John Freeman
What keeps this series humming is Fforde's lively engagement with books and the indefatigable woman he's created to defend them.
— People
USA Today
Richly crammed with jokes, ideas, and action. Brainier silliness is hard to find.
Janet Maslin
Playful . . . It's not hard to see what this enthusiasm is about. . . . It's easy to be delighted by a writer who loves books so madly.
— The New York Times
Michael Dirda
The BookWorld seems to have encouraged Fforde's rogue imagination to escape all fetters and really go wild.
— The Washington Post
Library Journal
The fifth Thursday Next adventure takes place 14 years after the events of Something Rotten, and things have changed. The literary operative's young son, Friday, has become a slacker who refuses to accept his destiny as a member of the time-manipulating Chronoguard. Jurisfiction has been disbanded, leaving Thursday to carry on her duties under the guise of operating a floor-covering business. Worst of all, people have stopped reading because of the popularity of reality TV. Unlike the other titles in the series, First Among Sequelsdoesn't concentrate on a single literary classic, adopting a more scattershot approach that teeters on the edge of a lack of focus. Emily Gray reads without the energy she has shown previously. Despite such weaknesses, Thursday titles still attract an audience. Recommended for popular collections.
—Michael Adams
