Review of 'The Well of Lost Plots'

The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde
3rd book in the 'Thursday Next' series

Ok, CoPilot: “Summarize the plot of the book “The Well of Lost Plots” by Jasper Fforde. Please do so in one paragraph covering the main plot points but no commentary.”

In “The Well of Lost Plots,” third book in the mind-bending “Thursday Next” series, our heroine seeks refuge in an unpublished detective novel while navigating threats within the fictional realm and uncovering a conspiracy that endangers the integrity of literature itself. Pregnant and grieving the eradication of her husband Landen, she retreats into the unpublished novel “Caversham Heights” living out of an decaying aircraft turned into a home located in the “Well of Lost Plots”â??a repository for unfinished and abandoned books. While taking a break from her duties as a “Jurisfiction” agent and suffering from mysterious amnesia, she uncovers a plot to sabotage the upcoming release of “UltraWord”, a new book-writing technology that threatens the stability and richness of fiction. Amid attacks from rogue characters and the mysterious disappearance of fellow agents, Thursday must protect the BookWorld from corruption, confront the villainous Aornis Hades (yes, him again), and preserve the literary ecosystem…

Yeah, I did have to have some help from AI (I did adjust with some details though) as I kept being distracted and got headaches when reading this book, regularly losing the plot and, often, interest. It is still a bit of a laugh as it pokes fun at books and the book industry but I just could not get into it perhaps because so much was going on, most of it seemingly unrelated and just here for “isn't that amusing” or “isn't that interesting” reasons but not much in terms of character development. There are some new elements from earlier books in the series such as explaining what the “Well of Lost Plots” is, how “Generic” characters work (with several playing key roles in the plot), exploring “BookWorld” bureaucracy, and just what it takes to become a “Jurisfiction” agent (a lot, or not a lot depending on whether you are the famous “Thursday Next”). There is also the ingenious introduction of the “FooterNotePhone” which allows book characters to communicate with each other and has the reader reading various footnotes throughout that extend the plot (or are just mindless irrelevant, though humorous, chatter) – Particularly in the final chapters where one goes on for several pages! It certainly keeps the reader on their toes.

Fun and full of excitement, but not exactly a riveting read that gave me headaches trying to follow (or care about) what is going on. Still worth a read for fans of the series (most of whom should have read it by now).

Rating: “Average, but who wants to be average?”

Review Date: 2025-10-11

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Hodder

Publication Date: 2003

ISBN: 0340825936

• Something Rotten (Book 4)
• First Among Sequels (Book 5)