First Among Sequels
UK First Edition cover
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| Author | Jasper Fforde |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Thursday Next series |
| Genre | Alternate history, Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Hodder & Stoughton |
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Publication date
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2007 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 416 (Hardcover) |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 85828957 |
| Preceded by | Something Rotten |
| Followed by | One of our Thursdays is Missing |
First Among Sequels is an alternate history, comic fantasy novel by the British author Jasper Fforde. It is the fifth Thursday Next novel, first published on 5 July 2007 in the United Kingdom, and on 24 July 2007 in the United States. The novel follows the continuing adventures of Thursday Next in her fictional version of Swindon and in the BookWorld, and is the first of a new four-part Nextian series.
The title was originally announced, at the end of Fforde's novel The Fourth Bear, as The War of the Words.
In order to save the future, undercover SpecOps investigator Thursday Next attempts to convince her son Friday to join the ChronoGuard. To complicate matters, she'll have to deal with renegade apprentices, ruthless corporations, and a sting operation from the Cheese Enforcement Agency.
The title First Among Sequels was met with stiff resistance from Fforde's publishers because it had 'sequel' in the title, and it was felt that telegraphing the 'sequelness' of the book might be a bad move. It was decided, however, to capitalise on the fact that this was a series - a sort of 'Have you discovered Thursday Next yet?' approach to marketing.
First Among Sequels is the first part of a new four-part Thursday Next series, which is continued with One of our Thursdays is Missing and The Woman Who Died a Lot.
The title is a parody of First Among Equals, which is the title of a best-selling Jeffrey Archer novel, but also comes from the English translation of the Latin phrase primus inter pares. It is traditionally used to describe the position of the British Prime Minister, since in the British Constitution the position of prime minister has no official existence, and the office holder is simply the 'most powerful' of the Queen's advisors in Cabinet.
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