I loved the Eyre Affair and couldn't get two chapters into the second book in the Thursday Next series. This is the third book in the series and it landed somewhere in between. The literary references are broader than in the Eyre Affair, the jokes are still funny, and there was enough suspense and action to keep me interested. Romance was nonexistent, if that's a factor for you.
These books are so off the wall and original that I can't even begin to describe the background and plot, but in general it will appeal to anyone with a sense of humor and a literary background. Overall if you liked Eyre Affair, I think you could skip the second book and enjoy this one with no problems.
This is the third book in the Thursday Next series. Currently there are five books in this series with the sixth book, "One of Our Thursdays is Missing", due out in March 2011. This was a great addition to the series and was as witty, entertaining, and crazy as all of the previous books have been. Fforde is an incredibly creative writer that creates an intricate plot, bizarre characters, and a book full of ironic humor. I actually listened to this on audio book which I highly recommend. I enjoyed listening to this on audio book even more than reading it (which I had done with the previous two books), the audio production is extremely well done.
In this book Thursday has decided to take a breather from being chased by Spec Ops and Goliath Corporation; she is going to take a year off and live in the world of literature...literally. Specifically she has decided to find Refuge in a horrible book that is in the Well of Lost Plots. Naturally everything gets more complicated from there. Thursday finds that the book she is living in is up for demolition, that she has been apprenticed to Miss Havisham from Great Expectation for Jurisfiction training, someone may be out to kill her, her memories are infested with Acheron's sister who is trying to make her forget her eradicated husband Landon, and she will be living with two generic characters who have yet to form any personalities. As events comes to a head, Next will find that the very fate of all books may be in her hands.
This was another great installment in this series. You meet a lot of wonderful new and quirky characters; you learn a ton more about Thursday and the time she spent in the war...it gives you a lot more incite into her character. The pace of the plot is relentless and you never know what crazy book related thing Thursday will be dealing with next. Whether it is Grammacites (Monsters that alter text) or a Spalling Viruse (an extremely contagious virus that misspells everything); everything you run into is interesting, unexpected, and exciting.
This whole book is spent in the literature world and mainly deals with Thursday's training as a Jurisfiction agent. The plot points where Thursday is trying to find her husband Landon do get advanced a bit too, but are not the main focus of this novel.
I just loved this book and have no complaints. It was smart, funny, creative, well-written, full of action, and impossible to put down. As with previous books the main story points in this book were wrapped up nicely, but there are some over-arcing story points that continue to be advanced yet remain unresolved.
Overall my new favorite book in this series. I can't wait to see what the future books have in store for Thursday. I recommend reading this book if you like books with humor, action, and unexpected quirkiness. At points this series reminds a bit of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, but mostly this is one of those series that you have to just read because it is kind of hard to explain.
I am sorry to say that this one failed my three strike rule, meaning that I gave it three try's and it struck it out. I think that the idea of the lost plots was clever but that interfered in the story. It just never engaged me because it seemed that it was always bragging about what a clever idea it was. I don't mind concept fiction but it does need to get beyond the idea to engage a reader. Which is unfortunate because I really was excited to get into it.
Lost in A Good Book
The Well of Lost Plots - Jasper Fforde
These are #s 2 & 3 in the Thursday Next series (following "The Eyre Affair.")
I was in the mood for some fast, humorous reading, so these suited me quite well this week. Half alternate-world scifi, half detective novels, Fforde writes comedy for those of a literary bent. However, one doesn't really need to have read all the classics he refers to in the books to enjoy the story - you'll just get more of the jokes if you have.
In "Lost in a Good Book," SpecOps agent Thursday Next is riding high after her success in solving "The Eyre Affair" - but the evil corporation Goliath is after her, her beloved and newly-married husband has been eradicated through a time-travel plot, and it seems that the villain Hades may not be completely eliminated after all... but worst of all, it seems that all life on earth may be doomed to turn into pink goo... next week.
Can Thursday save herself, her husband, and the entire world?
"The Well of Lost Plots" follows the story directly. In order to escape the chaos of her world, Thursday decides to take a break in the book world - inside a peaceful, unpublished, bad detective novel. But, part of the deal is that she has to become a JurisFiction agent. Apprenticed to the feisty, speed-demon driver Miss Havisham (yes, from Dickens), Thursday discovers that the book world may be just as dangerous as her own. And what is up with the soon to be released new platform for literature - UltraWord?
In these books, Fforde really fleshes out and complexifies his worlds - both Thursday's alternate England and the BookWorld. They aren't, perhaps, as focused or "complete" (in and of themselves) as the first installment, but there's more here for everyone. Tons of fun details.
The third of Thursday Next novels. Brilliantly written!
Though others raved about this book, I didn't much care for it.
Thursday Next is off again, rampaging through the world of literature to keep the classics of the world from being meddled with by disgruntled characters, while simultaneously trying to prevent the childhood murder of her husband and juggle a revolutionary new book-delivery system. Oh, don't try to make sense of it. Just enjoy the ride.
I may have read this, I may have read one of the other Thursday Next books, it's hard to tell with Jasper Fforde.
I really like the Thursday Next books. They make you think instead of just being a run of the mill mystery.
Renee C. (MerryHearted) - 
Larry G. (aardvark) reviewed The Well of Lost Plots (Thursday Next, Bk 3) on + 157 more book reviews 
Damaris C. (Erinyes) reviewed The Well of Lost Plots (Thursday Next, Bk 3) on + 279 more book reviews 
