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A review by flyingfox02
Red Side Story by Jasper Fforde
adventurous
mysterious
4.5
Nooo!! This is why I hate reading unfinished series ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ This is an amazing sequel that's left me begging on my hands AND knees for more.
Initially I was quite underwhelmed by the quality of writing, as it felt rigid and the dialogue unorganic. It felt as though the narrator (Eddie) and other characters were 'aware' that somebody (the reader) was watching, so they'd talk about the world and events from previous book as if we didn't understand. I reckon Fforde was trying to compensate for the fact that this came out 15 years after Shades of Grey, and therefore wanted to remind his readers before continuing with the plot. He probably should've skipped that and trusted us to work it out.
I digress. Weak beginnings aside, I was quickly hooked back into the Chromatacia world. Eddie and Jane are 'woke' now, they know for sure there's something insidious going on, and are ramping up their efforts to learn more. The last 100 pages were so intense. Where Book 1 had a lot more whimsy, this book had me on the edge of my seat.
Character development was absolutely top notch chef's kiss. Not just Ed and Jane, the first book did such a good job introducing side characters, who we see again here and whose arcs compelled me to love them too.
Final thing. In my review of Book 1 I wrote how I was in awe of Fforde's wit to include a 'coming soon' page at the end of the book that I could only understand upon completion. It happened again ladies and gents!And it wasn't just a single isolated page, this time it was sprinkled throughout the book. It didn't register until I was writing this review, and it was even a source of gripe for me until the light bulb turned on. Oh Jasper Fforde how massive your brain is.
I'm torn between a 4 or 4.5 star rating. The ending did feel a little rushed, but overall it was such a riveting read. I cannot wait for Book 3 and I hope I won't have to wait 15 years for it.
Initially I was quite underwhelmed by the quality of writing, as it felt rigid and the dialogue unorganic. It felt as though the narrator (Eddie) and other characters were 'aware' that somebody (the reader) was watching, so they'd talk about the world and events from previous book as if we didn't understand. I reckon Fforde was trying to compensate for the fact that this came out 15 years after Shades of Grey, and therefore wanted to remind his readers before continuing with the plot. He probably should've skipped that and trusted us to work it out.
I digress. Weak beginnings aside, I was quickly hooked back into the Chromatacia world. Eddie and Jane are 'woke' now, they know for sure there's something insidious going on, and are ramping up their efforts to learn more. The last 100 pages were so intense. Where Book 1 had a lot more whimsy, this book had me on the edge of my seat.
Character development was absolutely top notch chef's kiss. Not just Ed and Jane, the first book did such a good job introducing side characters, who we see again here and whose arcs compelled me to love them too.
Final thing. In my review of Book 1 I wrote how I was in awe of Fforde's wit to include a 'coming soon' page at the end of the book that I could only understand upon completion. It happened again ladies and gents!
I'm torn between a 4 or 4.5 star rating. The ending did feel a little rushed, but overall it was such a riveting read. I cannot wait for Book 3 and I hope I won't have to wait 15 years for it.