Book Review

First Among Sequels (2007)

Jasper Fforde

Reviewed by Jeff Jensen | Jul 23, 2007

Jeff Jensen

Jeff Jensen, an EW senior writer, has been despondent since the cancellation of ''Twin Peaks''

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EW's GRADE

B+

Details Writer: Jasper Fforde; Genres: Fantasy, Fiction; Publisher: Viking

$NOVEL CONCEIT Next is a fictional detective who works the fiction beat, in Fforde\'s wildly gonzo Thursday$

NOVEL CONCEIT Next is a fictional detective who works the fiction beat, in Fforde's wildly gonzo Thursday

First Among Sequels, the fifth book in Jasper Fforde's sci-fi series about Thursday Next, a detective who polices the mean streets of fiction itself, has no plot — just a lot of wacky subplots involving time travel, illicit cheese, and Thursday Next doppelgängers, who reside in a best-selling series of Thursday Next novels. Yep: It's gonzo. Wonderfully, brain-bustingly, sometimes overwhelmingly gonzo. Wordplay and wild ideas abound, but things really don't get cooking until Sherlock Holmes is murdered. It all builds toward an apocalyptic climax that leaves Thursday in deep metafictional peril — and fans impatient for another sequel. B+

Originally posted Jul 17, 2007 Published in issue #945 Jul 27, 2007 Order article reprints

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