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    Something Rotten
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    Something Rotten
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    Something Rotten
    Audiobook5 hours

    Something Rotten

    Written by Alan Gratz

    Narrated by Erik Davies

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Denmark, Tennessee, stinks. Bad. The smell hits Horatio Wilkes the moment he pulls into town to visit his best friend, Hamilton Prince. And it's not just the paper plant and the polluted Copenhagen River that's stinking up Denmark: Hamilton's father has been poisoned and the killer is still at large.

    Why? Because nobody believes Rex Prince was murdered. Nobody except Horatio and Hamilton. Now they need to find the killer before someone else dies, but it won't be easy. It seems like everyone's a suspect. But who has committed murder most foul? If high school junior Horatio Wilkes can just get past the smell, he might get to the bottom of all this.

    A cool and clever twist on the tale of Hamlet, where one-liners crackle and mystery abounds. Think you already know the story? Think again.


    From the Compact Disc edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateOct 23, 2007
    ISBN9780739359563
    Unavailable
    Something Rotten
    Author

    Alan Gratz

    Alan Michael Gratz is the author of 17 novels for young adults.

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    Reviews for Something Rotten

    4/5

    2,041 ratings79 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Absolutely the best of the series, IMO. Every stray plotline came together, even ones I'd assumed had been dropped or forgotten. I love it when that happens.
    • 3/5
      This one is too long and surprisingly heavy going in places. That said, it gave me a number of good laughs and has a good ending. Can't be bad!
    • 4/5
      As the book opens, Thursday Next is preparing to return to Swindon and the real world after a two-year stint in Jurisfiction. Her husband Landen is still eradicated, and she is determined to get him back. Hamlet has been granted leave to visit the Outland, and he accompanies Thursday on her return to Swindon. They arrive to find that England’s chancellor, Yorrick Kaine, is blaming the country’s economic problems on the Danes. It’s not a good time to be seen with a Danish prince. Swindon is awaiting the return of its patron saint, Zvlkx, whose Seventh Revealment concerns the 1988 SuperHoop croquet match. Thursday learns from her father, a time-traveling member of the ChronoGuard, that a SuperHoop win by Swindon will avert Armageddon. No pressure there.Fforde’s alternate England and the book world are as delightful as ever. It’s a parody of classic fiction, history, and pop culture, with humor along the lines of the films Airplane! and The Naked Gun. There were lots of references to Mel Gibson’s portrayal of Hamlet, but this movie wasn’t released until two years after the book is set. (Yes, I know the book is alternate history, but it still bothered me!) I agree with other reviewers that this book feels like an ending point for the series. All of the plot threads that were developed over the course of the series thus far seem to have been neatly wrapped up. I’m not sure I would be motivated to continue reading the series if I didn’t already have the next book in my collection.
    • 3/5
      It took me quite some time to get around to this book, and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. It was a fun read that, unlike the previous in the series, had a chronology it followed and an actual plot that had a start and an end. I though it was humorous and at times clever, although overall I have had enough of this series.
    • 3/5
      I found the narrative slow in places but liked the overall story.
    • 5/5
      I absolutely loved this book! It was smart, inventive, quirky, and yet the underlying political situation hits close to home while still maintaining that absurd quality of Fforde.
    • 1/5
      that's it, no more.
    • 4/5
      Jasper Fforde is addictive IF his off beat literary humor is your cup of tea. I love his books for audio listening while commuting because the constant uproar of plots and subplots and the vast numbers of minor characters keeps me on my toes. However, if you are looking for a well-constructed mystery or a fantasy world that obeys its own internal constraints, these books will probably disappoint. If you read to much, esp. classics, you, like me, might find these books fun and affirming, a series of inside jokes. "Something Rotten" is a good addition to the Thursday Next series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you disliked the earlier installments, you will almost surely hate this one.
    • 4/5
      Thursday Next comes back from the BookWorld, in debt, still husband-less, and in need of child care. She tries to un-eradicate Landon while smuggling hundreds of Danish books out of England into Wales, evading a hit woman, trying to figure out why Yorrick Kaine is so popular, and running a Croquet team.This book is sweeter than the others — there are the normal hijinks and world-ending disasters, but there is also the un-eradication of Landon, a lorem-ipsum-spouting toddler, Hamlet coming to grips with his inaction, and the real identity of Granny Next.
    • 3/5
      I've read this one for Shakespeare Cat as Hamlet has a spot in this literature laden adventure by time traveling Thursday Next. It was entertaining. There was so much going on, lots of literature characters make appearances.
    • 3/5
      Somehow, this installment in the Thursday Next series felt like less fun and more work. Too many subplots to track, though the imaginative force it took to create them all still blows this reader's mind.
    • 3/5
      Two years have passed and Thursday is still working in Jurisfiction and hunting the Minotaur, but she longs to return to the real world and find Landen, previously eradicated by the Goliath Corporation. Her son Friday is now two

      She returns to Swindon with Hamlet, who wants to see what the real world is like and stays with her mother and father. She gets her job back at SpecOps and starts to find out all she has missed. President George Formby is still in power but the Goliath Corporation has made allegiances with Yorrick Kaine and plan to oust him. Kaine has growing power and influence and is using it to stir up hatred of Denmark, and has sought the services of 'The Windowmaker' (a spelling mistake, but it was too late to correct) an assassin who turns out to be the wife of a friends of hers.

      She meets with the CEO of the Goliath Corporation to try again to get Landen back, and they promise that they will for her forgiveness, but she is convinced that she has had some mind control applied. Landedn appears, but it takes a while for reality to get used to him being there so he keeps disappearing. Her father, now re-admitted to the time-travelling ChronoGuard, warns her of the perils that Kaine's plan pose. Along with the Goliath Corporation planning to become a religion to avoid the prophecy that they are doomed to fail, and that Thursday has to get the Swindon Mallets to win the 1988 Croquet Superhoop to avoid the end of the world, her biggest problem is getting childcare.

      Not quite as good as the previous one the the series, it didn't seem to have the focus of the last. That said, I do like the way that Fforde writes these, they are cleverly done, and full of wit and ideas and sub plots that turn and twist.
    • 4/5
      With every book I've read in this series, I've said the same thing: this was fun but I doubt I'll continue on with the series. Well, this is the fourth book and I give up. I'm going to keep reading Thursday Next books because they're absolutely ridiculous and they make me laugh. This time around, Thursday is back in the real world, where she has to deal with fictional would-be dictators, semi-dead presidents, a husband who may not actually exist, violent cricket matches, 13th century mystics, a perpetually dithering Hamlet, and - most daunting of all - motherhood. The whole thing is just marvelous. My favorite part was "Avoid the Question Time," which is pretty much what all political interviews and debates actually are but won't admit it. Nothing is too outlandish to show up in these stories, and I can't wait for the next book.
    • 5/5
      Liked this more than I expected. Funny.
    • 3/5
      Single parenthood is very onerous for Thursday, as she has to escort Hamlet (yes, of Elsinore), around while he tries to figure out what moderns think of the character invented by Shakespeare for the play. And, the worlds, both of books, and the real world are in peril. She copes, but is getting very lonely for Landen.
    • 5/5
      A tour-de-force. Often I was left absolutely helpless with laughter. Mr. Fforde by this point has his world well and truly set up, and no longer needs to waste time with explanations or exposition; he just gets on with the corny jokes and spot-on satire. A clear heir to the tradition laid down by Dickens, Wodehouse, Python, Adams and Pratchett.
    • 4/5
      Thursday Next comes back from the BookWorld, in debt, still husband-less, and in need of child care. She tries to un-eradicate Landon while smuggling hundreds of Danish books out of England into Wales, evading a hit woman, trying to figure out why Yorrick Kaine is so popular, and running a Croquet team.This book is sweeter than the others — there are the normal hijinks and world-ending disasters, but there is also the un-eradication of Landon, a lorem-ipsum-spouting toddler, Hamlet coming to grips with his inaction, and the real identity of Granny Next.
    • 5/5
      This was the best Thursday Next book yet. If you've read the first three, you don't really need to hear much more than that.

      Hamlet might be my favourite thing ever.

      And I teared up a little at the end I'M ONLY HUMAN.
    • 5/5
      Thursday has left the Bookworld after 2 years and is transitioning back to the real world and not without a fair few hurdles. Goliath is aiming for classification as a religion, Kaine is one step away from ruling all of the UK as a dictator, Danish books are being rounded up and burned by order of the government and in her absence, Thursday was convicted of cheese smuggling. Her husband is still eradicated and she's 20k pounds in the hole on her overdraft. Oh, and she has to keep an eye on Hamlet, who came out of Bookworld with her so he could find himself. Oh, so many things to love about this book. In no particular order and without spoilers: - Pickwick. Pickwick is always worth loving but Fforde makes her so expressive with so very few words. She made me laugh out loud at least once. - This is not the book to be in if you're Danish. Lots of satirical comedy surrounding the sudden discrimination against Danes (especially in the chapter headings). Because some of my best friends in the world are Danish, I think I find it a lot funnier than some might; Fforde just nails it. - Neanderthals get a lot more page time. - The fight in the hanger. No spoilers, but I'll just say it was masterful literary chess. - The fate of the world might truly rest on the outcome of a game. This is the book that wraps up more than a couple of story arcs. Lots of answers and very few questions remaining. I'll admit I missed the footnoterphone more than I would have thought, and I truly prefer the shenanigans of Bookworld over the shenanigans of Real Life. Not really a surprise. There was a bit that I think went too far and felt too convenient, but I can't even hint at it without spoilers so I'll leave it at that. The ending of Something Rotten is what got that last 1/2 star out of me. It was... well, just read it for yourself. If you're a Thursday Next fan, I expect it will get you in the same place.
    • 5/5
      Something Rotten is the fourth in the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. Thursday is back in the real world, but dealing with Hamlet, a fictional dictator, a half-dead president, and her own future self, not to mention her existentially challenged husband. As always, I'm sure I don't get half the references, but that doesn't spoil my enjoyment. Oh, and I have to re-read Hamlet now. Roll on book five...
    • 5/5
      A very satisfying conclusion to the set. All loose ends nicely tied up. I only hope there'll be more to come!
    • 5/5
      Sequels often start to run out of steam, but in this fourth book of the Thursday Next series, Jasper Fforde actually seems to be picking up speed. The wacky world that Thursday and her characters inhabit seems, well, "real" by now, firmly grounded on a set of unlikely principles. Most of the time. Anyhow, Fforde has managed to rope a host of plot threads together and tie them up into a fast-paced adventure in a very funny alternate reality. And I'd just like to say that if Fforde's invention, full-contact croquet, ever becomes a reality, I'll buy a season ticket.
    • 4/5
      Thursday Next has returned back to reality after two years as head of Jurisfiction with her two year old son, Friday, and Hamlet in tow. While some things have changed during her two year absence, other things are still dangerously the same. Goliath Corporation is trying to become a religion, Yorrick Kaine is trying to become a dictator and start a war with Denmark, there's an assassin trying to kill Thursday, and the fate of the world is riding on Swindon winning the big croquet match. In the midst of all the madness, Thursday is still trying to get her husband uneradicated and stay alive while trying to keep the world in some semblance of order. And just maybe she'll get Hamlet to make a decision.The fourth Thursday Next book holds all of the charm, ridiculousness, literary references, and mad frantic plotting that I've come to expect from these books. Thursday continues to grow as a character, particularly in her new role as mother. Many of the literary jokes this time around are Shakespearean with many pointed at Hamlet and they cracked me up many times (occasionally awkwardly while riding the bus). The narrative, like the previous books, does feel a bit episodic for a fair chunk of the novel but then builds to a quick-paced conclusion. Just as enjoyable as I wanted it to be.
    • 5/5
      Thursday Next I will never get enough of you! This might have been the best book yet by Fforde and I can't wait to start the next one. Fforde has created such an amazing world and I'm so very happy to be able to visit it again and again across so many books. However, I do dread the day that I catch up to what has already been published and must wait for the next installment.
    • 4/5
      Very fast paced, just try to keep up!
    • 3/5
      Book on CD read by Emily Gray.Book four in the Thursday Next fantasy / sci-fi “literary detective” series. The Goliath Corporation is still trying to take over the world, though this time their scheme is to be declared a religion. Hamlet is staying with Thursday and her family, while she tries to sort out the mess that all the cloned Shakespeares have made of the original play. Thursday’s father, the rogue ChronoGuard, and her mad-scientist Uncle Mycroft, both make significant, though small, contributions.What I most enjoy about this series is Fforde’s vivid imagination and all the literary references. The plots are completely unrealistic, but that’s part of the fun. Thursday is a strong, independent, resourceful heroine, and the supporting characters – Spike, the vampire, and Stig, the Neanderthal, in particular – are delightfully over-the-top. The SuperHoop (think “Super Bowl” for croquet) match is fun and thrilling and ridiculous all at once. If this review doesn’t make much sense … well, neither does the book. But who cares?! It’s fun to read. Emily Gray does a marvelous job performing the audio version. She has great pacing and is a skilled voice artist, able to differentiate the many characters. I love the way she voices Stig and St Zvlkx in this installment.
    • 4/5
      4.5*

      "I knocked at their door and, hearing no answer, walked in. When I was last working at SpecOps we rarely heard anything from the mildly eccentric members of the time-travelling elite, but when you work in the time business, you don’t waste it by nattering – it’s much too precious. My father always argued that time was far and away the most valuable commodity we had and that temporal profligacy should be a criminal offence – which kind of makes watching Celebrity Kidney Swap or reading Daphne Farquitt novels a crime straight away."

      After being disappointed by book #2 and skipping book #3, I loved this one. Something Rotten had just the right mix of silliness with thoughtful digs at current affairs and contemporary discussions such as the argument about what makes humans human and what gives humans have the right to control other species, or the rights of other groups of humans for that matter.

      Thursday has returned from the book world and again takes up the pursuit of a shady character that threatens the country. But, Thursday has not returned alone - Hamlet (aka the "ditherer") has come with her and so has Alan. I loved Alan, and I am having to read the rest of the series just to find out how he fares.

      Yes. Never mind Thursday and the fate of Landon, my interests in this series are thoroughly invested in Pickwick and Alan!
    • 5/5
      Ich bin, zugegebenermaßen, ein riesiger Fan der Serie rund um Thursday Next und die sonderliche Welt, in der sie lebt und in der Literatur eine so große Rolle spielt, und bin daher auch nicht ganz unvoreingenommen. Bisher haben mich alle fünf Bände der Serie schlichtweg verzaubert mit der komplexen Welt und den vielschichtigen Charakteren, die Autor Jasper Fforde geschaffen hat. Und natürlich mit all dem verqueren Humor und den vielen literarischen Anspielungen. Und dieses Buch steht seinen Vorgängern in nichts nach. Es bietet allerdings ein lang ersehntes Extra: Erklärungen!

      Und zwar liefert Autor Jasper Fforde hier in „Wo ist Thursday Next?“ endlich eine detaillierte Erklärung darüber, wie die BuchWelt eigentlich funktioniert. Denn darum geht es in diesem Band: Es gab ein Remake der BuchWelt und auch wenn das reibungslos verlaufen ist und sich jetzt, neben anderen Neuerungen, z.B. Landschaften zwischen den Büchern finden lassen, so steht die BuchWelt jetzt dummerweise trotzdem vor dem Krieg. Einem Krieg der Genres und nur Thursday kann dem ein Ende bereiten. Die ist allerdings, wie man schon dem Titel entnehmen kann, verschwunden und so muss BuchThursday einspringen und Jurisfictions-Agentin spielen.

      Ein weiterer spannender Ausflug in diese unvergleichliche Welt erwartet den Leser in diesem Buch und erneut glänzt die Geschichte durch die Ironie, den Sarkasmus und den generell ziemlich schrägen Humor des Autors, der in jeden Aspekt der Geschichte einfließt. Immer wieder amüsant sind dabei die Seitenhiebe auf aktuelle Geschehnisse in unserer Welt, die teils auf wirklich seltsam verdrehte Art auch in RealWelt und BuchWelt auftauchen.

      Alles in allem war dieser sechste Band der „Thursday Next“-Serie für mich erneut ein absolutes Highlight und ein Buch, das locker mit den vorherigen fünf Bänden mithalten kann. Bislang kann ich keine Spur von Langeweile entdecken, alles wirkt so frisch wie im ersten Band und es macht einfach wahnsinnigen Spaß diese Bücher zu lesen. Wer also noch nicht damit angefangen hat: Nichts wie ran! ;)
    • 4/5
      Another fun installment in the Thursday Next Series. Thursday has decided it’s time to come back to the real world, she has been living in the book world for 2 years, since her husband Landen was eradicated, but as you know trouble follows our Thursday and as much as she wants Landen back there are some bad people out there that want her eradicated in every sense of the word.I so enjoy these books it’s been too long since I picked one up and it was the best way to end my year in reading! Hamlet was hilarious in his pining for but hating Ophelia and what he thinks of all the movies and books on his “life” and the Shakespeare’s , yes many more than one since he was cloned but none of them seem to have the originals talent.Thursday gets Landen back and then loses him again, it is all a big game played by Goliath and new baddy Kaine who may or may not be a fictional character, who seems to have it out for the Danish, and who does Thursday have living her who else but Danish Prince Hamlet.There is, as usual many great characters in this book but most of them aren’t literary characters and I missed them, and Miss Havisham!Emily Gray as always does a wonderful job at the narration, I love all her different voices she is very, very talented!I read the last book in 2012 and I think it is time I finished this series, so I will be listening to the rest of these this year.4 Stars
    • 4/5
      This was one of Fforde's best in the Thursday Next series. The political "debates" between parties reminded me a lot of our last round of election debates, especially the vice-presidental debates. This book may have been published in 2005, and it may have been set in a seriously warped version of Britain, but Fforde was spot on for the US political shenanigans in 2011. As much as I go on about the politics, that's not all the book was about. There was the usual action, intrigue, and downright silliness you'll find in all the Thursday Next novels so far, and enough laugh out loud moments to make you look truly crazy if you read this in public. As always, Fforde satisfies the reader as far as the current story is concerned but still manages to make them want more, to know what happens next.