The Punning Pundit

This is not an unqualified endorsement; though it may sound like one. It is, instead, a very qualified endorsement: Only read this book if you love to read books...

Recently I tried to explain to a parent that American Gods was a wonderful book, but not one for children. It contains no sex and not a lot of violence, but those aren't reasons in themselves for a book to be non-accessible for children. The _themes_ of the book, the presentation, the situations all scream that this is an adult book. Children will understand the words, but don't yet have the life experience to make the words anything more than a collection of syllables...

The same is true of the Eyre Affair, though in a different direction. I've spent more time in front of books than I care to think about. I learned Morality from Heinlein, and Empathy from Card. My parents never really restricted me from Television, but rather from reading anything other than school books. So the idea that one can literally go into a book and play with the characters is one that I can relate to...

If the idea seems familiar, well it should. Heinlein would have a good case if he sued for intellectual property infringement. Don't get me wrong, though; Mr. Fforde has written his books much better than Heinlein's latter dreck could even approach. Mr. Fforde plays with words, scenes and conventions in ways that the Late Mr. Heinlein would specifically distain. This must be why Mr. Heinlein was interesting and important, while Mr. Fforde is just fun...

Rating: 5 joyful noises out of 5 joyful noises. Just a lot of _fun_