Popular Culture Review Vol. 16, No. 2, Summer 2005 | Page 122

118 Popular Culture Review integration of the canon. Incorporating dystopian themes, genetic cloning, religious fanaticism, class subversion and controlled reproduction, as well as issues of combat trauma, Fforde’s series is worthy of academic attention and praise. Dexterously inviting readers to ponder the ironies of history and the craft of writing itself, the Thursday Next series has something to offer each and every reader regardless of age, sophistication, or genre preference. He has mounted a blitzkrieg in contemporary fiction with few rivals able to match his skill, knowledge, and humor. Fforde’s series oscillates between lighthearted comedy and sober allusions to modem warfare; among the latter, the vital importance of memory, war trauma, and the danger of alter