Kyle’s Reviews > Something Rotten > Status Update
Kyle
is on page 151 of 393
Having a corporation turn into a religion is a novel, perhaps even inevitable possibility; yet the moral cost is too much. Considering the grubby 13th century monk, St Zvlkx, as representative of a previous worldwide organization that fell on hard times, at least in this version of 1988 England, all attempts at global domination are doomed. To contrast this folly is the interpersonal tragedy of Cindy Stoker's career.
— Apr 16, 2014 10:22AM
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Kyle’s Previous Updates
Kyle
is finished
As previously indicated, authors tend to kill off characters that get too difficult to write about and Fforde seems to be dancing on that line in the final chapters of what could have been his last Thursday Next book. Rather than make a big deal about the bad guys' comeuppances, both Kaine and Goliath get a paragraph each so the focus is on Thursday. Here's hoping Dark Reading Matter is as gentle an ending.
— Apr 22, 2014 11:23PM
Kyle
is on page 364 of 393
In a bold storytelling move that rivals Adams' Life, the Universe and Everything, this set of chapters revolves around a sporting event of global importance. The ups, downs and legal decisions go far beyond the typical underdog story: it is a matter of fate versus slapstick. In an equally bold and unexpected move, there is a shift in narrator's voice and the final results are held off due to a silly tragedy.
— Apr 21, 2014 09:31PM
Kyle
is on page 322 of 393
Among the many bizarre and sadly all too familiar crimes of the fictional corporation Goliath, cloning extinct species and notable historical humans seems to be exactly what might have happened in an alternate England occupied by Nazis - not so much a slap in the face for German people (as Bismark takes it from the Danish), but rather the wicked deeds done in the name of national security, even in a place like Wales.
— Apr 21, 2014 10:22AM
Kyle
is on page 278 of 393
Mycroft and Polly Next return to the narrative with their guileless geniuses, and Fforde hits all the Douglas Adamsy improbabilities: it would be great to find some scholarly support for Nextian mathematics to arrive at the factors that make the question from the answer. Hamlet could use some of these applications for the multitude of questions from the infinite variety of performances he observed. Also Neanderthals!
— Apr 20, 2014 11:35PM
Kyle
is on page 228 of 393
If I had a scholarly way into the topic, and support from my faculty, I'd love to write a research paper about the intricacies of time travel according to Jasper Fforde: in these five chapters he deftly switches from alternate pasts to possible futures, all the while writing from the ever-present point-of-view of Thursday Next. The uneradication scene gives her a chance to ponder the could have being of her marriage.
— Apr 18, 2014 10:33PM
Kyle
is on page 188 of 393
What pieces of work are the men populating this novel, including the gallant, Mad Max-obsessed Hamlet, the maniacal, worrisome Emperor Zhark, and the stoic yet sentimental Neanderthal Stig. In spite of all these men, the novel purposely passes the Bechdel test by Thursday conversing with strong female characters and not necessarily dwelling too much on her eradicated husband Landen (not that much, at least).
— Apr 18, 2014 12:30AM
Kyle
is on page 114 of 393
Glad to see how supportive Thursday's LiteraTech coworkers are after her 2 1/2-year unexplained absence, knowing that there are bigger fish to fry with a book-burning lunatic looming. Her father gets a rare moment of temporal fixture, being a younger version than most other instances, yet still knows more about the "pioneers that ploughed the first furrows of history" (p. 98). Hamlet gets a radical revision.
— Apr 14, 2014 10:05PM
Kyle
is on page 80 of 393
Quite a lot of ground covered in what might have been the last Thursday Next novel, kind of like From Russia with Love or The Final Problem. There are enough references to previous books to keep the fans guessing, but enough of a description of who is who that someone entirely new to the series might have some sense of what is going on with Millon-like notes. Hamlet seems at ease being her sidekick.
— Apr 13, 2014 10:48PM
