Something Rotten (Thursday Next #4) By: Jasper Fforde

Plot:

Detective Thursday Next has had her fill of her responsibilities in her new position at Jurisfiction, enough with Emperor Zhark’s pointlessly dramatic entrances, outbreaks of slapstick raging across pulp genres, and hacking her hair off to fill in for Joan of Arc. Packing up her child, Thursday returns to Swindon accompanied by none other than the dithering Danish prince Hamlet. Caring for both is more than a full-time job, and Thursday decides it’s definitely time to get back her husband, Landen, if only to babysit. Luckily, those responsible for Landen’s eradication, the operatives of the Goliath Corporation – formerly an oppressive multinational conglomerate, now an oppressive multinational religion – have pledged to right the wrong.” But returning to SpecOps isn’t a snap. Problems arise instantly. When outlaw fictioneer Yorrick Kaine seeks to get himself elected dictator, he whips up a frenzy of anti-Danish sentiment and demands mass book burnings. The return of Swindon’s patron saint bearing divine prophecies could spell the end of the world within five years, possibly sooner if the laughably terrible Swindon Mallets don’t win the Superhoop, the most important croquet tournament in the land. And if that’s not bad enough, The Merry Wives of Windsor is becoming entangled with Hamlet. Can Thursday find a Shakespeare clone to stop this hostile takeover? Can she prevent the world from plunging into war? Can she vanquish Kaine before he realizes his dream of absolute power? And, most important, will she ever find reliable child care?

Review:

There’s always so much going on in a Thursday Next novel and yet Fforde never seems to forget any of it. Thursday’s husband issue is finally resolved, which made me happy. The ending had me in tears.

Loved the fact that her son spoke Lorem Epsum. These books are so witty and full of so many puns and jokes and slapstick and everything you can think of. There’s a sci fi alien overlord. It basically breaks the fourth wall. They’re really great books.

Everything was resolved with Something Rotten and I was surprised to see that there are still more books in the series. I’m curious to see what happens next, though kind of concerned because I don’t want it to just be a repeat of what has already happened.

5/5