My sister and I have talked for a long time about how there are two kinds of fiction books: one type that builds up the world of the book, and one that builds up the characters in the book. She tends to prefer world building; I tend to prefer character building. In fact, I get extremely annoyed if a book spends too long telling me the fabulous history of made up people or how elvish magic works, instead of letting me watch characters grow and do interesting things. (This is why I am bored by Tolkein, for the record.)
I really enjoy the Thursday Next series, but this one (like the third one) spends a long time talking about how the book world works. It's frustrating, because I was much more interested in what Thursday's kids were up to and if the world was going to end. It's nothing wrong with the books, it's just what I prefer. There were several really good jokes and at least one twist that made me go back and re-read the last couple of chapters to see all the things I'd missed. It was certainly fun to read, and I'm glad there will be more Thursday Next books. I just wish they were more about his hilariously weird real world, and not so much about how literature taxis work.
Grade: B
originally posted 2007
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