Shades of Grey

I always liked strange stories... and this is definitely one of those. I'm not sure why I find the books I like best in airports, but somehow I do. I was a bit early in the Orlando airport on my way to GDC (why is a long story) and I could tell there was something different about this book. It is the most unusual post-apocalyptic story I've ever read: a satire of British society, it is set in a world where individuals can only see one color, at levels of intensity that differ from person to person. The entire class structure is based on this "chromaticity", with people of different color sensitivity having different roles and status. An absurdist quality runs throughout the book, but remarkably, Fforde makes this bizarre world seem quite real with his incredible attention to detail. It took a couple chapters for my "eyes to adjust", as it were, but soon I found myself pulled right through.

And wouldn't you know it, the Ffink is making it a trilogy.