Something Rotten

A Thursday Next Novel

By: Jasper Fforde

Narrated by: Emily Gray

Length: 12 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Jasper Fforde's time-traveling and fiction-jumping detective Thursday Next is an international hit with fans and critics. Beginning with The Eyre Affair, a Book Sense Top 76 Pick, Thursday's adventures have all cracked The New York Times best seller list.

After spending her time chasing a stray Minotaur into pulp Westerns, filling in for Joan of Arc, and raising her infant son, Friday, Thursday needs a break in the real world. But her return to Swindon is far from relaxing. Rogue fictioneer Yorrick Kaine and the evil multinational Goliath Corporation are trying to rule the world, and a deadly assassin called the Windowmaker is tracking Thursday's every move. To top it all off, her husband is still missing after being eradicated from the timestream before they met.

Fans of Douglas Adams and Monty Python won't want to miss this charming detective adventure sure to tickle the funny bone and stimulate the literary mind.

Delve into Jasper Fforde's literary universe with the other books in his Thursday Next fantasy/detective series.

©2004 Jasper Fforde (P)2004 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"A brazenly witty series." (The New York Times Book Review)
"Opening one of Jasper Fforde's novels means stepping into a playful new universe....It's easy to be delighted by a writer who loves books so madly. (The New York Times)

Highly Original

Jasper Fforde is a very unique writer, you really have to like this sort of thing. I only recommend him to certain people, but if you love the odd and unusual and have a good imagination you will love his writing. I would never recommend him to someone who doesn't like sci-fi, Monty Python or Douglas Adams. If you like any of the above, Fforde is for you.

I love this series

I've listened to all of the Thursday books and I love the series and it's quirky world.

Some of these reviews puzzle me and I can only guess that some of the books have been rerecorded or something, as Elizabeth Sastre is not the narrator for any of the Thursday Next series available on Audible at the moment. Emily Gray narrates all of them, except for The Eyre Affair which is narrated by Susan Duerdan. I've enjoyed both of these narrators.

The only thing that bugs me about this series is that there seems to be an inconsistency in the pause length in between chapters. Often the pause is long enough that I am just about to reach for my iphone to make sure it didn't die on me when the next chapter starts and occasionally the pause is so short it rambles out from the previous sentence. It's a small enough flaw that it doesn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the series.

Time travel messes with your head...

... but fortunately Thursday Next can roll with the punches. I love this series. I especially loved the tender and moving last chapters, when the narration point-of-view suddenly changes.

Thursday Next: a hero for intellectuals

In this last installment to the Thursday Next series, our heroine is desparately trying to retrieve her eradicated husband. She spends her time embroiled in real world politics with a few bookworld characters popping in and out. While not as immersed in literary reference, it certainly takes a shot at the politics of today. Be prepared for a shocking conclusion!

The best of the lot

I really enjoyed the Eyre Affai, but thought that the books had, although very good, gotten worse with each subsequent volume. Something Rotten is great -- the best of the lot. Jasper Fforde has written a funny and interesting book. It moves the story ahead and totally entertains. Excellent.

Story was great recording was not

While the story was great, the narrator (while enjoyable in past books) was not. This is more the fault of the recording itself, the microphone picks up some noises it shouldn’t and at times has a clicking sound after each word.

This one is begging to be a movie.

I don't know why, but this one, more than the others, had me visualizing all the action. Fantastic, as usual. Challenging. Not as many grammar references, so I didn't feel as uneducated. Lots of literary references, of course, and the way different book's characters are woven together into their own storylines is particularly entertaining in this one.

Mismatched chapters

I love these books. But the formatting is hugely frustrating, the chapters don't match the audible chapters. That should never happen. Finding my place is much harder this way, especially going back and forth from print to audio.

Great story and fabulous reader!

This was my first Thursday Next novel - I loved it! Very, very clever. I didn't have any problems jumping into book 3 of the series - of course, I've already bought book 1! (Only available abridged on audible.) The reader was really excellent - she had all the different voices and made it extra good. I read other reviews that said if you like Monty Python and "Hitchhiker's Guide" you'd like Ms. Next, and they were right! It was my first audible book and I'm hooked.

Best one yet!

Of the Thursday Next series, this is my favorite. I haven't laughed out loud this much while enjoying a book in a long time. I would give the book a 10 for its overall witty fun. I felt the ending was too muddled and bogged down an otherwise perfect book. I, too, missed Ms. Sastre's narration and almost opted to read the book instead of listen. However, I decided to keep an open mind, enjoyed the narration for the most part and am glad I listened!