It took me some time to get into this new series by Jasper Fforde, but then I really didn't want to leave. He really is a genius! Good for the brain to escape into such a different world. Though it does give one pause to think about the world we live in. Chris Harper did a good job narrating! ( )

There's a feeling you get when reading a certain type of book. A sense of calm and wonder settles over you, letting you know you are being transported to another world. A world that is fascinating and alien and will allow you to completely disappear into it for hours. Red Side Story by Jasper Fforde is that kind of book.

Chromatica is as unique and vivid as Tolkien's Middle Earth or any other created universe you care to name. Only much more humor-filled.

Society in Chromatica is hierarchically governed by what color you can see, and to what degree you can see that color. Purple, yellow, and red are at the top, green at the bottom, and grey, those who can see no color to any significant degree are the much despised but essential working class.

Despite 15 years between books, Red Side Story picks up right where Shades of Grey left off. Eddie Russett who can see more than 86 percent red (87 percent if you round up), has relocated to the remote East Carmine along with Jane Grey, who recently discovered she can see a small degree of green. Their relationship is illicit, as Eddie is engaged to a high-seeing purple, Violet deMauve. Violet detests Eddie, but his high percentage of red will keep the family line from straying into the less desirable blue.

The world of Chromatica is built on the remnants of a previous civilization in a future sort of England. Objects or machines they can't understand are forbidden or ignored under a rigid set of rules that are periodically and haphazardly updated. For example, gloves are forbidden to be worn but required to be manufactured. Bending, evading, or flat-out ignoring the rules is almost an art form. Cause too much of a problem and you may become afflicted with the Mildew, a mysterious disease that seems to affect only the troublemakers.

Eddie and Jane know there are mysteries to be solved about their world and how such an unjust society came to be. They are determined to make changes, no matter how long it takes or how much danger they find themselves in.

Any Jasper Fforde novel is also going to be humorous. Filled with puns, situational humor, and downright amusing characters. Red Side Story has such a compelling plot that the humor sometimes catches you off-guard, resulting in several laugh-out-loud moments. The world-building is incredibly complex and the characters are so compelling you could spend a library full of books just following them around.

The ending of the story is surprising, satisfying, and for me, quite emotional. This would be an amazing duology if the Shades of Grey story ends here. It is also clear that this world has many more stories to tell. I would love to return to this world, but even if there are no more books in this world, this is one of my favorite series of all time.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. ( )

I've been waiting a dozen years for this dystopian science fiction/fantasy sequel! Read my full review here.

North American publication was May 7.

#NetGalley #RBMedia #RedSideStory ( )

The story is just as good as "Shades of Grey". But I had to deduct half a star because of the standard of copy editing in this otherwise-superb sequel. Ironically, in Fforde's acknowledgements at the rear of the book, Fforde thanks his old editor (who was superb) and then says "thanks are also due" to his new editor. I can't decide whether he was being ironic. It's so annoying when such a great story is compromised by poor copy-editing. ( )

You'll certainly want to have read Shades of Grey before this one, or it won't make much sense, but the weird color-based madness world-building continues apace in this one, which brings in some even darker dystopian elements. A typically Ffordian delight.