Book Review: "Grey" by Jon Armstrong

I came across Jon Armstrong via an interview on a sci-fi/fantasy podcast that I listen to, Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing. (Oh, that's right! I need to talk about my podcasts sometime. Well, it'll have to wait.) Anyway, Jon has written a book entitled "Grey", which is available in audiobook form for free at Podiobooks.com. It is also hilarious.

Grey is more than just the title of the book: it's also a way of life. The main character, Michael Rivers, is a part of the Grey movement, who are all believers in the virtues of the quiet, the plain, and the serene. Michael is also part of one of the Corporate Families, one of the aristocratic elite. His family, RiverGroup, is involved in security and identity. At the beginning of the novel, RiverGroup is preparing for a merger with another Family, in the form of a marriage to Nora, the daughter of the other company's president. Nora and Michael are both Grey, and are deeply in love.

But then tragedy strikes! Michael is attacked just after their fourth and final Publicity date, and his father blames Nora's family for the attack. Michael's Father, Hiro Bruce Rivers, subscribes to the Ultra movement, which is what you get if you take Heavy Metal culture and turn it to eleven. It is the fashion of the Loud, of the Obnoxious, of the Crude. Naturally enough, Michael and his father hate each other. Hiro forbids Michael to see Nora, and sets up another corporate merger wedding with another family, RiboCool.

That's essentially the set-up for the story. Will Michael and Nora get together in the end? Who attacked Michael, and why? Will Michael choose between his love for Nora or his duties as a son of one of the aristocratic families? Will he be forced to marry the daughter of RiboCool, who pretentiously combines four separate and contradictory fashion styles?

I thought Grey was a wonderful piece of satire, and an amusingly original concept for a sci-fi novel. Armstrong's writing is excellent, and his reading voice is perfect for the pod-cast. The relationship between Hiro and Michael reminded me of this Calvin and Hobbes comic, with the difference being that Michael's preferred style of music involves dropping feathers lightly onto the keys of a piano.

Perhaps the coolest thing about the novel is that you can hear it for free from Podiobooks -- try it before you buy it and all that. Give it a shot! I think you'll enjoy it.

Oh, and...disclaimer. Violence, sex, and foul language. Mostly from Michael's father and his friends, as you might expect.

Bottom line: ***1/2 stars out of five.