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Loading... First Among Sequelsby Jasper Fforde
 BMorrisAllen | May 14, 2013 |  I struggled to see how Fforde could follow the last Thursday Next book when everything was tied up so well and unfortunately my fears were realised; I liked it the least of the Thursday books I've read so far. I don't like the time-skip (I really hate when authors do that, it often feels completely unnatural), I don't like the characterisation of her children, particularly the part where Tuesday solves Fermat's Last Theorem (why are authors so obsessed with relating intelligence back to that particular proof?), and the first hundred pages or so are just a retread of what we already know about the book world. I'll probably read the next one (hehe, Next) but I'm beginning to wonder if maybe it would have been better if he'd just stopped after four. (  ) heterocephalusglaber | Apr 26, 2013 | I love Jasper Fforde's work, so naturally, I liked First Among Sequels. I'm not sure I liked it 4 stars' worth, but it was pretty close, so I went ahead and went with 4. Fforde's zaniness and wacky imagination are just as evident in this book as in any other, and that's what I read this series for. However, this one was a bit more "scattered" than the others, although perhaps scattered isn't the word I'm looking for. It's just that in the first part of the book, we start in Swindon, and just as we get going good on the Outlander plot, we go to BookWorld and spend far too much time there before going back to resolve the issues in the Outlander world. Once back in Swindon, we spend yet again way too much time there with unrelated issues before going back to BookWorld. (  ) Stephario | Apr 19, 2013 | This is the last in the series so far. It does a pretty big jump in time, and we now have Thursday with grown up children and a cover job as a carpet company, while also secretly doing her old work -- in both SO-27 and Jurisfiction. The series continues to be freaking clever, old references cleverly link up, and there is hilarity when Thursday meets her fictional selves. The levels of messing-with-your-brain that occur when you think about the fact that the Thursday who narrates the books thinks her world is real. Or is it just me that likes to think sometimes about how weird it'd be if we were book characters? I don't know how fun the series will be without the time travel, but I'm kind of waving a little flag for more of Spike Stoker. Now excuse me while I slink off to write crossover ideas for this series and every other book I've ever read. ( ) shanaqui | Apr 9, 2013 | Fourteen years have passed since we last saw Thursday Next. Sweet little toddler Friday is now a surly teenager. The Swindon Spec-Ops division has been shut down and all their former agents are now working for Acme Carpets. Or are they? Acme Carpets is just a cover for all our favorite agents to continue doing what they do best. Spike is still fighting the undead and, of course, Thursday is still book-jumping. Uncle Mycroft's ghost has just reappeared and he seems to have something important on his mind--if he can only remember what it is before his time runs out. And surly Friday just isn't shaping up to be the elite ChronoGuard we all know he turns out to be. Just what is going on here? This one fell a little flat for me. I would probably give it 2.5 stars if I could. Fforde's world is still crazy, creative, and interesting, but the plot just never really went much of anywhere. I had more of an idea about where the next book will go than I had about where this book was trying to go. I was over halfway through before I had any idea what the central conflict of this book even was. This one just like filler between other books in the series and a chance for Fforde to show exactly how rich his imagination is. He's already shown us that in previous books, so I felt this one was just sadly lacking. I'll still pick up the next one, but I hope it's better than this one. ( ) JG_IntrovertedReader | Apr 3, 2013 |
 By the time we reach the fifth volume, First Among Sequels, Fforde has firmly regained his footing, and the plot moves along like a well-turned simile. First Among Sequels is for adults who want sophisticated wit with their fantasy, but who still possess an appreciation for the intricate worldbuilding of a well-imagined children’s novel.  While Fforde's humor can be affecting, it can also grate with its self-consciousness, as the author nudges readers to admire his verbal dexterity. It's an ingenious premise that makes for a thrill ride of a read. And it's not entirely necessary — though perhaps more fun — to read the books in the proper order. Fforde gives enough background in "Thursday Next" to inform readers of all they need to know to find both books hilarious, exhilarating and just a bit exhausting.  Fans of satiric literary humor are in for a treat. Is contained in
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0670038717, Hardcover)Literary sleuth Thursday Next is out to save literature in the fifth installment of Jasper Fforde’s wildly popular seriesBeloved for his prodigious imagination, his satirical gifts, his literate humor, and sheer silliness, Jasper Fforde has delighted book lovers since Thursday Next first appeared in The Eyre Affair, a genre send-up hailed as an instant classic. Since the no-nonsense literary detective from Swindon made her debut, literature has never been quite the same. Neither have nursery rhymes, for that matter. With two successful books of the Nursery Crime series under his belt, Fforde takes up once again the brilliant adventures of his signature creation in the highly anticipated fifth installment of the Thursday Next series. And it’s better than ever. 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 Rheinback 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. (retrieved from Amazon Sun, 30 Jan 2011 13:34:03 -0500) Fourteen years after the 1988 SuperHoop, Thursday finds herself entangled in cases involving the murders of Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple before receiving a death threat of her own. |
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By the time I reached the end of [b:Something Rotten|26999|Something Rotten (Thursday Next, #4)|Jasper Fforde|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1270782422s/26999.jpg|948606], though, I felt the joke had started to run thin. Not that there's not a lot more material to be used - there is - it just seemed that Fforde's particular approach to was losing its edge. Fforde may have felt the same, since the series paused for several years.
I think both he and I were right. First Among Sequels, while showing all the same cleverness and literary in-jokes as the earlier books, feels forced. It's clever, but it's just not as funny as it should be.
I felt somewhat the same about the first book of the Nursery Crime series - more clever than funny. I still think Fforde has a lot going for him; I expect to pick up the first books of some of his (many) other series. And I very strongly recommend the first Thursday Next quartet. This book, however, I think is best suited to true aficionados or to newcomers. (