Thursday, December 30, 2010

Shades of Grey/Jasper Fforde

Shades of Grey: The Road to High Saffron by Jasper Fforde; science fiction, humor, mystery; 400 pages (about 11.5 hours on CD)

I loved Fforde's first Thursday Next novel, and the plot of this book intrigued me enough to pick it up. In this distant future, people only see one color--if they can see color at all. As a result, a whole hierarchy has risen from who can see what color, and how much. Edward Russet is a Red--pretty low ranking--but he has high hopes of advancing his state through marriage into the aristocratic Oxblood family. Before he can, however, he and his father are sent to the tiny village of East Carmine, where nothing is as it seems, or as Eddie expects it. As Eddie start investigating the numerous puzzles in the town, he also starts to fall for Jane, a belligerent Grey with a hidden agenda. I loved the way the mysteries played out here--I couldn't guess a single one, and there were so many red herrings that I was constantly thinking. Fforde's trademark humor was also present throughout, and the narrator's performance was spot-on. Fforde ties up the large plots neatly, but leaves enough loose ends that I can hope for a sequel.

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