What do you do if you run out of Pratchetts

[Montero]

Not heard of Fforde until this thread, so went looking and my library came up with three Ffordes

The Well of Lost Plots
First Among Sequels
The Big Over Easy

Not read any Fforde before. The Well of Lost Plots seems to be chronologically the first, is that the one to start with?

On the subject of Holt I tried a couple of early ones, involving Greek Gods and wasn't much amused - but then I don't much like Greek legends. More recently I've read his "In Your Dreams" which I thought was very good and will re-read. It is a modern fantasy about a junior employee in a firm of Sorcerers in the City of London. Dark humour/thriller - corporate life with extra added goblins and non-standard dangers and some really good plot twists.

[Essie]

No - The Eyre Affair is first and they do really need to be read in order. Next is Lost in a Good Book then it's The Well of Lost Plots. Then its Something Rotten and lastly First Among Sequels.

The Big Over Easy and The Fourth Bear are a different series and need to be read in that order.

[akfarrar]

Rankin's Antipope:
You have nothing to loose but your shillings!

Came across this looking for an alternative to El Prat - and not disappointed.

A bit of a mix between fantasy and horror - twinges of King in there: And the sort of tramp you'd expect to find in waiting for Godot.

I also had certain doubts as to the political correctness of certain elements - distinctly racist touches I thought - but then dismissed them as irony - and then thought about whether they actually were ironic.

Not a belly laugh but certainly amusing - especially when you get to my age and start identifying with some of the more reprobate characters! Omally and his friend, Pooley, lead the sort of drunken existence that is the dream of many respectable males but which is impossible to sustain without serious damage to ones health and family.

(Does make you wonder about male fantasies and their (our) grasp on reality - and wonder if women can really appreciate the need for the innocent bonding of extreme alcohol abuse.)

Be warned though: Pre-decimalisation money (and I loved it).

[Joel007]

I quite enjoyed the antipope, especially the relationship between Omally and Pooley

[Montero]

Originally Posted by Essie

No - The Eyre Affair is first and they do really need to be read in order. Next is Lost in a Good Book then it's The Well of Lost Plots. Then its Something Rotten and lastly First Among Sequels.

The Big Over Easy and The Fourth Bear are a different series and need to be read in that order.

I started with the Big Over Easy while I waited for the library to deliver the Eyre Affair.

Have to admit I nearly gave up on The Big Over Easy several times as I found part of the plot rather laboured, but really liked Jack Spratt. Thanks to all the recommendations I persisted and am glad I did - the book picked up as it went along. I found The Eyre Affair really readable as a whole and enjoyed it.

For those who have not read Fforde

The Eyre Affair - alternate world to ours, so modern UK, but Wales is a separate country and has been for a long time. UK is still at war with Russia in the Crimea. The heroine of the story is a war veteran and works as a Literatec - special operations - and is basically employed to investigate thefts and frauds of famous books. The whole country is literature mad and there is a lovely scene where she goes out to a production of Richard III with audience participation of the Rocky Horror Show variety. Her father is a renegade time cop, her uncle is a mad inventor and once, when a child, she managed to accidentally step over the boundary of reality and fiction and briefly meet Mr Rochester in Jane Eyre. Then there is the truly insane and powerful villain. Lots of fun.

The Big Over Easy - is a take on detective novels. The whole set up of the incredibly convoluted plot has the mick thoroughly taken out of it on several levels. The world it is set in is detective story mad, all the police detectives are busy looking for publication rights and get promoted based on public fame arising from their serialised cases in various publications. (Rather like Watson on Sherlock Holmes.) The story is based around a new transferee to Reading, which is base of many top name detectives, she doesn't finish up in the glamorous place she wanted, but instead is placed in the Nursery Tale division. This exists to investigate nursery tale murders and is not glamorous. The book follows, amongst other things, the investigation of the murder of Humpty Dumpty. (Hence Big Over Easy boom, boom.)
The parts I found hard work were those centred on the famous detective that the heroine wanted to work with and all his press conferences and machinations.

Definitely onto the sequel of the Eyre Affair when I can get hold of it. Probably will read The Fourth Bear, just not rushing

[Who's Wee Dug]

Tried Fforde did not get past the first few pages could not get into him at all don't rate him, charity shop donnation looms for him.