~ Jasper Fforde, Something Rotten (Thursday Next #4) (Spoken by Hamlet)
First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
First Among Sequels, the fifth book in Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series is set some 15 years after the end of the previous installment, Something Rotten. After her adventures trying to save the real world and the book world all while getting Landen back, this novel finds Thursday in a more, settled, domestic situation. Or so it seems.
The first half or so of the novel can be slow going at times as we peer into Thursday’s everyday life with Landen, their children, and her work at ACME Carpets. The final 100 pages though are filled with everything we’ve come to expect from a Thursday Next adventure – forays into the supernatural with Spike, dealing with the wicked Hades family, trouble from the Goliath Corporation, confusing timey-wimey stuff, and several trips into the Book World. Though this one is slower at times, it is still a fun, often funny addition to the strange and wonderful series.
If you are a book lover – the kind of book lover who dreams of living inside of books – or you like your adventures with a healthy dose of craziness, I recommend diving into the Thursday Next series. So far I’ve particularly enjoyed Lost in a Good Book (TN #2) and Something Rotten (TN #4)
I like this verse because it reminds us that when all seems hopeless and like there is no love left in the world, there is always hope and that we are part of making the world better. If we just try to bring about peace in our own part of the world and if we offer good-will to all, perhaps that hope can spread. Plus I really enjoy singing “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Peace and Good Will to all of you.
~ Jasper Fforde, Something Rotten
This seemed appropriate. There are a lot of words of wisdom like these to be found in Jasper Fforde’s brilliantly absurd Thursday Next series.
4 Stars
The fourth book in Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series, “Something Rotten” is an absolute romp. After reading the fantastic second book, Lost in a Good Book, I couldn’t wait to read a book set entirely in the wacky world of fiction but The Well of Lost turned out to be a disappointment. Thursday’s return to the real world – well, Thursday’s real world – in Something Rotten was the antidote to that disappointment. There wasn’t a moment where I could honestly I wasn’t confused by the insane intricacies of Thursday’s world but it was so much fun that it didn’t really matter and it was all explained with much promise for the following books. 
Mixed in with all of this absurdity are some very real messages about politics and human nature that can only be illustrated through this fantasy style. But my favorite thing about Fforde’s novels is probably the hidden (and not so hidden references) to literature, culture, and history peppered and spoofed throughout. I’m pretty sure there was even a Star Wars reference when Thursday and her pals used the Ovinator to get into Wales. I’ve piqued your interest now, haven’t I?
I have yet to find a novel or series comparable to Something Rotten but I absolutely recommend reading the whole Thursday Next series starting with The Eyre Affair.
