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dankesean's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
srs_moonlight's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
With a publication date of 2009 and a generic title, a reader here in the year of our Lord 2024 might be prone to write off Shades of Grey as another Hunger Games pretender, just one more in the spate of mid-quality YA Dystopia from that era. But you’d be missing out - Shades of Grey holds up. Fforde’s world feels fully realized and unique, and his writing is funny and clever without cloying levels of quirkiness. The premise of a hierarchy based on the level of an individual’s color perception is _very_ whimsical, but the writing and the characters are strong enough for the most part to make it work.
It’s not a total bullseye. Our hero, Eddie Russet, is utterly pathetic, though his hero’s journey sees him become…uh, mildly less so. The main romantic tension in the story fell flat for me, as I can’t really understand what either character sees in the other. Nonetheless, the relation of each to the society they are forced to inhabit makes them interesting enough individually, even if their pairing doesn’t quite land. The supporting cast helps too - the world of Chromatacia is home to a vibrant collection of characters, whose cute punny names and motley personalities bring the right amount of color to Fforde’s world without wearing out their welcome.
It’s obvious from early on that this book is the start to a series, and that Fforde has a lot of world-building yet to do. At time of writing, he has managed to finally publish a sequel after more than a decade. Whether there’s enough here to sustain an entire trilogy will depend on not just good world-building, which Shades of Grey has in abundance; it will also need main characters who are vibrant enough to be the thread that connects them, which is in shorter supply here.
It’s not a total bullseye. Our hero, Eddie Russet, is utterly pathetic, though his hero’s journey sees him become…uh, mildly less so. The main romantic tension in the story fell flat for me, as I can’t really understand what either character sees in the other. Nonetheless, the relation of each to the society they are forced to inhabit makes them interesting enough individually, even if their pairing doesn’t quite land. The supporting cast helps too - the world of Chromatacia is home to a vibrant collection of characters, whose cute punny names and motley personalities bring the right amount of color to Fforde’s world without wearing out their welcome.
It’s obvious from early on that this book is the start to a series, and that Fforde has a lot of world-building yet to do. At time of writing, he has managed to finally publish a sequel after more than a decade. Whether there’s enough here to sustain an entire trilogy will depend on not just good world-building, which Shades of Grey has in abundance; it will also need main characters who are vibrant enough to be the thread that connects them, which is in shorter supply here.
ellis_eden's review against another edition
2.0
At the beginning of this novel, I was terrifically excited. I thought I had finally stumbled upon a contemporary golden-age style writer. Adventure! Science! Dystopian future! Kisses! Fair maidens who kick ass!
But then it just started dragging on, and on. I stopped caring about the characters, because for all the glimmering mirage of excitement and a great story arc, the book became a book about itself. Too involved in world building but then doing almost nothing with that world.
I may pick this up again at another time. I only made it halfway before I got tired of hoping 2D Retroussé Manic Juliet Pixie Girl would evolve into a real heroine and Dandy Color Boy Romeo would do something. Anything. I dislike reading entire books that feel like backstory for future novels.
I also now officially hate the word retroussé.
But then it just started dragging on, and on. I stopped caring about the characters, because for all the glimmering mirage of excitement and a great story arc, the book became a book about itself. Too involved in world building but then doing almost nothing with that world.
I may pick this up again at another time. I only made it halfway before I got tired of hoping 2D Retroussé Manic Juliet Pixie Girl would evolve into a real heroine and Dandy Color Boy Romeo would do something. Anything. I dislike reading entire books that feel like backstory for future novels.
I also now officially hate the word retroussé.
neithernora's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
alhalpern's review
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
kathydavie's review against another edition
5.0
This was a scary look at color prejudice in a very odd society. Fascinating reading.
bookook's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A fun and funny read. Poor Eddie Russett has had a very busy and confusing four days. He's a hapless and charming protagonist, and I think the best parts of the book are when he's realizing how weird his world is and how many mysteries are out there. His society has lost a lot of knowledge and most of their history - it's funny when Eddie talks about concepts whose meanings have been lost to time, like "Chuck Nauris" and "M'Donna," but sad when he and others wonder what arcs in a long-exposure photo are.
The world is interesting, if thinly built. In this world, most people can only see one color naturally (Eddie can only see red), I suppose excepting black, white, and gray. I found the world and rules more interesting than all the characters and their relationships. We're supposed to root for Eddie and surly Jane, but I generally dislike the trope of "person A falls in love with person B who's very mean to them." Have some self-respect, man.
The book owes a lot to The Giver. A dystopiann society where seeing color is a rare/restricted ability, and only a very small group of people know what actually happened in the past...
Overall, this was a fun read. I enjoyed it, but not quite enough to read the sequel.
The world is interesting, if thinly built. In this world, most people can only see one color naturally (Eddie can only see red), I suppose excepting black, white, and gray. I found the world and rules more interesting than all the characters and their relationships. We're supposed to root for Eddie and surly Jane, but I generally dislike the trope of "person A falls in love with person B who's very mean to them." Have some self-respect, man.
The book owes a lot to The Giver. A dystopiann society where seeing color is a rare/restricted ability, and only a very small group of people know what actually happened in the past...
Overall, this was a fun read. I enjoyed it, but not quite enough to read the sequel.
kelkelau's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
amandakh's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0