[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!