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First Among Sequels

Thursday Next Book 5
Series: Thursday Next
4.02 goodreads logo

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( 27,382 ratings, 1,770 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde is a witty and imaginative novel set in a world where literature and reality intertwine. The story follows literary detective Thursday Next as she navigates a complex web of literary bureaucracy and intrigue. With a delightful blend of satire and clever wordplay, the novel explores themes of originality and the joy of reading, all set against a backdrop of quirky characters and inventive plot twists.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you relish quirky and imaginative fiction that blends literary humour with complex plots and playful satire. The story is set in a fantastical world where books are alive, and it follows the adventures of a literary detective navigating a universe filled with puns and clever literary references. It's perfect for those who appreciate witty storytelling and enjoy a mix of mystery, adventure, and humour.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Everyone's favourite Book World heroine, Thursday Next, returns in her fifth adventure - by Number One bestselling author Jasper Fforde.

Everyone's favourite Book World heroine, Thursday Next, returns in her fifth adventure - by Number One bestselling author Jasper Fforde.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Fourteen years after her last adventure, Thursday Next, literary detective, finds herself in an unusual situation. Her job policing the fictional characters of the BookWorld has been downgraded since her previous escapades are now themselves in print.

However, a pressing threat may call her back into action: first Sherlock Holmes and then Miss Marple are found dead, stopping their series in their tracks. When Thursday's written self also receives a death threat, it becomes clear that a serial killer is on the loose.

Meanwhile, the Goliath Corporation plan on taking literary tourists on holiday in the novels of Jane Austen. Thursday alone realizes the true intent of Goliath's unwanted incursions into fiction, but she can't fight all these battles on her own. She must team up with the one person she can't really get along with: the written Thursday Next.

First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde brilliantly continues the adventures of Thursday Next, combining humour, mystery, and thrilling literary intrigue.

Series: Thursday Next

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  • One of our Thursdays is Missing
    It is a time of unrest in the BookWorld. Only the diplomatic skills of ace literary detective Thursday Next can avert a devastating genre war. But a week before the peace talks, Thursday vanishes. Has she simply returned home to the RealWorld, or is this something more sinister? All is not yet lost. Living at the quiet end of speculative...
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  • Pre-order
    Dark Reading Matter
    The final novel in the highly acclaimed and beloved Thursday Next series. Will Thursday find her happy ending? The Dark Reading Matter is a theoretical realm that suggests that the observable bookverse can only account for 20% of the calculated total readable mass. Out there somewhere, possibly, is a larger and more expansive and unseeable 'Dark Bookverse' that contains millions...
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  • First Among Sequels
    Fourteen years after her last adventure, Thursday Next, literary detective, finds herself in an unusual situation. Her job policing the fictional characters of the BookWorld has been downgraded since her previous escapades are now themselves in print. However, a pressing threat may call her back into action: first Sherlock Holmes and then Miss Marple are found dead, stopping their series...
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • The Well Of Lost Plots
    Leaving Swindon behind her to hide out in the Well of Lost Plots, the place where all fiction is created, Thursday Next, Literary Detective and soon-to-be one-parent family, ponders her next move from within an unpublished book of dubious merit entitled Caversham Heights. Landen, her husband, is still eradicated, Aornis Hades is meddling with Thursday's memory, and Miss Havishamβ€”when not...
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  • Something Rotten
    Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde follows the adventures of Thursday Next, Head of JurisFiction and ex-SpecOps agent, as she returns to her native Swindon. Accompanied by a two-year-old child, a pair of dodos, and Hamletβ€”who is on a fact-finding mission in the real worldβ€”Thursday is tasked with capturing the escaped Fictioneer Yorrick Kaine. Simultaneously, she seizes the opportunity to retrieve...
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  • Lost in a Good Book
    Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde follows Thursday Next, a literary detective and newlywed, as she embarks on an adventure that begins, quite literally, on her own doorstep. It seems that Landen, her husband of four weeks, actually drowned in an accident when he was two years old. Someone, somewhere, sometime is responsible. The sinister Goliath Corporation wants...
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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde is praised for its inventive storytelling, filled with zest and complex plotting. It features engaging characters and intricate details reminiscent of Dickens and Pratchett, with twists that rival Agatha Christie. The book is celebrated as an entertaining, pun-filled read with abundant literary allusions, appealing to fans of Douglas Adams and Monty Python.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780340752029

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 24 July 2008

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Hodder Paperback

Illustration: B&W line drawings

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 27.0mm

Width: 131.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 290g

Pages: 416

About the Author

Jasper Fforde traded a varied career in the film industry for staring out of the window and sucking the end of a pencil. He lives and works in Wales and has a passion for aviation.

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