First Among Sequels

I gave myself a breather between this one and Something Rotten, and a good thing I did. I found this one a lot more readable. Thursday is employed by Acme Carpets, which is a front for her Spec Ops group (Spike, Stig, et al), which is a front for her Jurisfiction activities. As Thursday tries to work with assorted versions of herself, she tackles issues of falling Outworld readership, Goliath Corporation's upcoming Austen Rover, and her dead Uncle Mycroft, who has been making ghostly appearances. Meanwhile, she tries to pretend she's laying carpet everyday to her husband, writer Landen, and her children--truculent Friday, who is resisting his Chronoguard future; brilliant Tuesday, who considers her seminars with the world's greatest mathematicians to be tedious tutoring sessions with slackers; and elusive Jenny, who never seems to make it to the dinner table.

Maybe you just have to be in the mindset. I found this a lot more readable than the last one. I'm not so thrilled about the ending. All but one storyline tied up nicely, but that last one--! "To be continued" is one of my least favorite endings. What if the intelligent Mr. Fforde dies in a car accident? How will we know what happens to--oh, never mind.

But I liked it.