Something Rotten review:4 stars (Something "Rotten" this way comes) - "This is fiction. Odd things are MEANT to happen." That remark, coming from galactic tyrant Emperor Zhark, sets the tone for Jasper Fforde's fourth book in the still-fresh Thursday Next series, "Something Rotten." Funny, literate, and sometimes quite poignant, this proves that Fforde still has the spark.

After a disastrous incident in the Wild West, Thursday Next decides to leave Jurisfiction, and goes home with her two-year-old son Friday. But things aren't more peaceful in the real world: The Goliath Corporation has become a religion, there's a politician named Yorrick Kaine blaming the Danes for everything, and a croquet match is set to determine the fate of the world. If they win, the Goliath Corporation (and Kaine) are finished. If they lose, the world has a 22% chance of Armageddon.

Thursday's personal life is no easier. Her husband has been "eradicated," and her mom's house is full of guests from Hamlet to a 13th-century seer. Now her only hope lies in somehow getting the Goliath Corporation to give her husband back, and in winning the cricket match (with the help of Hamlet and a bunch of Neanderthals). But Kaine and the Corporation aren't about to go down without a fight... and they might take Thursday down with them.

Jasper Fforde won readers' hearts with the comedy/mystery/fantasy/satire "The Eyre Affair," and kept winning them with the two sequels. Though "Well of Lost Books" was a bit shaky, "Rotten" gets its footing quickly. Any book that has Ophelia staging a coup and taking over the play must be a winner. But Fforde also wraps up some threads from the earlier books, such as Landen's eradication. The question of Thursday's punishment (for changing the end of "Jane Eyre") is also dealt with, in a poignant and unexpected twist.

Fforde seems more comfortable than ever in his literate-spoof world. His writing is assured and detailed, with a few dizzy puns and plenty of English-major humor, like Hamlet being a Mel Gibson fan. He wraps dozens of seemingly random threads together, tying them off neatly at the end. The climactic fight between Thursday and Kaine is both funny and brilliant, as they set one literary creation against another, including Beowulf and the Jabberwock.

The smart, tough-yet-loving Thursday is joined by a bunch of characters both lovable and infuriating, including her Latin-spouting tot Friday and a bunch of Neanderthals. Gran Next has a secret identity revealed, and Landen returns... spasmodically, on and off. Most winning are the exuberant Hamlet and Thursday's brother, the Irreverend Joffy. Oddly enough, the villains -- such as Mr. Goliath and hit woman Cindy -- tend to be two-dimensional, but fictional ones (like Emperor Zhark) are enormous fun. Oh, the irony.

Jasper Fforde returns with "Something Rotten," a solid entry in the ongoing fantasy-detective series. For people who don't mind a spoonful of satire with their classic literature, this is a must have.4 stars (Fforde provides more of the same Thursday Next Love) - Jasper Fforde had something of a hit with his first novel, the irreverant and often brilliant "The Eyre Affair" in 2001, and in the intervening years has produced three more books set in the immediate worlds pertaining to Thursday Next.
Each of these installments delve deeper into the backstory of the characters, and further establishes the alternate England in which Thursday, Braxton, Landen, Mycroft and Non-Executive-President-for-Life George Formby live. Then theres the alternative-to-the-alternative world, Bookworld, and Jurisfiction, their policing body.
Confused? Don't worry, I think you're supposed to be.
"Something Rotten" is book four and brings on more of the same first person narrative, principally told from the perspective of our hero, Thursday Next. By this stage, Thursday has already done it all, and while "Something Rotten" is a trememdously exciting and easy to read adventure, one kind of feels like Jasper Fforde may well be treading water until he gets truly inspired again. Thursday again tackles Goliath Corporation, deals with fictional and historical figures on a daily basis, raises a son, saves the world about four times. It is quite brilliant really.
The jokes fire thick and fast, and for every one that misfires, two stick in and do their job. I rarely laugh out loud when reading, but "Something Rotten" forced out several late-night belly laughs that seriously annoyed my sleeping partner beside me.

I truly think that it's only a matter of time until Fforde takes his place next to Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett in the Parthenon of very smart, and very silly British authors.

If you enjoyed the first three Thursday Next books, then this is a sure-fire winner too. It's a good formula, and Fforde sticks to it. For those new to the entire field of literary detection, best to go back to where it all started.
Something Rotten Features:
Author: Jasper Fforde
Fiction
General
Fiction / Mystery & Detective / General

Something Rotten is the Paperback version. The full version can be purchased by clicking on the "CLICK HERE TO ORDER" button below for around 11.20USD.