Something Rotten

Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Even though I have read this book before, I remembered very little (okay, nothing) about this book. I think this might have been one of Fforde's more complicated plot lines that came together brilliantly. A handful of mini-plots came together to solve the main plot of the story. The characters were well done, I thought Thursday was more like the character written in the first book. This was a good read and I'm looking forward to finishing the series.

Series: Thursday Next Book 4

Synopsis: Detective Thursday Next has had her fill of her responsibilities as the Bellman in Jurisfiction, enough with Emperor Zhark's pointlessly dramatic entrances, outbreaks of slapstick raging across pulp genres, and hacking her hair off to fill in for Joan of Arc. Packing up her son, Friday, Thursday returns to Swindon accompanied by none other than the dithering Danish prince Hamlet. Caring for both is more than a full- time job and Thursday decides it is definitely time to get her husband Landen back, if only to babysit. Luckily, those responsible for Landen's eradication, The Goliath Corporation- formerly an oppressive multinational conglomerate, now an oppressive multinational religion- have pledged to right the wrong.

But returning to SpecOps isn't a snap. When outlaw fictioneer Yorrick Kaine seeks to get himself elected dictator, he whips up a frenzy of anti-Danish sentiment and demands mass book burnings. The return of Swindon's patron saint bearing divine prophecies could spell the end of the world within five years, possibly faster if the laughably terrible Swindon Mallets don't win the Superhoop, the most important croquet tournament in the land. And if that's not bad enough, The Merry Wives of Windsor is becoming entangled with Hamlet. Can Thursday find a Shakespeare clone to stop this hostile takeover? Can she prevent the world from plunging into war? Can she vanquish Kaine before he realizes his dream of absolute power? And, most important, will she ever find reliable child care?

Recommended Reading:
First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde
The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde
Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay