Shades of Grey – Jasper Fforde

So some sort of unnamed thing happened, and the world has evolved into a society where everyone fits according to their abilities at color perception. Eddie Russet is on his way to the outer fringes, where his father has been tapped to replace the local swatchman (doctor, more or less), who recently died. Eddie’s just shy of his twentieth birthday, so hasn’t been rated yet, but he thinks his red perception is enough that he’ll be able to comfortably marry up spectrum.

It’s really hard to describe this book, because so much of it hangs on the world that Fforde’s created, which is rich, and complicated, and totally absurd, all at the same time. It’s mostly about Eddie discovering more than most people know about the Colortocracy, which sets up the possibility for some more stories down the line, as that’s explored more. This is very much a beginning book, one that shows a lot of promise.