HoodedHawk

[Read 10/1/2007] Mystery/Fantasy/SF

I just love this series; Fforde is hysterical. The Well of Lost Plots [Jasper Fforde, 2003] is the third Thursday Next book, set entirely in the BookWorld where Thursday is continuing her apprentice Jurisfiction training under Miss Haversham (from Great Expectations). Thursday lives on a houseboat within the book “Caversham Heights”. She lives with two “generics” – students at St. Tabularasa’s who have yet to be given book assignments. Thursday partners with Jack Spratt (a detective) to try to solve a BookWorld murder.

Meanwhile, Text Grand Central is about to release Book v9, “Ultraword”. Note that Book v8.3 is the current paper-based type of book. There is a big problem with Ultraword and Thursday uncovers a plot to have it released anyway. Thursday travels with Miss Haversham to the Outside world where they try to discover who has entered BookWorld and used a minotaur and a “mispeling vyrus” to hide his escape.

Finally, Thursday, the two generics (now Randolph and Lola) and Thursday’s pet dodo, Pickwick take a vacation in the book Caversham Heights.

[Read 9/18/2007]
Mystery/Fantasy/SF

Lost in a Good Bookis the 2nd of Fforde’s Thursday Next (Literary Detective) series (after The Eyre Affair). Thursday is assigned to investigate the discovery of a lost Shakespeare play, “Cardenia”. She runs up against Yorrick Kaine, a neofascist (whig) politician (and, who might also be someone else).

Thursday is also blackmailed by the Goliath Corporation, who want their operative Jack Schitt back; Next had imprisoned him in Poe’s The Raven. To get her to bring him back, they get a corrupt ChronoGuard agent (Lavoisier) to have her husband killed off (eradicated). Landon is thus killed when he is 2 years old and Thursday (also pregnant with his child) is the only one who remembers him.

Thursday enters the Book World as a Jurisfiction trainee under Mrs. Haversham (of Great Expectations). She gets Schitt out of the Raven, but is double-crossed. She decides to hide in Book World, in “The Well of Lost Plots” (where all fiction is created). She thinks she’ll be safe in the Character Exchange Program for awhile…

[read 9/15/2007]
Mystery/Fantasy/SF.

The Eyre Affair is the first Thursday Next novel. Thursday is a Literary Detective (SpecOps 27). There are some 30 SpecOps divisions (her father is/was in the ChronoGuard – SpecOps 12). This is a fun romp; Thursday goes after the arch-criminal Archeron Hades, after he steals the original manuscript for “Martin Chuzzlewit”. When Hades’ ransom is not paid, he then steals the “Jane Eyre” manuscript. He uses a device (which he stole from Thursday’s uncle, Mycroft) called a Prose Portal to jump “into” the world of the book and kidnap Jane. This is actually more of an issue than it seems, since in Fforde’s books when you change an original manuscript (say, kill a character) via the Portal, then all *copies* of that book in print are changed. So, kill Jane Eyre, and she’ll never have been “written”.

Thursday, trailed by a security goon from the Goliath Corporation, Jack Schitt — who wants the Prose Portal for Goliath — finds Hades and chases him into the manuscript. Lots of adventures in the (current) world and in Jane Eyre ensue as Thursday goes after Hades to rescue Jane.

Extremely fun read; highly recommended!