of in jokes and references to previous books in the series. I usually read books in order, but in many cases it does not matter too much e.g. Discworld. However, if you are going to read the Thursday Next series I advise reading them in order as this book was not that accessible to me. I look forward to reading the others but will start from the beginning!

Toppe Fforde!!

Well, what is there really to say? Another witty, cleverly inventive, totally surreal adventure for Thursday Next. If you have not read any of this series yet, it is worth starting at the beginning with 'The Eyre Affair'.

Brilliant conclusion to the series

After enjoying all Thursday Next books, I was a bit reluctant to start reading the final volume, as it often happens to me with series I really love. I guess I feared the author could not possibly tie all the loose ends and finish the story in a way to match the previous volumes, without abandoning some of the subplots. After finishing the book in a single day (and night) I admit I was very wrong to doubt Jasper Fforde. It is quite amazing how a writer can mix together time travel, "fictional" characters, cartoonish science projects, apocalyptic prophecies and cloned human ancestors and still write a consistent story. Until now, whenever I was reading books of comic fiction I would inevitably compare them to Pratchett, but not this time. Jasper Fforde with this series sets his own standards and I am pretty sure I will find myself comparing new authors to this work in the future.

Fiction this good rarely comes along

I am not sure how many adjectives I can use about the Thursday Next series as I feel I have used them all up in reviewing the past 3 books. Actually to be fair it really should be superlatives I am talking about as I have found this series one of the most delightful works of fiction to come out of Wales in a long time... Nuts to that, lets go the whole hog and say all of Britain even, dare I say it, the world!

Something Rotten follows on from Thursday's stint in The Well of Lost Plots where she ended up heading Jurisfiction, a role she carries on in this novel but soon on realises she cannot stay in fiction forever and a role back at SO-27 with her partner Bowden awaits her... How will Thursday adjust to life back in the real world? Will Plickwick's new baby "Alan" get an ASBO? Will the `Thals get their right to procreate agreed? And finally, will Hamlet make it back into, well Hamlet? These and many other questions will be attempted by Thursday but her success is largely upon, well her (in more ways than you can imagine...).

Thursday is really growing into a well rounded but fallible heroin, the kind that you can really fund yourself routing for but laughing at, at the same time; just imagine the haircut at the beginning of the tale and you will know exactly what I mean. The development of the other characters in this book is what sets it apart for me though, St Zvlkx is absolutely priceless and Emperor Zhark is such excellent fodder to Thursday's stirring belief in everything being done the "right way".

My feeling with this book is that this is the end of the road for Thursday Next, at least in the direction it has been heading thus far but that said Jasper Fforde hasn't failed to surprise me in one page throughout this series and I don't doubt he will manage it again.