"Something Rotten" by Jasper Fforde

Summary: Thursday Next has led Jurisfiction, the policing department in Book World, for two years, and she is tired of it.  It's time to return to the real world, with her son Friday, and work at getting back her eradicated husband Landen.  But when Thursday returns, she has more than just her husband to worry about--Yorrick Kaine, a fictional character, is seeking to take over Britain, Goliath Corporation is hard at work turning itself into a recognized religion, and the world may end if Thursday can't get the Swindon Mallets croquet team to win the Superhoop.

Musings: Something Rotten is the fourth book in the Thursday Next series, and although there's nothing new here, the fourth installment of the series continues to be enjoyable.  Now that Thursday is back in the real world, there are somewhat fewer literary allusions, which I did miss.  However, Thursday is accompanied home by Hamlet, and it was fun to see his dithering and soliloquizing about his role and characterization.

Like in the other Thursday Next books, there's a couple dozen plot lines occurring simultaneously, but it's not difficult to keep everything straight.  I was happy to see some plot lines from previous books resolved or new dimensions given to old characters.

Something Rotten is as absurd as all Fforde's works, though I think this book may have overly-relied on absurdity for comic moments; I didn't find it nearly as funny as some of the others.  However, I was looking forward to Something Rotten as a light read, and it didn't disappoint.

- See my reviews of book one in the series, The Eyre Affair, book two, Lost in a Good Book, and book three, The Well of Lost Plots.