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    Something Rotten
    Something Rotten
    Something Rotten
    Audiobook12 hours

    Something Rotten

    Written by Jasper Fforde

    Narrated by Emily Gray

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Jasper Fforde's time-traveling, book-jumping detective Thursday Next is a hit with fans and critics. Each book in this humorous and intelligent series has hit nationwide best-seller lists. Here, Thursday must save the world from Yorrick Kaine and the evil Goliath Corporation while trying to recover her lost husband from the timestream and raise their son, Friday. Emily Gray's spirited narration perfectly captures the zany humor and charm of this delightful novel. Fans of Monty Python and Douglas Adams won't want to miss this one.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateSep 29, 2004
    ISBN9781440781643
    Something Rotten
    Author

    Jasper Fforde

    Jasper Fforde is the internationally best-selling author of the Chronicles of Kazam, the Thursday Next mysteries, and the Nursery Crime books. He lives in Wales. www.jasperfforde.com Twitter: @jasperfforde Instagram: @jasperfforde  

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    Reviews for Something Rotten

    4.5/5

    76 ratings52 reviews

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    • 5/5
      My favorite of this series so far. Thursday returns to the real world and is focused on getting her husband, Landen back, while taking Hamlet to the real world so he can figure out why readers have a hard time figuring him out. In this episode, there will be jokes about Denmark, Old English, ressurceted saints, cloning problems, and the croquet Superhoop. My only complaint about this audiobook was that they changed the narraters to Emily Gray and her voice is not at all as bubbly as Elizabeth Sastre. Plus she reads a lot slower and her voice for Landen was really abysmal. But regardless, Fforde's wit and sarcasm came through nonetheless.
    • 4/5
      A very enjoyable end to the Thursday Next series. In The Well of Lost Plots I thought the author was showing off a bit too much; his wit and wordplay sometimes seemed more important to him than the telling of the story, but not so in this one. Nice ending too.
    • 4/5
      Although this book is the fourth in the Thursday Next series, I found it a good introduction to Jasper Fforde's work for me. I'm really quite enjoying comic fantasy, and Something Rotten is definitely a good one, so rich with literary allusions. And if it didn't hurt for me to laugh at this time, I'd have been laughing out loud for sure!
    • 5/5
      This is the fourth book in the Thursday Next series. Currently there are five books in this series with the sixth book, One of Our Thursdays is Missing, scheduled for March 2011 release. This was an excellent addition to the series, I thoroughly enjoyed it! The plot is complex and clever, the characters engaging, and the things that happen are ironic and funny. This is one of my favorite series. You definitely need to read the books prior to this one to understand what is going on in the story.Thursday Next has decided to leave the fictional world and her position as the Head of Jurisfiction; it is time for her to return to the real-world. So with two-year old Friday in tow she moves in with her mother. Along with her is Hamlet, who is on leave from his play. Back in the real world things are a mess; Kane is trying to set himself up as dictator of England, Landon (Thursday's husband) is still eradicated, and Goliath Corporation is trying to set themselves up as a religion. Then Thursday's time traveling dad shows up and tells her that not only is someone is trying to assassinate her, but the fate of the world rests on the outcome of the World Croquette match.This was a wonderful book and it gives a lot of closure for storypoints that have been left hanging in previous books. This book would actually make a wonderful wrap-up for the series. Hamlet is a wonderful addition to the character cast; with his innate indecisiveness he is hilarious and somewhat crazy. Thursday gets to work with Spike (the werewolf hunter) some more and I love learning more about Spike. Throughout the book Thursday is also trying to track down the Minotaur who escaped in the last book. Jurisficition hit the Minotaur with a serious case of slapstick; so hilarious slapstick ensues throughout...especially when the Minotaur is near.This book gives more depth to Thursday's character. Watching her deal with the complex happenings around her, while she tries to find decent childcare and reinstate her husband, adds a dimension to her that makes her even more personable. A lot happens to her in this book. To be honest this was probably the most intense book in the series. I laughed a lot, but there were also points where I was almost in tears...so many bad things happen to Thursday that you just wish she would finally get a break and find some happiness. Well take heart, the book ends on an up note and treats the characters well.Once again Fforde's ability to weave this extremely complex story without confusing the reader is absolutely amazing. I am in awe of how clever and engaging the story is.Overall an amazing book. If you love this series you will love this book. If you have never read this series...well...what are you waiting for?! Read it! The tone of this story reminds some of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and other types of spoofy fantasy; but this story blows all of those out of the water. Loved it and can't wait to read First Among Sequels, the next book in this series.
    • 5/5
      I love the way Fforde plays with the conventions of fiction and pokes fun at the world of books and publishing. Emperor Zhark's insistence on ending a chapter, the use of a gothic typeface to represent Old English, young Friday's use of the lorem ipsum text to represent gobblegook: it's just pure fun.Although perhaps Yorrick Kaine's status as a character from a self-published work was a little unkind...
    • 5/5
      Thursday Next, literary detective in alternative history 1980's England returns from a two absence from the Real World. Her main goal is to have her missing husband reactualized but she runs into many obstacles along the way from resurrection of 12th century fortune telling saints to saving the world from another apocalypse. I love these complicated and humorous plots. Jasper Fforde is a gem find!
    • 4/5
      I really liked this book. Kinda sucked cause there are definitely a lot of allusions to other books involving Thursday that I haven't read, so that was sometimes confusing. But I really love the way this book was formed: different fonts for different characters, Lorem Ipsum, time travel...it's so close to ridiculous, but I love it. Two thumbs up!
    • 5/5
      This is the fourth in the Thursday Next series, you really need to have read the previous three to understand what is going on in this one! In Something Rotten, Thursday returns home to Swindon from living inside fiction and, has to stop the mighty Goliath and Yorrick Kaine, from ending the world as she knows it, while still trying to get her eradicated husband, Landen back, and stopping an assasin from killing her off!. Goliath are trying to turn the corporation into a religion, and Kaine has the population eating out of his hand with one of Mycrofts inventions. Everything hinges on the Superhoop croquet match, can Swindon Mallets win?, can Thursday save the day??A fantastic series, that just keeps getting better, there are so many laugh out loud moments, Love the mix of seriousness of Shakespeare is mixed up with funny stuff like George Formby, it's great how it all comes together so naturally.
    • 5/5
      I absolutely loved this book. The fourth in the series, it wrapped up everything neatly while not feeling in any way contrived. Here's a guide to the plot (stop here if you don't want to know...)Thursday is living in Bookworld, running Jurisfiction in her role as Bellman. However, she feels that the time is right for her to return to the real world and continue her efforts to get her husband returned (he was removed from the time stream in an earlier book to blackmail Thursday).Thursday manages to get her old job as a Lit-Tec back, and somehow manages to do so without too many questions on her whereabouts for the last couple of years. She finds out that (just for a change) the world is in peril, and that she must fix things, while avoiding being assassinated.The finale of the book revolves around a croquet match. In the alternate world the books inhabit Football either has never been invented, or has never taken off, but croquet is *the* spectator sport!The end of the book is wonderful, giving a sense of warmth as it wraps up Thursday's story, both past and future. When I had finished reading I felt I didn't want to read another novel for a while so that I didn't somehow taint the memory of this book.
    • 5/5
      The CEO took a small forkful and put it in his mouth. His eyes opened wide in shock and he spat it out. The footman passed him a glass of water.'Disgusting!''I agree, sir,' replied Jarvis, 'almost completely inedible.''Blast! Do you mean to tell me we've bought an entire continent with a potential food yield of ten million penguin units per year only to find we can't eat any of them?''Only a minor setback, sir. If you would all turn to page seventy-two of your agenda . . .'All the board members simultaneously opened their files. Jarvis picked his report up and walked to the window to read it.'The problem of selling penguins as the Sunday roast of choice can be split into two parts: one, penguins taste like creosote, and two, many people have a misguided idea that penguins are somewhat "cute" and "cuddly" and "endangered". To take the first point first, I propose that as part of the launch of this abundant new foodstuff there should be a special penguin cookery show on GoliathChannel 16, as well as a highly amusing advertising campaign with the catchy phrase: "P-p-p-prepare a p-p-penguin".'The CEO nodded thoughtfully.'I further suggest,' continued Jarvis, 'that we finance an independent study into the health-imbuing qualities of seabirds in general. The findings of this independent and wholly impartial study will be that the recommended weekly intake of penguin per person should be . . . one penguin.''And point two?' asked another board member. 'The public's positive and non-eatworthy perception of penguins in general?''Not insurmountable, sir. If you recall, we had a similar problem marketing baby seal burgers, and they are now one of our most popular lines. I suggest we depict penguins as callous and unfeeling creatures who insist on bringing up their children in what is little more than a large chest freezer. Furthermore, the "endangered" marketing problem can be used to our advantage by an advertising strategy along the lines of "Eat them quick before they're all gone!'"'Or,' said another board member, '"Place a penguin in your kitchen - have a snack before extinction.'"'Doesn't rhyme very well, does it?' said a third. 'What about: "For a taste that's more distinct, eat a bird before it's extinct?'"'I preferred mine.'Jarvis sat down and awaited the CEO's thoughts.'It shall be so. Why not "Antarctica - the new Arctic" as a byline? Have our people in advertising put a campaign together. The meeting is over.'After the slight disappointment of book three, "Something Rotten" was a wonderful ending to the series. After two and a half years hiding out in the Book World, Thursday Next has taken leave of absence from her job in Jurisfiction and is back in Swindon, trying to get her job in SpecOps back, avoid being killed by a professional assassin, get her husband uneradicated, and sort out childcare for her two-year-old son, Friday. Meanwhile she also has to ensure that the Swindon Mallets win the Superhoops croquet tournament, which according to the prophecies of a 13th century saint is the only thing that will prevent Goliath from bringing about armageddon.CROESO I GYMRU!TAKE YOUR HOLIDAYS IN THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF WALESNOT ALWAYS RAINING.See your local tourist office for details.
    • 5/5
      Another good book by Fforde. A nice ending to the series. There were a lot of things I really liked about this book. Hamlet is a big character in it and we spend more time with the Neanderthals which is interesting. I think, overall, this series is one of my favorites. It changes the way I look at the world. There is a great deal of What If that is generated in your brain when you read these books. Sort of grownup fairy tales. I highly recommend all of them.
    • 5/5
      The Thursday Next series just keeps getting better! I love the humor and the irony in Fforde's stories. And, mysteries unravel in the unlikeliest ways. My favorite of the series so far.
    • 3/5
      I don't know if I lacked the concentration power to multitask within the many characters or alternate worlds, but it took me quite a long time to get into this book. I really think I like the NC series better. Seems to be easier to follow.
    • 4/5
      Hamlet needs special protection, an all-important croquet match must be played, and Thursday must find a baby sitter. Jurisfiction is brought to the real world in the fourth book of the Thursday Next series. Fforde is clever as always, though the series clearly needs to wind down soon.
    • 4/5
      This book is bit slower and more meandering than the first three books, but it wraps up the series nicely.
    • 4/5
      The fourth in a series, this book is similar to the preceding three - good escapist drama, but if you try too hard to figure out the mechanisms of the alternative reality Fforde creates, you'll just end up with a headache. It's better to just sit back, go with the flow, and enjoy the witty repartee and page-turning narrative. I particularly like the Shakespeare and Hamlet references in this book, and while there were a lot of threads in this fourth book, they were much easier to follow than in the second book. Overall, this is a fun, ‘light’ read, especially if you’ve enjoyed the other books in this series.
    • 5/5
      the best ending to a series. fforde definaly knew where he was going when he started the first book!
    • 4/5
      Two years after the events of The Well of Lost Plots, Thursday Next returns to the real world just in time to help avert another apocalypse.I found this fourth Thursday Next adventure just as readable and entertaining as the first three. It drew me in right away and held me fast with the usual blend of clever literary references, hilarious scenes and plausible unbelievability. Despite the outrageous world Fforde's built up here, I never had any trouble suspending my disbelief. And oh, the postmodernism! Fforde does some really great things here as he explores the idea of books within books. It was a damned fun read from start to finish.I did feel as though it wrapped up a little quickly, but oh well. It was good enough as a whole that I'm willing to overlook that. I definitely recommend the entire series. Start with The Eyre Affair and work your way forward for best effect.
    • 4/5
      As Thursday returns to the real world, she find that a few things have changed. England had gone violently pro-dictator and anti-Denmark under the leadership of Kaine, who regular readers will recognize from the previous book. On top of stopping Kaine's insane plans of world domination, Thursday must help her hometown croquet team win the championship, prevent Hamlet from doing anything rash, try to uneradicate her husband, and still find time to change her two-year old son's nappies. There's more, of course, but it's the same basic "the world could end, shenanigans galore, Thursday has to save the day" kind of deal. Still good, but still not great.
    • 4/5
      Worth reading for the scene in which Hamlet is confronted with the choices of the modern coffee bar. Otherwise, it feels like the other Thursday Next books--too many things moving in different directions to keep track of at once, literary jokes that you may or may not catch, and commentary that veers frequently into a meta-humor. Fforde seems to break stride at points in the novel, making me wonder if it is time to put Thursday Next aside. I personally would rather see more of the Nursery Crimes series.
    • 4/5
      This was one of Fforde's best in the Thursday Next series. The political "debates" between parties reminded me a lot of our last round of election debates, especially the vice-presidental debates. This book may have been published in 2005, and it may have been set in a seriously warped version of Britain, but Fforde was spot on for the US political shenanigans in 2011. As much as I go on about the politics, that's not all the book was about. There was the usual action, intrigue, and downright silliness you'll find in all the Thursday Next novels so far, and enough laugh out loud moments to make you look truly crazy if you read this in public. As always, Fforde satisfies the reader as far as the current story is concerned but still manages to make them want more, to know what happens next.
    • 5/5
      Fforde's novels about protagonist Thursday Next are imaginative and fun. This series is a must-read for every book lover or anyone who loves a truly inventive story. Definitely one of my favorites! See also: The Eyre Affair, The Well of Lost Plots, Lost in a Good Book, and First Among Sequels: A Thursday Next Novel.
    • 4/5
      Easily Jasper Fordes best Book to date brings in the vigor of his first ties in loose ends from the previous two in the series and comes to a satisfying conclusion.
    • 4/5
      Another fun-filled Thursday Next adventure. Not my favorite, but I enjoyed this one. I really liked how it wrapped up and ended, it was pretty all over the place and I wasn't sure how Fforde could make it come together, but he pulled it off.
    • 4/5
      I enjoy reading Thursday Next novels, but you have to be in a certain state of mind or else your head hurts. Thursday has left Jurisdiction for pursuits grounded in real life. Landon is still eradicated, and Hamlet needs some reality time. Its not as good as the previous Thursday Next novel - it felt more like a book to get the reader from the last book, to the next book. The writing is fast paced, characters are not cardboard cutouts, and mad science gadgetry aboud (the ovinator, anyone?)
    • 5/5
      The more I read the Thursday Next series by Fforde, set in an alternate, metafiction universe, the more I get pulled in and the more I enjoy the story.My overview of this installment sounds like a review by Stefon from Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update sketch. This book has everything: medieval saints resurrected as perverts, a whinny Hamlet, a squadron of cloned Shakespeares, personal appointed stalkers and a once eradicated husband that can’t seem to lock into the right time. Oh, and a world croquet championship tournament on which the fate of the world rests; and Thursday is the coach.One slightly unsettling part of the story, however, is how close to home some of the political commentary is hitting. Goliath, the “mega corporation” is transitioning to a religion so they can have tighter control over the population. People are giving up their personal rights and liberties for the good of the corporation and no one seems to care. Add to this a fictional character becoming a rising dictator. Fortunately, Thursday takes care of this too- with an eraser.These novels are getting sillier and more intricate, but that’s what makes them so much fun to read.
    • 5/5
      Thursday Next has been the Bellman for a couple of years now, but she's ready to go back to the real world. Along with Hamlet (who's concerned about the outside world's perception of him as a ditherer), Thursday returns determined to get her husband Landen uneradicated and to send Yorrick Kaine back to the Bookworld where he belongs.For months, my mom has been begging me to read this book, the fourth in a series that I first recommended to her. So she was pleased when I finally got to it, laughed at loud on several occasions, and promptly finished it only to revisit some favorite parts with her. I recommend reading Hamlet first, as it will make the bookish humor that much more enjoyable.
    • 5/5
      Volume Four in the Thursday Next series, and this one wraps the story upnicely, I thought. Thursday is a LiteraTech with SpecOps in an alternativeuniverse Britain who has been missing for the past two and a half years.She's not really been missing, though, she's been serving as Bellman withJurisfiction in BookWorld, policing fiction itself with her team of fellowJurisfiction colleagues. Her son Friday is now 2, and she decides thatshe's waited long enough to come back into the Real World and fight TheGoliath Corp. (true rulers of the free world) to get her husband back.Landen was "eradicated" shortly after their marriage when Goliath sentmembers of the ChronoGuard back in time to kill Landen when he was two,leaving Thursday alone and pregnant and pretty pissed off.Upon her return, she learns that Goliath isn't satisfied with running thefree world economically and politically, they want to become the premierereligion as well and be worshipped by all. She also realizes that YorrickKaine, the disgusting and evil fugitive from fiction, is seeking to becomedictator and is about to declare war on Denmark. Since she brought Hamletalong with her (a girl's gotta have child care, you know), she not only hasto topple Kaine, thwart Goliath, get Landen back and save the world fromsure destruction, she's also got to deal with a dithering Hamlet who's aboutto become sure of himself. The fun just doesn't end in Thursday's life.This series was slow to get off the ground for me, but I've really enjoyedthe last couple of books. It's all in the mindset of the reader, I suppose,but this book was delightful, full of sharp wit, clever puns, and fastaction. I really enjoyed it and give it a 5.
    • 4/5
      What really amazes me about this series is how well-planned it is. Seemingly random incidents or comments as far back as the first book turn out to have relevance in this book, the fourth. I'm loving the way it all comes together.

      This book was quite satisfying, given that the multi-national company finally got a kick in the pants and Thursday finally got her husband back. Not as many new ideas in this one, but satisfying use of old ones, and interesting stuff plot-wise. I'm actually kind of disappointed that the next one is the last one, though I hope it doesn't open some new story arc that it won't at least semi-resolve. The one that was concerning me over the last three books was Landen's disappearance -- I'm not as into the characters as I am some, but as I've got fonder of Thursday I've wanted Landen back more and more.

      There were some good character moments, in this book. Like when Landen flickers out of existence after re-actualising. Ouch.
    • 5/5
      Jasper Fforde is officially my favorite author now -- this book was AWESOME. It wrapped up the whole trilogy-plus-one really well, it was highly entertaining, it made me think a lot (time-travel paradoxes will do that, not to mention all of the things that came back into play later and made you go "oh, yeah!"), and the end of this one was poignant, so much so that I actually cried a bit reading it. The worst thing now is that I only have one Thursday Next book left, and then I'll be all out of unread Fforde entirely until his next paperback comes out.