Penguin, July 2008
Thursday Next returns to rescue reading from certain destruction . . . again
Fourteen years after she pegged out at the 1988 SuperHoop, Thursday
Next is grappling with a host of problems in the BookWorld: a
recalcitrant new apprentice, the death of Sherlock Holmes, and the
inexplicable departure of comedy from the once-hilarious Thomas Hardy
novels. The Council of Genres is trying to broker a peace deal between
certain antagonistic genres: Racy Novel has been recklessly placed
between Ecclesiastical and Feminist, and they are at each other's
throats. Meanwhile, back in Swindon, the government is reporting a
dangerously high stupidity surplus, and Thursday's idle
sixteen-year-old son would rather sleep all day than follow his destiny
as a member of the ChronoGuard. Not only does she captain the ship Moral Dilemma
to the very limits of acceptable narrative possibilities, but Thursday
also finds she must face down her most vicious enemy yet: herself.
paperback | ISBN: 9780143113560 | Publication Date: July 2008
Reviews:
"Bookworms looking for a new literary world to escape to after Harry Potter may find this a welcome addition to the bookshelf."
--The Boston Globe
"Playful
. . . It's not hard to see what his enthusiasm is about . . . It's easy to
be delighted by a writer who loves books so madly."
--Janet Maslin,
The New York Times
"Thursday Next is an invigorating romp for all lovers of literature. In his 2003 novel The Eyre Affair,
Fforde introduced readers to a futuristic world where books reigned
supreme. Now, years later, [Thursday Next is] back, older, wiser,
married with children and working for Jurisfiction, the policing agency
that works within books. 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."
--Kim Curtis, The Associated Press
''Jasper Fforde's mind-blowing books consistently defy -- nay, mock --
easy description. Are they fantasy? Mystery? Espionage? Science
fiction? Absurdist humor? Shaggy, gleeful, scrambled combinations of
the above? Answer: Yup. Thursday Next: First Among Sequels
is so jam-packed with goofy jokes and shaggy plot lines that some
readers may tire before the end. That would be a shame, since they'd
miss the book's exciting conclusion on the dangerous high seas of
piratical swashbuckling. Argh! Die-hard Fforde ffanatics can check out
[Fforde's] very cool Web sites (all accessible through www.jasperfforde.com)
--The Seattle Times
"For the past six years, Jasper Fforde has been . . . churning out one
impossibly winning book after the next about Thursday Next. You needn't
have spent half your childhood sitting up at night with a flashlight
reading these books to enjoy First Among Sequels.
What captivates here is something that will appeal to any reader -- and
that's the feeling that there's something at stake in fiction, that
characters created in books are every bit as real as the memory of a
person. Of all the Thursday books, this one is by far the most busily
plotted, but Fforde's greatest gift is on display. He beautifully
captures that sense of embattlement which hovers over readers today in
a world crowded with other forms of entertainment."
--John Freeman, Newsday
"[An] incredibly smart novel."
--USA Today
"[With a] furiously agile imagination . . . Fforde has shaken up genres
-- fantasy, comedy, crime, sci-fi, parody, literary criticism -- and
come up with a superb mishmash with lots of affectionate in-jokes
for any book lover. There's a good chance the aptly titled First Among Sequels is the best of Fforde's novels."
--The Miami Herald
"Fforde really unleashes his imagination, and it knows no bounds,
especially in reference to specific books, displaying . . . his
'bibliowit.' Despite all the allusions, illusions, neologisms, puns,
and other literary sleights-of-hand, the reader comes to see that for
all its futuristic, alternate-world shenanigans, Thursday Next: First Among Sequels
is a down-to-earth (well, sort of) cautionary tale about good and evil,
as well as a family-centered love story about a good marriage."
--The Washington Times
"Warning: Reading one of Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next novels could, if
you are not careful, have the effect of making other novels appear
dull, uninspired, pedestrian, and predictable. Outright silliness . . .
surrounded by strokes of inspired, demented genius. This is a novel
with a deep love for fiction and a respect for how books, more than any
other medium, can transform a life."
--The Tampa Tribune
"If you're done with Harry Potter, you'll need some books to fill the
empty space. My suggestion? Anything by Jasper Fforde. He manages to be
silly and smart at the same time."
--Richmond Times-Dispatch
"Fans of satiric literary humor are in for a treat."
--Knoxville News
"The pleasure in reading Fforde is immersing yourself into a satiric,
literary world rich in characters, setting and language from your
favorite books, made over in a wacky, campy way."
--The Oregonian (Portland)
"Reads like a well-edited Harry Potter; First Among Sequels
is for adults who want sophisticated with their fantasy, but who still
possess an appreciation for the intricate world-building of a
well-imagined children's novel. Canonical in-jokes abound . . . What
dedicated reader wouldn't laugh at the suggestion of a parallel
universe in which Jude the Obscure is renowned as a comic novel?"
--New Statesman
"What is most enjoyable about Jasper Fforde's work is not its silliness
-- though there is plenty of that. It is admiring the skill that keeps
all of those silly balls in the air. First Among Sequels
does something as highly improbably as the life of its heroine: it
continues to surprise and entertain. What makes Fforde's work such fun
is [his] unrestrained combination of wit and lunacy. Underlying that,
though, is a love of a good story that rings true. It works
magnificently."
--The Denver Post
"Recommending Fforde's novels is a bookseller's dilemma. You can go on
about literature-as-technology in popular culture in the Nextian world
. . . Or you can tackle his Nursery Crime series. But handselling First Among Sequels
is easy. Just hand [the reader] a copy and tell them to read a couple
of pages -- and have plenty of earlier titles on hand, because you'll
sell them too!"
--Publishers Weekly
"Irrepressibly playful and relentlessly imaginative."
--Adam Begley, The New York Observer