BARNES & NOBLE | Grey by Jon Armstrong, Night Shade Books

Grey

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Grey (eBook) Pub. Date: 2/1/2007 Publisher: Night Shade Books
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Grey Pub. Date: 2/7/2007 Publisher: Night Shade Books

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Overview

In a world pushed beyond the moral simplicity of black and white, all that survives is Grey.

High fashion, corporate malfeasance, celebrity culture, and an obsessed media collide with exuberant violence and volatile intensity in Grey, the explosive debut novel by newcomer Jon Armstrong.

For Michael Rivers, life is perfect. Michael has everything; tall, handsome, and famous, he is worshipped by billions of fans around the globe. He is wealthy beyond measure, the heir apparent to RiverGroup, one of the handful of high-tech corporations that controls the world. He is fashionable, setting trends with his wardrobe of immaculate designer suits, each a unique and celebrated work of art. And Michael is in love, perfect love, sharing a private language based entirely on quotes from the latest fashion magazine advertisements, with Nora, his beautiful, witty, and equally perfect fiancée, the only woman with whom he can see surgically-altered monochromatic eye to eye.

When an assassin’s bullets pierce Michael’s body before the unblinking eyes of cameras, reporters, and viewers at a press junket, everything changes, forcing Michael to question everything about his previously perfect world. Illusions shattered and forcibly separated from Nora, Michael seeks to uncover the reasons behind the attempted assassination, embarking on a quest that leads him to question his relationships with his loud, pro-fane, and narcissistically Ültra father; his estranged mother; and the perilous, contaminated, neo-feudalistic world that lies beyond the safe and protected bubble of corporate family life.

Michael must delve deep into his past, finding that all paths he uncovers seem to lead to the now-closed PartyHaus, and to a time when he was the golden boy, dancing furiously to the beat of notorious all-night Rage parties thrown by his father.

Editorial Reviews

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The Barnes & Noble Review
Set in a near future that is garish, superficial, and obsessively self-absorbed, Jon Armstrong's stellar debut novel is as thematically compelling as dystopian classics like Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, and, most notably, Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange.

In a society controlled in large part by an elite group of corporations and characterized by its wild extremes -- economic, political, sexual, etc. -- young Michael Rivers is a demigod. The heir apparent to high-tech security juggernaut RiverGroup, the 19-year-old has it all: He's handsome, fashionable, and literally worshipped by millions of people who monitor his every movement through the media. And his future looks even brighter -- his girlfriend, Nora, the daughter of the head of a competing conglomerate, is his ideal partner. They share the same understated tastes in music, clothing, and philosophy, and even have a private language based on slogans from advertisements in their favorite fashion magazine. But days before the couple is set to announce their engagement -- and the historic merger of their families' corporations -- an assassin almost succeeds in killing Rivers. When he recovers from the attack, he finds his engagement off and RiverGroup almost bankrupt. Disregarding threats from his egomaniacal father, Rivers begins a perilous quest to reconnect with his true love -- only to come face-to-face with the horrible reality of his existence….

Equal parts ill-fated love story à la Romeo and Juliet, poignant coming-of-age tale, and disturbingly provocative glimpse into humanity's future, Armstrong's debut is simply unforgettable -- nothing short of a science fiction masterwork. A Clockwork Orange for the 21st century. Paul Goat Allen

Publishers Weekly

A Romeo-and-Juliet tale of star-crossed lovers and their conflicted families plays out against a futuristic backdrop shaped by outrageous fashion trends in Armstrong's offbeat debut fantasy. Michael Rivers, heir-apparent to a hi-tech security empire, is poised to wed Nora Gonzalez-Matsu, heiress-apparent to a rival firm, when an assassin's failed attempt on his life humiliates the company and scuttles the nuptials. Though the planned union seemed as calculated as the business merger behind it, incurably romantic Michael believes that Nora, whose lifestyle is governed by the same fashion magazine to which he's addicted, is his soul mate. When he repudiates his father's scheme to marry him into another corporate family and attempts a forbidden reunion with Nora, he discovers nasty realities that have made his coddled life possible. This routine romance plot is virtually secondary to the giddy elaboration of a future world so saturated with advertising and fashion imagery that its most public transactions are orchestrated like runway walks. Though the story runs on a little longer than it should, its playful take on fashionistas of the future is diverting. (Feb.)

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781597800655
Publisher: Night Shade Books
Publication date: 2/7/2007
Pages: 200
Sales rank: 853,259
Product dimensions: 5.50 (w) x 8.50 (h) x 0.50 (d)

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Anonymous

Posted March 14, 2007

The best classic drama/romance/satire/parody/horror/fantasy/science fiction book ever!

Want to read a book that pokes fun at society, fashion, music, and the house of cards that is the financial realm? You'll find it all and more here in Jon Armstrong's 'Grey'! This book is a wonderfully compelling science fiction book. The entire time I was reading it I could see the vivid images in my mind- it was like watching a movie. The author created a world with characters so beautiful and yet grotesque at the same time. Through the eyes of Michael Rivers (the main character) you see a world of the future (a satirical parody of our own) you find first love, political and family intrigue, and a new understanding of self and relationships. Once you begin reading this fantastic novel I'm sure you won't be able to put it down. As my headline indicates, I think it's the craziest and most wonderful classic drama/romance/satire/parody/horror/fantasy/science fiction book ever!
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