Golden Sunsets Redux - 60 Years Of Memories - Part 35 - 2001

Sometimes an author comes along that doesn't revitalise a genre, he creates a new one all of his own... 

2001:

The trivia:

• In a bizarre incident that would seem to be straight out of one of Mr. Bean's comedic sketches, British comedian Rowan Atkinson found himself having to take control of a Cessna 202 light aircraft after the pilot fainted mid-flight. The drama took place over Kenya when Atkinson and his family were enjoying the scenic beauty of the African landscape during a flight from Ukunda to Nairobi. Despite having no formal flight experience, Atkinson managed to keep the plane stable and level at 16,000 feet for several minutes. Meanwhile his wife worked to revive the pilot who, when he regained his senses, was able to land at Nairobi's Wilson Airport.

• The longest musical performance in history is still taking place in the church of St. Burchardi in Halberstadt, Germany. The rendition of John Cage's avant-garde 'Organ² / ASLSP (As Slow As Possible)' is played on a specially built mechanical organ and started on 5th September 2001 (although the first note was not heard until 2003). The composition consists of slow pages of music and a system using electric bellows and sandbags on the keys holds notes for years at a time. Visitors gather at the church to witness the rare chord changes, making it a significant event. The last note change was in February 2024, and the next is scheduled for August 2026. The whole piece is set to finish in 639 years time in 2640.

• During a family celebration, ten-year-old Laura Buxton released a red helium balloon. Attached to it was a note with her name and address on it amd Laura hoped that it would find someone she could become a pen pal with. The balloon drifted over 140 miles, eventually being found by a man in Wiltshire who was trimming his hedge. He saw the note and gave it to a neighbour, who had a daughter called…Laura Buxton. The co-incidences don’t stop there though. When the girls finally met they discovered they both had brown hair and similar eye colour. Both wore pink jumpers and jeans. Each brought along a similarly-coloured Guinea Pig - and both owned black labradors. 

The memory:

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

So before I can talk about why I love this book (and its sequels) so much, I need to explain the world and the premise - because, trust me, it’s like nothing you have ever heard of before. 

It’s an alternate 1985. The Crimean War is still being fought after 130 years. Wales is an independent socialist republic, while England has ukulele player George Formby as president. The Goliath Corporation - a morally dubious weapons manufacturer - exerts enormous influence over government policy. Genetic engineering of extinct species is commonplace, with dodos being the pet of choice. 

In this version of Britain, literature is a national obsession. People argue passionately over Shakespearean authorship. Gang wars have broken out over rival theories. Literary forgery is a serious crime - and entire government agencies exist to police the written word. Thursday Next, works for SpecOps 27, the Literary Detectives. Her job involves investigating crimes involving books, such as stolen characters and unauthorised rewrites.

Master criminal Acheron Hades steals the “Prose Portal”, an invention that allows people to physically enter books and interact with the fictional characters. He kidnaps Jane Eyre from the original Brontë manuscript, thereby risking a change to every copy of the book in existence and causing a literary emergency. Recruited into the secretive SpecOps 5, Thursday Next must enter the ‘bookworld’, rescue Jane and restore the narrative. 

See what I mean? It’s utterly, insanely, brilliantly original. Fforde manages to effortlessly blend detective tropes, SF, fantasy, parody and satire while at the same time examining the constructs of literature. Fiction and reality blur together. It's a made up world that could never exist, yet feels like it should. The first time I read “The Eyre Affair”, I don’t think I’d ever grinned so much at the sheer unadulterated cleverness of a book. 

A prime example of this is the “footnoterphone”. A device that allows agents (and book characters) to communicate via the footnotes in books! Now I’m used to footnotes (I’ve read a lot of Terry Pratchett), but this idea is just wonderful. Whole conversations can happen across pages while the main action carries on above. I’ve no idea how it would work in an e-book or audio version, but in physical form it’s genius. 

This book felt like it was written for someone like me. It's a delightful balance between the whimsical, the absurd and the believable - hugely imaginative, yet grounded in a genuine *love* for books and all the joys that reading brings. Plus tiny odd touches that make you feel clever when you notice them, yet don't interfere with the plot. In Thursday Next, Fforde has created a heroine with just enough flaws to make her relatable. I was reminded a bit of Bernice Summerfield from the Doctor Who novels (and numerous Big Finish audio stories). Kind, capable, troubled, constantly evolving - and very sarcastic.

As great as “The Eyre Affair” is, it’s in the following books in the series that Jasper Fforde really lets his imagination go wild. The “bookworld” goes from being a mysterious backdrop to a fully realised universe, complete with its own ruling body (the Council of Genres), police force (Jurisfiction) and navigable geography. Books are their own worlds and their characters don’t always behave.

Across the eight novels in the series (the final one published as recently as 2026), Thursday is recruited into Jurisfiction, is mentored by Miss Havisham (from 'Great Expectations'), discovers the "Well of Lost Plots", battles a fictional character set loose in reality, prevents an apocalypse and takes on an apprentice who is a fictional version of herself! And that's only the tip of the iceberg. The plots get more convoluted, more meta and even more enjoyable. 

But amongst all the chaos there are big themes - the protection of the truth, defending against the revision of history, allowing imagination to flourish. I can get behind that, especially with all we are facing in the real world right now. Ultimately "The Eyre Affair" and its sequels show that stories matter. That fiction isn't just escapism. As a lover of stories in all forms, but particularly books, that speaks right to my heart.

Beyond the Thursday Next novels, Fforde has crafted other series - like the "Nursery Crimes" and "Shades of Grey" books - that share his signature blend of imagination, and genre-bending playfulness. While they explore very different worlds and themes, they all carry that same love for language, storytelling, and clever twists on familiar ideas. Later novels, such as "Early Riser" and "The Constant Rabbit", take on a more serious tone. They still showcase his inventive worldbuilding and sharp satirical wit, but these books delve into darker themes like corporate dystopia, surveillance, prejudice, and political extremism.

What I love most about Jasper Fforde is that he never writes the same kind of book twice, yet they all feel unmistakably his. Whether it’s Thursday Next jumping between genres, anthropomorphic rabbits challenging politics, or hibernation patrols in a dystopian future, there’s always that spark of invention, that sideways look at the world. I'll keep reading whatever he puts out, but "The Eyre Affair" was where I discovered his singular talent - one which made me realise that no idea is too off-the-wall, and that maybe some of my own ideas for stories aren't that mad after all...

Honourable mentions:

• Band of Brothers - As someone born just a couple of decades after the end of WWII, the multitude of stories from that conflict loom large in my childhood. Books, TV, film, even comics were heavily influenced by the war. There are many fantastic takes out there, but when this 10-part TV mini-series first aired, it felt like something different. Not just another war drama, but a series that treated its subject with a level of care, detail, and emotional weight that was rare, especially on television. Produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks (fresh off Saving Private Ryan) it follows the lives of the members of  'Easy Company' from the US 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment - from their initial training, the landings in Normandy and the harsh winter siege of Bastogne, through to the liberation of the Kaufering concentration camp, the occupation of Germany and finally the war's end. It's mesmerising stuff and while the very nature of television meant that characters were combined and some events adjusted for dramatic purposes, it's still brilliantly made and very accurate. The ten-hour format allows a level of intimate storytelling which humanises the events - and that struck a chord with audiences, making the show hugely successful. Two 'sequels' followed (many years apart), covering the US Marine Corps in the Pacific and the Air Force 100th Bomber Group, but as good as they are, I'll always keep coming back to "Band of Brothers". I've watched it multiple times in the years since and it never fails to effect me. 

• Green Lantern - Willworld - Most mainstream superhero comics follow the usual tropes - battles with villains, cosmic team-ups and moral quandaries. But occasionally, one comes along that shows exactly what the comic form is capable of. This graphic novel doesn’t just bend the rules of the genre -  it tosses them into a blender and paints the surreal results across every page. Written by veteran of weirdness J.M. DeMatteis and illustrated by a relatively unknown Seth Fisher, "Willworld" follows a young Hal Jordan as he wakes up in a bizarre, dreamlike realm where nothing behaves the way it should. There’s no big villain or world-ending threat here. Instead, it’s about the power of imagination and what it really means to wield the most powerful weapon in the universe: your will. It's a great story - but Seth Fisher’s illustrations are what turns it into something special. Clearly influenced by Windsor McCay's "Little Nemo", every panel is packed with surreal architecture, cosmic alien creatures, and visual ideas that reward careful reading. It’s the kind of book you can't just flip through—you have to experience it. I love it.

• Superman & Batman : Generations 2 - Another alternate version of familiar characters as veteran John Byrne (no stranger to re-booting classic heroes) gives us a very different take on DC's top heroes. The series asks a simple question: what if Superman and Batman aged in real time, starting from their first appearances in 1939? Across three volumes we follow Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne as they grow older, raise families, retire, and pass the torch to their children. The series jumps forward in decade-long increments, showing how their lives, and the world around them, changes with time. For some reason I missed the first series in 1999 and didn't jump on board til the second (furiously searching the back issue bins afterwards). What makes it so enjoyable is how Byrne blends nostalgia with genuine character development. The influences are clear - Golden Age comics, Elseworlds stories, and Byrne’s own long history with both characters. But there’s also a bit of  more modern storytelling creeping in, with the way time shapes the heroes and how legacies live on. Byrne’s art adjusts through the decades he is portraying, but still retains his signature classic style, which makes the story timeless. Perhaps by the time we get to "Generations 3" its all getting a bit over-complicated , but the end result is still a bold experiment and a hugely enjoyable slice of heroics from a comics master.

• Conker’s Bad Fur Day - Is this the greatest game for the Nintendo 64 console? Many would disagree, but you can keep your Mario’s and your Zelda’s  - and as much as I love Banjo Kazooie and Donkey Kong, for sheer bizarre absurdity, Conker gets the crown. I mean who couldn’t love a game that featured graphic violence, swearing, sexual innuendo, drug and alcohol references, dark humour and more film pastiches than you could shake a squirrel at (Nazi teddy bears in a 'Saving Private Ryan' parody anyone?). Oh, and an opera singing poo monster with sweet corn teeth. It’s mad, it’s nasty and it’s utterly brilliant. Sadly it sold poorly, due to a lack of marketing - and probably people were expecting a cuddly platformer instead of an 18 certificate sleaze-fest. But for those like me who found it, the game became a cult hit. Altogether now… “I am the Great And Mighty Poo, and I’m going to throw my s**t at you…”

• Max Payne - For me, this was an absolute landmark in PC gaming—an atmospheric, cinematic shooter that redefined how action games could look and feel. Instead of traditional cutscenes, the game used stylised comic book panels with voiceover narration to tell its story. Instead of bright locations it leaned heavily into film noir aesthetics - a snowy New York, dark alleys, corrupt cops and tragic backstories. Lastly, instead of fast-paced combat, Max Payne had bullet time—a feature inspired by “The Matrix” that let players dive through battles in slow-motion and take out enemies with precise shots. As a lover of mainly platformers (just see above!), it was rare for me to spend a lot of time on this kind of game, but there was just something about “Max Payne” that pulled me in. Maybe it was the world-weary gravelly voice over. Maybe it was because it was like a comic book brought to life. Whatever the reason, I played it enough to actually finish the whole game. Yes, the graphics look dated 20+ years on, but at the time this was cutting edge stuff. There was a sequel in 2003, which was just as good and a belated third game in 2012 which sadly dumped the noir backdrop - and was a lesser title because of it. 

• Deathscent by Robin Jarvis - There must have been something into the water in 2001, because here’s another novel with an expertly realised alternate world (see also "Mortal Engines" by Philip Reeve). This time it’s a version of Tudor England - called Englandia - where Queen Elizabeth I has reigned for 178 years, thanks to mysterious life-extending technologies. The world consists of ninety-three floating isles, each encased in glass domes and suspended in a dark void. There are no living animals, just “mechanicals” that mimic life. Into the “Reflected Realm” comes Brindle, an alien who initially appears kind, but as time goes on is revealed to be manipulating things for his own disturbing ends, especially relating to the “Deathscent” - the smell released when someone dies. I’d never read anything else by Jarvis, but picked the book up based on the cover and intriguing blurb - and never regretted the decision. It’s an eerie novel, full of political intrigue, creeping horror and philosophical undertones - and a story, that ends with hints that this unusual steampunk-ish world is about to change forever. Sadly any potential sequel never materialised. Maybe it just didn’t sell well enough. It’s a real shame, as I would have loved to know where the story was heading next. Still, as a one-off it works beautifully and is a novel I think deserves to be a more well known. 

• Fellowship of the Ring - While Jasper Fforde’s novel took the top spot for 2001 due to its sheer inventiveness, make no mistake - I adore “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy both in book and movie form, and “Fellowship” is my favourite of the three films. Peter Jackson and his team of geniuses got so many things right - script, locations, casting, costumes, set design and of course the breath-taking score by Howard Shore. The attention to detail in every aspect makes the world of Middle-Earth feel totally real - and the extensive behind-the-scenes features are perfect for a film nerd like me, illustrating how it’s all rooted in a deep love for the source material. Why the first film above the other two? Well, I guess it’s because the story is the closest to the original “quest” tales I read as a child. The pacing is more deliberate, the journey more straightforward and probably more hopeful. I remember seeing the locations unfold on the big screen - the awe of Rivendell and Moria and Lothlórien brought to life. Not just a fantasy film;  a cinematic world I believed in and one that has invited me back again and again. I have revisited the whole trilogy (in extended edition form) at least twice a year every year since the original release. In a word - magic. 

• Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone - F**k you, JK. Trans Lives Are Human Lives