PURE SF

I just finished reading Grey, the debut novel from Jon Armstrong. It takes place in a future where the rich "families" lead a much different life than those in the "slubs." One member of those families is Michael Rivers (heir to the powerful RiversGroup) and the book opens with him on a date with Nora, the daughter of the head of another company (MKG). Their arranged marriage is the lead-in for a merger of the two companies. The good news is that they are in love with each other; the bad news is that Michael is shot at a post-date press conference and things go to hell.

The world is run on fashion and magazines and drugs and the philosophies of music such as Ultra (with an umlaut over the "u!"). One of the big sports amongst the city folk is competitive ironing. By amidst all of this, Michael tries to reconnect with Nora, which goes against his father's wishes. Michael spends the first part of the book as a whiny spoiled brat but he toughens up as he learns some things about himself and the world around him. There's corporate intrigue, debauchery, plenty of references to Pure H (the magazine both Michael and Nora are devoted to), a love story, and just a whole bunch more. It's a very stuffed book but the 240 pages move by at a pretty breezy pace. It reminds me of David Louis Edleman's Infoquake in a lot of ways and that's a good thing. I will definitely read more by Armstrong.

This was my 10th book of the year; I read it in 6 days...a decent clip. Since there are only two days left in April, I doubt I'll get another book read, though I was contemplating on starting the second Harry Potter tomorrow. I should have 12 books read by this point to have a shot at 40 on the year, so I'm still behind. Oh well.