Susan's review
First Among Sequels (Thursday Next, Book 5) by Jasper Fforde
The wait in between Thursday Next novels was a dreary one indeed, so admittedly gratitude might skew the objectivity a bit.
Thursday (and company) are back years later. Thursday's precocious son Friday has morphed into a stereotype of a prickly teenager, and the dramatic drop in reading rates has forced Thursday into working freelance (when she can). Fforde follows a familiar pattern with this installment. As might be expected, a number of what would seem to be isolated bizarre incidents end up interconnected, the Chrono Guard and evil super-corporation Goliath look extremely suspicious, and and once again, the fate of the world is at stake. It may be a familiar pattern, but it usually makes for an enjoyable ride nevertheless. This time around however, Fforde struggles a bit with keeping all the balls in the air, and so the reader comes out of some of the scenes feeling slightly shortchanged. Quite a few familiar characters from the other books get little play, to turn the focus m...more
Thursday (and company) are back years later. Thursday's precocious son Friday has morphed into a stereotype of a prickly teenager, and the dramatic drop in reading rates has forced Thursday into working freelance (when she can). Fforde follows a familiar pattern with this installment. As might be expected, a number of what would seem to be isolated bizarre incidents end up interconnected, the Chrono Guard and evil super-corporation Goliath look extremely suspicious, and and once again, the fate of the world is at stake. It may be a familiar pattern, but it usually makes for an enjoyable ride nevertheless. This time around however, Fforde struggles a bit with keeping all the balls in the air, and so the reader comes out of some of the scenes feeling slightly shortchanged. Quite a few familiar characters from the other books get little play, to turn the focus m...more
