Rating: 
Summary: What a trip
Review: First-time novelist Jasper Fforde has concocted the most original, dazzling and inspired (not to mention precocious) debut novel in recent memory. Set in police-state Britain of 1985, this Monty Python-esque world brims with so many delightfully cartoonish, cleverly named characters (Thursday Next, Acheron Hades, etc.), sly literary references, plays on words and moments of madcap surrealism that you'll probably read a page over again from time to time to make sure you haven't missed anything, or to enjoy a particular scene or jot of witty dialogue.This is a world where the Crimean war still rages after over a century of fighting, where a Big Brother type company named Goliath watches the every move of every citizen, and most importantly, where great literature is treated with supreme reverence by every single person. People constantly discuss and debate who the true author of Shakespeare's plays was, Richard the Third enjoys weekly midnight performances a la Rocky Horror, obsessed fans dress and live and act as Lord Byron, and you can get lost (literally) in Wordsworth's 'I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.' Literature is so important that forging copies of certain books and texts is illegal and heavily punishable by law. (You'll get death if it's a severe enough charge.) A special police force makes sure that everything in the literary world is in ship shape. That's where we meet our heroine, Thursday Next, a 'jurisfiction' officer working to protect the world of literature, and hopefully rid it of her arch nemesis, Acheron Hades. The evil mastermind has a plan more diabolical than usual. Using a device called a Prose Portal, he travels inside the original copies of books and messes around, thereby changing every single copy of that book irrevocably. At first, he removes a very minor character from a Dickens novel, but he has his eyes on a greater goal. He sets out to attack the titular character of Charlotte Bronte's 'Jane Eyre', and Thursday Next is soon the only person who can hope to stop him. The climax finds her inside of the actual novel, battling it out with Hades in Thornfield Hall. The novel begins at a breakneck pace and never slows down. There's time travel, exploding airplanes, chase scenes, piercingly funny exchanges between characters, and so much more. Thursday is a wonderful heroine, but it's the crazy characters about her who make this work truly rich. She has a father on the lam from the government, travelling through time to escape capture. She has an ex-fiance with whom she fought in Crimea, the great one-legged novelist Landen. She has an uncle Mycroft (if you know Sherlock Holmes, this is funny), a loopy inventor who creates the prose portal and a plethora of other weird inventions, like bookworms that burp grammatical errors. Then there are the villains, a delightfully nasty Acheron Hades, and a double-crosser named Jack Schitt (his comeuppance is especially fun). And don't forget Jane and Mr. Rochester, both sweet and wonderful and written with dead-on accuracy by Mr. Fforde. If you know 'Jane Eyre', there's a really hysterical moment where Hades's kidnappers interrupt the two lovebirds. This book is so wildly complex, it would take two more reviews to explain everything. Just know that, if you're a book worm, you'll be delighted with all of the subtle references to great works and authors, and if you're not a bibliophile, not to worry. There's enough humor and action and excitement to keep anyone entertained. This is a great, great first novel by a writer who shows incredible promise. If you like this, buy 'Lost in a Good Book', a perfect continuation of Thursday's adventures. The third book, 'Well of Lost Plots' is set to come out spring of 2004.
Rating: 
Summary: A Wild Fantasy Adventure for Literary Fans
Review: Thursday Next enjoys her job as a literary detective in London's branch of the Special Ops. Her job is interesting, tracking down literary forgers and keeping competing cults of literary fanatics from going to far to prove their points. The most excitement her life sees is the occasional visit of her father who pops in for a few minutes at a time as he stays on the run through time. Her life changes when a priceless Dickens original manuscript is changed. Suddenly, she finds herself on the trail of Acheron Hades, the third most wanted criminal in the world. With his special powers, he's almost impossible to capture. Transferring to Swindon, she finds her paths crossing with a former flame. Will love rekindle? Meanwhile, Hades is holding the characters of Dickens' novel hostage and threatening to kill them. Can Thursday figure out a way to stop him before he ruins some classic works of literature? This is a wonderful Fantasy Adventure novel. The alternate world of 1985 presented here is a great place to escape. The idea of crossing between reality and works of fiction is something I've never seen done before but often dreamed of doing and is handled here quite well. The novel started quite slowly, with what I was expecting to have happen not really getting going until the second half. It also helps to be more familiar with literature then I am to fully appreciate this book. Still, this is an imaginative tale well told. Here is a book that readers will truly appreciate and a fantasy novel that literary fans will have to read. I'll certainly be back to check out the further adventures of Thursday Next.
Rating:
Summary: Fun fantasy
Review: This is the first in the series featuring Thursday Next, literary detective. It is set in an imaginary 20th century in which literature is of supreme importance, and organised crime revolves around stealing original manuscripts, forging literary works etc. Thursday is in pursuit of master criminal Acheron Hades, whose fiendish plan is to steal the original manuscript of Jane Eyre from Haworth, kidnap Miss Eyre and hold her to ransome, knowing that the literature-mad world will do anything to get her back. In this world, Jane Eyre ends with Jane going off to India with Rivers, but in the course of thwarting Hades, Thursday manages to alter the ending to have Jane marry Rochester. Personally, I think this a great mistake. Jane would be much better off going to India with Rivers than marrying that dreadful Rochester, a man who would keep his first wife chained up in an attic and pretend she doesn't exist would do ANYTHING, I wouldn't trust him an inch. Thursday is a veteran of the Crimean war, which has been dragging on for 130 years, and there is a rather boring love-interest involving a former flame of Thursday's from the war, but this aside the Eyre affair is a funny, exciting fantasy thriller.
Rating: 
Summary: A Real Disappointment
Review: I really expected more from this book, based on the reviews which drew me to it. At the risk of sounding "snobby", I will admit that I had hoped for a lot of "in-jokes" and witty wordplay. But unless you are completely unfamiliar with the likes of Shakespeare, Austen, Wordsworth, etc. the literary references will not seem especially esoteric (and even if you are, don't worry, because Fforde will spell out for you exactly who they are). Anyone who completed high school English (and paid attention) probably has about as much literary knowledge as Fforde displays in this book. Likewise, the writing is not especially clever, although it does read comfortably. My other reason for disliking the book so much has to do with characterizations, or lack thereof. Thursday Next is the only charater that Fforde even makes an attempt to develop (others, such as a pure-evil nemesis, a silly younger brother, and a bitchy love-rival are I hope supposed to be caricatures). But she is not particularly appealing, and a novel like this needs an appealing heroine. Instead, we get Thursday: a rather emotionally detached literary detective whose humanity is only revealed through a romance that she herself thwarted (and keeps thwarting). Ugh. When purchasing this book, I noted that there were a few minority opinions similar to what I am now writing. I chose to ignore them and went with the consensus view. Please don't make the same mistake I did. Not that I regret the time or money spent reading it (it cost very little of both) but rather it was the disappointment of expecting a great read only to be hit with a mediocre one that caused the book to leave such a sour taste in my mouth.
Rating:
Summary: Pokes fun in the best way!
Review: When I was first recommended this book, I didn't give it a second thought: it just didn't sound like my cup of tea. But when I began reading the reviews for it, I decided to give it a chance, and I'm extremely glad I did. Thursday Next, SpecOp, is one of the quirkiest, funniest characters you'll run across in any book. Whether it's runaway book characters, time-traveling parents, or eccentric relatives, Thursday handles everything with a dumbstruck charm you can't help but love her for. There's more then a hint of satire about this book, but it's done with humor and gentility and is very well done. Even if I didn't understand some of the references to the books, I could appreciate them. If you're looking for something unusual and wryly funny, I would definitely recommend this book. The characters are fantastic, the plot is fun, and some of the action will have you laughing until you cry.
Rating: 
Summary: Not witty, just plain stupid!
Review: I wouldn't have even finished this book had it not been that I was reading it for my book club. It just didn't appeal to me and many of the supposedly "witty" things were just plain stupid. I didn't find this book appealing at all. It could be an interesting concept, but the author fails to carry it through with any sort of wit or class. Hasn't the time travel plot aka. "Back to the Future" been done and done and done before?
Rating:
Summary: Laughed Out Loud! This book is too much fun!
Review: I haven't had this much fun reading a book since the last time I read Hitchhiker's Guide. I want to be in Special-Ops when I grow up! If you've ever gotten lost in a good book or found yourself longing to jump into another universe for a while then this book is for you. It's got that wacky humor the British comedians do so well. It's full of some very original and some classic superhero characters. Here's a tip on how to deal with references to classic literature you haven't read: either you get the joke or you don't, keep reading and know that if it's important to the plot Fforde will put it in context.
Rating:
Summary: Not for the stodgily grounded in reality
Review: The Eyre Affair is a delightful romp through the seemingly disparate genres of the great classics, spy thrillers, comedy and sci-fi. It's thriller of a story, with nonstop action, fantastic dialogue, vivid imagery and incredible imagination. But it's not for everyone. If you're into "classic" sci-fi (think Asimov) that neatly ties up all loose ends and explains everything down to why the protagonist chose briefs over boxers, you'll be disappointed. Plot holes aren't just there -- they're flagged so that you don't miss them! If you like Douglas Adams, or if you liked To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis, you'll likely enjoy this book. The Eyre Affair is silly, funny, smart, unpredictable and so impossible it'll make your head spin. So light yourself a fire in the fireplace, make a hot cup of tea, and check your logic detector at the door before you settle down with this one. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: The Eyre Affair
Review: Jasper Fforde's terrible writing, unrealistic characters, and lack of ability to write with emotional appeal sadly, butchered the interesting and unique idea for The Eyre Affair. I really did like the original idea-Thursday Next, LiterTec far in the future fighting to stop literary crimes. The idea is cool but the book was terrible!
I read this entire 600-page book without ever knowing any of the characters, despite the numerous internal monologues, because Fforde betrayed them so many times! One minute, Thursday is one thing, and the next minute, she is completely changed for no reason! I have never experienced more poorly constructed and shallow characters in m life. Even the "good" characters held no convictions for longer than ten minutes. Amelia Bedelia is deeper than the characters of The Eyre Affair!
Jasper Fforde made some really bad writing choices. He used cusswords at strange moments that made his characters sound like complete, literal crack heads. An example of Fforde's bad sense of humor is an annoying characters being named Jack Schitt.
This book didn't have any of the elements that define a good book in my opinion. A good book should not only be for entertainment but should contain a universal message of idea that makes the book actually serve a purpose. Books are meant to inspire, instruct, and teach people things about themselves and about the world around them. This book has nothing useful. It was like an inane sit-com on TV. There was also no emotional appeal to the book whatsoever. Fforde didn't make the reader care at all what happened to his characters. This book was, seemingly, written for pure dumb, mindless entertainment, and, for that reason, gets one star!
Rating:
Summary: .957 approval!
Review: After thoroughly enjoying the works of Connie Willis, I was turned on to Jasper by a friend and I have to say I adore his work! Brilliant! I truly loved this book except for one plot point, which I was truly disappointed about. I won't give anything away, but it comes at the end and frankly I was stunned that someone who did such a brilliant job with the rest of the book did something so.... uncool. Anyway, if you enjoyed The Doomsday Book, or To Say Nothing About the Dog, then you will enjoy Jasper a great deal!
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