Kerry reviewed on
Helpful Score: 8
If character is king, Fforde's literary detective Thursday Next is a Queen. Humorous writing is always at risk of devolving into some long tedious joke that has lost its freshness, think child with new knock-knock joke book.
Main character Thursday Next provides enough cohesion to hold this fantasy world together. With a solid Next, Fforde cuts loose with what turns out to be a rather good story. He keeps the reader asking, what's next, rather than, how much longer.
Adversary Acheron Hades is also well written. He is by his own description not mad, just "differently moralled." And anybody but Next has only two chances of catching him: fat and thin.
As reviews mention, this first-in-a-series book is a humorous action packed mystery/fantasy with non-stop literary references. Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett always comes to mind with such clever off-beat British writing. If you enjoy them, you will enjoy Fforde as well.
Unlike Adams/Pratchett/Tolkien, it is telling BN has this series in literature/fiction and not science fiction/fantasy. Recommended. Knowledge of Jane Eyre not required.
Main character Thursday Next provides enough cohesion to hold this fantasy world together. With a solid Next, Fforde cuts loose with what turns out to be a rather good story. He keeps the reader asking, what's next, rather than, how much longer.
Adversary Acheron Hades is also well written. He is by his own description not mad, just "differently moralled." And anybody but Next has only two chances of catching him: fat and thin.
As reviews mention, this first-in-a-series book is a humorous action packed mystery/fantasy with non-stop literary references. Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett always comes to mind with such clever off-beat British writing. If you enjoy them, you will enjoy Fforde as well.
Unlike Adams/Pratchett/Tolkien, it is telling BN has this series in literature/fiction and not science fiction/fantasy. Recommended. Knowledge of Jane Eyre not required.
