The Fourth Bear

So far, this is my favorite of the Jasper Fforde books. The wordplay and puns just keep on coming, but I also enjoyed the meta-fictional elements going on here. Storybook characters who know they're storybook characters (or, in Fforde's parlance, Persons of Dubious Reality), plot devices named and numbered, even comments on flat characters (the sadness of knowing you aren't fully developed) and jokes that are too much of a stretch.

As far as the Nursery Crimes go, this one is a beauty: the Gingerbreadman (a serial killer who escapes from a mental institution--seven feet tall and yes, made out of gingerbread), a missing Goldilocks, and even the less nursery rhyme more metaphorically fictional character of Dorian Gray all make an appearance. Oh, and so do Punch and Judy.

The novel feels more assured than The Big Over Easy too. Jack Spratt is a more natural (and interesting) main character than Mary Mary, and the story just keeps moving at a better clip. Either that or I'm just getting used to Fforde's writing style. At any rate, I really enjoyed this, and I'm a little sad that the next NCD novel won't be out for at least a year. Still, I can understand an author wanting to do other things with his time besides catering to my whims. Not even I want to cater to my whims all the time, and I'm me. Still, this has re-convinced me to keep going with the Fforde books. His streak for silliness and the unexpected just keeps me coming back for more. As always, click to buy, though you might consider starting at the beginning of the series.