Synopsis: Leaving Swindon behind her, to hide out in the Well of Lost Plots – the place where all fiction is created – Thursday Next, Literary Detective and soon-to-be one parent family, ponders her next move from inside an unpublished novel of dubious merit entitled Caversham Heights. Her husband, Landen, exists only in her memories and with Goliath and the Chronoguard on her tail in the real world, the safest place for her to be is inside the covers of a book.
But changes are afoot within the world of fiction. The much-awaited upgrade to the centuries-old book system – in which grammasites will be exterminated, punctuation standardized and the number of possible plots increased from eight to an astonishing thirty-two – is only weeks away. But if this is the beginning of a golden age in fictional narrative, then why are Jurisfiction agents mysteriously dying? Perkins is eaten by the minotaur, Snell succumbs to the Mispeling Vyrus and Godot is missing.
As the date of the upgrade looms closer and the bookworld prepares for the 923rd Annual Fiction Awards, Thursday must unmask the villain responsible for the murders, establish just what exactly the upgrade entails – and do battle with an old enemy intent on playing havoc with her memories.
Genre: Fiction
Rating: @@@@
Pages: 360
BCID: xxx-5752538
ISBN: 0-340-82592-8
Year: 2003
Format: Paperback
Comments: This was certainly an unusual and original plot. Having the story set within the confines of fiction itself (rather than a fictional ‘real world’) took some getting used to. Once I got into the book a little further, however, I found it an enthralling read. The scene of this drama made it impossible to predict what came next – around every corner was a new surprise. I don’t feel that not having read the previous books in the series detracted from my enjoyment in any way, nor did it affect my understanding of events. However, I enjoyed The Well of lost Plots so much that I will be making a point of reading the other ‘Thursday Next’ books.
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