Paperback, 375 pages
English language
Published Jan. 26, 2004 by Penguin Books.
Insane to the point of, "How on earth did that even hold together?" But held together beautifully. An excellent read.
I found the complexity of the BookWorld enticing, even though so much of its mechanics rely on the "Because I Say So" principle.
I found the first half rather tedious and thought I'd like this book considerably less than the first two Thursday Next books: the BookWorld is introduced at length and it seems like an endless stream of literary in-jokes. But around the middle it really picks up and turns into a very suspenseful and hilarious thriller. Just the showdown I did not find very convincing, just like that of «Lost in a Good Book»: perhaps the «evil new technology» trope was used a little too bluntly.
Here's a great behind-the-scenes by the author: www.jasperfforde.com/sfhub.php
Very entertaining to read about Fforde's struggle with copyright in order to get permission to use others' characters. About the Minotaur that had to replace a Morlock: "Dangerous, fond of human flesh, imprisoned, in the public domain. He had all the necessary criteria." On the other hand: "Oddly, I didn't need permission to use Godot …
I found the first half rather tedious and thought I'd like this book considerably less than the first two Thursday Next books: the BookWorld is introduced at length and it seems like an endless stream of literary in-jokes. But around the middle it really picks up and turns into a very suspenseful and hilarious thriller. Just the showdown I did not find very convincing, just like that of «Lost in a Good Book»: perhaps the «evil new technology» trope was used a little too bluntly.
Here's a great behind-the-scenes by the author: www.jasperfforde.com/sfhub.php
Very entertaining to read about Fforde's struggle with copyright in order to get permission to use others' characters. About the Minotaur that had to replace a Morlock: "Dangerous, fond of human flesh, imprisoned, in the public domain. He had all the necessary criteria." On the other hand: "Oddly, I didn't need permission to use Godot because he isn't a character."
Fforde admits that if he had his way, there would be a lot more aircraft geekery in his books. But as it is, I find the scene where Thursday and Randolph start up the Bristol Pegasus Aero-engine while discussing Randolph's feelings for Lola particularly brilliant. All this painstakingly detailed tech talk is so different from the rest of the book, completely unexpected and makes for a very nice contrast with the dialogue it's interleaved with.
I found the first half rather tedious and thought I'd like this book considerably less than the first two Thursday Next books: the BookWorld is introduced at length and it seems like an endless stream of literary in-jokes. But around the middle it really picks up and turns into a very suspenseful and hilarious thriller. Just the showdown I did not find very convincing, just like that of «Lost in a Good Book»: perhaps the «evil new technology» trope was used a little too bluntly.
Here's a great behind-the-scenes by the author: www.jasperfforde.com/sfhub.php
Very entertaining to read about Fforde's struggle with copyright in order to get permission to use others' characters. About the Minotaur that had to replace a Morlock: "Dangerous, fond of human flesh, imprisoned, in the public domain. He had all the necessary criteria." On the other hand: "Oddly, I didn't need permission to use Godot …
I found the first half rather tedious and thought I'd like this book considerably less than the first two Thursday Next books: the BookWorld is introduced at length and it seems like an endless stream of literary in-jokes. But around the middle it really picks up and turns into a very suspenseful and hilarious thriller. Just the showdown I did not find very convincing, just like that of «Lost in a Good Book»: perhaps the «evil new technology» trope was used a little too bluntly.
Here's a great behind-the-scenes by the author: www.jasperfforde.com/sfhub.php
Very entertaining to read about Fforde's struggle with copyright in order to get permission to use others' characters. About the Minotaur that had to replace a Morlock: "Dangerous, fond of human flesh, imprisoned, in the public domain. He had all the necessary criteria." On the other hand: "Oddly, I didn't need permission to use Godot because he isn't a character."
Fforde admits that if he had his way, there would be a lot more aircraft geekery in his books. But as it is, I find the scene where Thursday and Randolph start up the Bristol Pegasus Aero-engine while discussing Randolph's feelings for Lola particularly brilliant. All this painstakingly detailed tech talk is so different from the rest of the book, completely unexpected and makes for a very nice contrast with the dialogue it's interleaved with.
I found the first half rather tedious and thought I'd like this book considerably less than the first two Thursday Next books: the BookWorld is introduced at length and it seems like an endless stream of literary in-jokes. But around the middle it really picks up and turns into a very suspenseful and hilarious thriller. Just the showdown I did not find very convincing, just like that of «Lost in a Good Book»: perhaps the «evil new technology» trope was used a little too bluntly.
Here's a great behind-the-scenes by the author: www.jasperfforde.com/sfhub.php
Very entertaining to read about Fforde's struggle with copyright in order to get permission to use others' characters. About the Minotaur that had to replace a Morlock: "Dangerous, fond of human flesh, imprisoned, in the public domain. He had all the necessary criteria." On the other hand: "Oddly, I didn't need permission to use Godot …
I found the first half rather tedious and thought I'd like this book considerably less than the first two Thursday Next books: the BookWorld is introduced at length and it seems like an endless stream of literary in-jokes. But around the middle it really picks up and turns into a very suspenseful and hilarious thriller. Just the showdown I did not find very convincing, just like that of «Lost in a Good Book»: perhaps the «evil new technology» trope was used a little too bluntly.
Here's a great behind-the-scenes by the author: www.jasperfforde.com/sfhub.php
Very entertaining to read about Fforde's struggle with copyright in order to get permission to use others' characters. About the Minotaur that had to replace a Morlock: "Dangerous, fond of human flesh, imprisoned, in the public domain. He had all the necessary criteria." On the other hand: "Oddly, I didn't need permission to use Godot because he isn't a character."
Fforde admits that if he had his way, there would be a lot more aircraft geekery in his books. But as it is, I find the scene where Thursday and Randolph start up the Bristol Pegasus Aero-engine while discussing Randolph's feelings for Lola particularly brilliant. All this painstakingly detailed tech talk is so different from the rest of the book, completely unexpected and makes for a very nice contrast with the dialogue it's interleaved with.
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