There is another 1985, somewhere in the could-have-been, where Thursday Next is a literary detective without equal, fear, or boyfriend. Thursday is on the trail of the villainous Acheron Hades who has been kidnapping characters from works of fiction and holding them to ransom. Jane Eyre herself has been plucked from the novel of the same name, and Thursday must find a way into the book to repair the damage.

She also has to find time to halt the Crimean conflict, persuade the man she loves to marry her, rescue her aunt from inside a Wordsworth poem and figure out who really wrote Shakespeare's plays. Aided and abetted by a cast of characters that includes her time-travelling father, Jack Schitt of the all powerful Goliath Corporation, a pet dodo named Pickwick and Edward Rochester himself, Thursday embarks on an adventure that will take your breath away.

I read the preamble for the second book, and decided I just had to read this series. I mean, anyone who'll name a character Jack Schitt has to have a sense of humour somewhere! That my favourite author, Terry Pratchett, has remarked on it's brilliance makes me almost certain I won't be disappointed, and may just have found a new author to enjoy.

October 16th 2003
Up to page 58

I started reading this whilst vying for escape from hospital. It was a wonderful relief, and gave me an excuse to get out, even if it was just in my mind.

This is the kind of book you just can't think too much about, because nothing you know about the world is certain in such an alternate universe. It means that instead of analyzing as you go, you simply have to surrender to the author and allow them to guide you through the narrative. It's actually a rather nice experience, enhanced by Jasper Fforde's evocative and skillful literary style.

It's a difficult story to describe, especially as it hasn't really taken off yet, but it revolves around Thursday Next's investigation into the theft of a rare original copy of Martin Chuzzelwit. The prime suspect is Archeron Hades, a former professor of hers who once propositioned her. The man has extraordinary powers, so Thursday's refusal of his advances makes her a rare commodity to be used by the Special Operations units trying to find the manuscript.

So far I'm really liking this book, though it's early days and I suspect the rest will take a back seat for a while as I've got a couple of new books I'm desperate to read. I can't wait to read more, and look forward to exploring the sequels.

December 04th 2003
The End

I took a short break from this book, and was a tad worried that I wouldn't be able to get back into it. My fears were unfounded!

I don't think I got as much from this book as I could have, as great walloping sections of the book relied heavily on having read Jane Eyre, which I haven't. I didn't feel that I struggled to figure it out, as much of the story was explained, but I do think the humour (which was prevalent during the first part of the book) passed me by. Maybe I'll have to read a bit of Brontë to see what I missed.

The book was set in an intriguing and complex world, many of it's quirks merely hinted at, where literature is on a par with religion in our world. Factions fight over theories on who really wrote the works attributed to Shakespeare and queue up to change their names to that of renowned poets. Responsible for crimes against literature, usually fraudulent copies of original works, is the LiteraTec department, otherwise known as SO-27. The department, and specifically special operative Thursday Next, is called in to investigate the theft of an original Dickens novel. The man responsible is Archeron Hades, a vicious and evil criminal who's main goal in life is to become #1 on the Most Wanted list. He has found a method of entering books and extracting the protagonists, and so begins a story of blackmail, and literary corruption.

Throughout this book I was constantly surprised by the imagination and total madness of some of the ideas, but reveled in them. I loved Thursday's pet dodo, though he played no real part in the narrative other than window dressing. I also enjoyed the Shakespearian mystery that runs through the novel, and it's grin-inducing conclusion. I did think at times the book was setting the scene for bigger and better things, as there was an awful lot of scene setting in comparison to the actual story. I'm very curious to see how the author expands upon the foundations he's built and fleshes out the world.

One thing that was quite nice was that the male author didn't try to 'write feminine' even though the first person narrative was from a woman's perspective. Very few authors write well for the opposite sex, and tend to over compensate or use stereotypes. Jasper Fforde wrote a character that was incredibly real, despite the funky surroundings.

I did like this book, though I found the end tied up a little too perfectly, and quickly compared to the build up. With practice (as with Pratchett) Fford could expand this world into an amazing, quirky place to rival Discworld. I'm certainly interested to see where Thursday Next is heading.