Jasper Fforde

First Among Sequels (Thursday Next #5) By: Jasper Fforde

first-among-sequels

First Among Sequels (Thursday Next #5) By: Jasper Fforde

Plot:

It’s been fourteen years since Thursday pegged out at the 1988 SuperHoop, and Friday is now a difficult sixteen year old. However, Thursday’s got bigger problems. Sherlock Holmes is killed at the Reichenbach Falls and his series is stopped in its tracks. And before this can be corrected, Miss Marple dies suddenly in a car accident, bringing her series to a close as well. When Thursday receives a death threat clearly intended for her written self, she realizes what’s going on: there is a serial killer on the loose in the Bookworld. And that’s not all–The Goliath Corporation is trying to deregulate book travel. Naturally, Thursday must travel to the outer limits of acceptable narrative possibilities to triumph against increasing odds.

Packed with word play, bizarre and entertaining subplots, and old-fashioned suspense, Thursday’s return is sure to be celebrated by Jasper’s fanatical fans and the critics who have loved him since the beginning.

Review:

I took a break from this series because the last book came to such a perfect and logical conclusion I didn’t really think I needed to read more. However, since I love the series and the characters so much I had to see what Fforde did next and I wasn’t disappointed.

This book takes place fourteen years after the last and Thursday’s life is solid, for the most part. You get to see her in a comfortable relationship with her husband and be a mother who mostly has her stuff together. Then you start to see how that’s not really the case and it’s all done in Fforde’s usual awesome style.

I’m not sure if this book added much to the world or really even the characters, but it was great to be back and I loved every minute of it. The next book doesn’t sound quiet as appealing so I’m not in a rush to read, but I know I’ll get around to it and one day.

5/5

The Eye of Zoltar (The Chronicles of Kazam #3) By: Jasper Fforde

The Eye of Zoltar

The Eye of Zoltar (The Chronicles of Kazam #3) By: Jasper Fforde

Plot:

Orphans Jennifer Strange 16, manager of Kazam mages, and apprentice Tiger Prawns 12, stand in the way of The Mighty Shandar. Shandar must kill last two dragons for King of Snodd in Ununited Kingdoms. Jen needs legendary jewel The Eye of Zoltar, last seen on pirate, and to tutor spoiled Princess Shazzarine. Perilous journey has 50% Fatality Index.

Review:

So I’m pretty pissed off at the ending of this book. Basically a huge cliffhanger, have no idea what’s going to be done with the Eye of Zoltar or what’s happened to most of the side characters and no idea when the next book will be published.

The last Nursery Crimes book came out in 2004, and there’s been a third book listed on Goodreads for a long time now. Fforde’s also got another series that ended on a cliffhanger this big and yet the last I read he was writing a book that wasn’t involved in either universe.

Ugh.

Annoyed.

Angry.

Someone else is going to be locked up in my writer’s dungeon.

Anyway, the story was good, hilarious at parts, moving at others. Lots happened, lots. My favorite quotes are:

“If we didn’t execute bankers and rogue traders found guilty of financial mischief, it might give them a clear signal that it’s actually okay, and then where would we be?”

 

“She did break the law—what do you think they should have done? Given her a bonus for her daring and ingenuity?”

 

Enjoy the series, now I just have to wait god only knows how long before I get the next book.

4/5

 

The Song of the Quarkbeast (The Chronicles of Kazam #2) By: Jasper Fforde

The Song of the Quarkbeast

The Song of the Quarkbeast (Last Dragonslayer #2) By: Jasper Fforde

Plot:

Long ago, magic began to fade, and the underemployed magicians of Kazam Mystical Arts Management have been forced to take any work their sixteen-year-old acting manager, Jennifer Strange, can scare up. But things are about to change. Magical power is finally on the rise, and King Snodd IV, of the Ununited Kingdoms knows that he who controls magic controls everything. Only one person stands between Snodd and his plans for a magic-grab–and that’s Jennifer.

Yet even smart and sensible Jennifer would have trouble against these powers-that-be. The king and his cronies will do anything to succeed–including ordering a just-might-be-rigged contest between Kazam and iMagic, Kazam’s only competitor in the magic business. With underhanded shenanigans afoot, how can Kazam possibly win?

Whatever happens, one this is certain: Jennifer Strange will not relinquish the noble powers of magic without a fight.

Review:

A great installment in a series that I’m already feeling like is an old favorite. I’m comfortable with the characters and I love the quirky world. It’s classic Jasper Fforde.

I did feel like the epilogue at the end was kind of weird. It was like an ending, as though there were no other books, which kind of reminded me of the last Thursday Next book I read. Maybe Fforde wasn’t sure his publisher was going to let him write another book in the series? Not sure. Now a days, if the readers are there if a publisher doesn’t pick up a series, I don’t see why authors don’t just publish themselves.

Anyway, love the series, already have the next book on hold at the library.

5/5

The Last Dragonslayer (Chronicles of Kazam #1) By: Jasper Fforde

The Last Dragonslayer

The Last Dragonslayer (Chronicles of Kazam #1) By: Jasper Fforde

Plot:

In the good old days, magic was indispensable—it could both save a kingdom and clear a clogged drain. But now magic is fading: drain cleaner is cheaper than a spell, and magic carpets are used for pizza delivery. Fifteen-year-old foundling Jennifer Strange runs Kazam, an employment agency for magicians—but it’s hard to stay in business when magic is drying up. And then the visions start, predicting the death of the world’s last dragon at the hands of an unnamed Dragonslayer. If the visions are true, everything will change for Kazam—and for Jennifer. Because something is coming. Something known as . . . Big Magic.

Review:

Jasper Fforde’s books are so awesome and strange and cool and fanciful and off the wall bizarre and I love them. Well there was one I didn’t love, but all the others I do. I think, there’s a couple yet that I need to read.

Anyway, this is a young adult novel that is not filled with stupid teenage emotions and all that CW stuff that often times pops up in YA books. This is a great Jasper Fforde for kids book. It’s funny and ridiculous and thought provoking. It’s a great start of what could be an awesome series and I can’t wait to read the next one.

5/5

Something Rotten

 something rotten

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