'Brave New World meets 1984 in a new series from British comic genius Jasper Fforde ... Fforde's synaesthetic dystopia is intricately wrought and this opening to a promised trilogy will leave readers impatient for more' -- Sunday Times, Perth, Australia on SHADES OF GREY 'Fforde has introduced an element of darkness and a generous dollop of uneasiness to his familiar blend of silliness and satire in SHADES OF GREY. Upbeat, engaging and at times wickedly off the wall in conversation, Fforde is refreshingly devoid of all literary pretension.' -- Canberra Times on SHADES OF GREY 'Fforde juxtaposes quirky humour with dark scenarios, and the result is an entertaining but edgy story with startling relevance for today's world' -- Courier Mail 'Fforde fans will love this book and will eagerly anticipate the next two instalments ... at every turn of the page there is something new and unexpected that assails you with its audacious inventiveness' -- Weekend Australian on SHADES OF GREY 'Barrelling wit and quirky world-building' -- Age, Australia on SHADES OF GREY 'Fforde's books are more than an ingenious idea. They are written with buoyant zest and are tautly plotted. They have empathetic heroes and heroines who nearly make terribly mistakes and suitably dastardly villains who do. They also have more twists and turns than Christie, and are embellished with the rich details of a Dickens or Pratchett' -- Independent 'Fans of the late Douglas Adams or, even, Monty Python, will feel at home with Fforde' -- Herald 'No summaries can do justice to the sheer inventiveness, wit, complexity, erudition, unexpectedness and originality of the works, nor to their vast repertoire of intricate wordplay and puns' -- The Times

Jasper Fforde traded a varied career in the film industry for staring out of the window and sucking the end of a pencil. He lives and works in Wales and has a passion for aviation.