is a quirky, crazy, very different kind of story. Thursday Next is a LiteraTec officer - investigating crimes against literature like forgeries, illegal duplications, and manuscript theft. When the Martin Chuzzlewit manuscript is stolen by the nefarious Acheron Hades, Thursday finds herself caught up in a race to save some of literature's greatest characters.
Things I Liked:
I really loved the literary nature of the book. A book about books and characters, especially when the relationship between readers and books becomes more real. Fforde really is a very good writer, his phrases dripping with wit and sarcasm. The story (once it got started) was very intriguing and fun. Here's a favorite quote from Acheron:
"I am the most debased individual on this planet and quite the most brilliant criminal mind this century. The plan that we embark upon now is easily the most diabolical ever devised by man..." p.158-159Things I Didn't Like:
All that said, I think the book had too much going on; the plot seemed overly complex and a lot of extraneous things seemed added just so Fforde could get in all his humorous literary ideas. The beginning was very difficult to get into - the action slow to start. None of the characters were very complex, except Thursday. I definitely felt there was not enough about Acheron in the book to make him a believable and complex villain.
Read-alikes:
This is rather a unique book, but it was similar to the Inkheart trilogy by Cornelia Funke and a bit like the Harry Potter series (with its nefarious villain).
BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !@#$%
lots of them
mrg-factor: X
a bit of innuendo
v-factor: ->->
some shooting and other violence
Overall rating: ***
