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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I always find it suspicious when a book is rated as a 1 or 5 stars work, depending on who's rating. Of course, it always depends on who's rating, but you have to agree the "love it or hate it" stance is strange when you find it in an obscure SF book, right?
So, to clear things up, I'll give you an easy way to find out if this is the right book for you:
Only read this book if you like SF and classical literature.
It's important that you like both things, or either you'll hate the setting to bits (you can observe this effect in half of the 1 star reviews) or you'll find the humour absolutely stupid (which can be perceived in the rest of the 1 star reviews). Having a general knowledge of british history helps, also.
So, considering you do have that general love for fiction that allows you to be charmed by the mad dystopic tones and alternate reality technology, that you enjoy police procedural adventure and believe you would have fun with the concept of classical literature as rock music, then this book is for you. It's a great summer read.
So, to clear things up, I'll give you an easy way to find out if this is the right book for you:
Only read this book if you like SF and classical literature.
It's important that you like both things, or either you'll hate the setting to bits (you can observe this effect in half of the 1 star reviews) or you'll find the humour absolutely stupid (which can be perceived in the rest of the 1 star reviews). Having a general knowledge of british history helps, also.
So, considering you do have that general love for fiction that allows you to be charmed by the mad dystopic tones and alternate reality technology, that you enjoy police procedural adventure and believe you would have fun with the concept of classical literature as rock music, then this book is for you. It's a great summer read.
So conflicted! I may have just read this at the wrong time. All in all, I liked Thursday Next and would probably read the next book in this series when the mood strikes me. There were lots of moments in this book to love, like the parallels between the Jane Eyre story and Thursday’s love life, a few side characters like the vampire detective, and the overall expansiveness of the world. However, I found myself needing frequent breaks while reading this book.
The world, while expansive, doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be: the xmen type abilities of some people, the creature concepts of others, the Back to the Future esque technology, the time travel, the politics…it was all so much to keep track of and hard to make sense of. That and I’m still a little confused by the premise of traveling into books and there being a special written word police force. I would’ve liked more time spent establishing what that was and looked like and instead I was suspending my disbelief in a new way every chapter.
I liked the way this book ended and felt like the author did a good job of tying up the main loose ends nonetheless. I think this is a book that’ll end up sticking with me even if it was, at times, difficult to get through.
The world, while expansive, doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be: the xmen type abilities of some people, the creature concepts of others, the Back to the Future esque technology, the time travel, the politics…it was all so much to keep track of and hard to make sense of. That and I’m still a little confused by the premise of traveling into books and there being a special written word police force. I would’ve liked more time spent establishing what that was and looked like and instead I was suspending my disbelief in a new way every chapter.
I liked the way this book ended and felt like the author did a good job of tying up the main loose ends nonetheless. I think this is a book that’ll end up sticking with me even if it was, at times, difficult to get through.
I wasn't sure what i was getting myself into, I quickly realized that this is a book that needs to be read as a fun romp, not to be taken too seriously (as I am apt to do).
I am glad I stayed with this one. Not ready to dive into the second Thursday Next story, but I am sure I will pick it up at some time when I am taking life too seriously.
adventurous
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I tried and tried to get through this one. Just. Couldn't. Do. It. Not my style I suppose.
2.5. An interesting premise with (some) interesting plot points, but it was all muddled for me in execution. Most of that is a style thing. I struggle with books that revel in their own cleverness, and this one is particularly too cute by half. I absolutely can see why so many love it; it just missed for me.