Finally.

The sequel to
Shades of Grey

UK, Oz and NZ: February 6th 2024 (Hodder)
USA and Canada: May 7th 2024 (Soho Press)

So what is it all about? Well, I opted for the 'direct sequel' approach, so the action simply carries on a couple of weeks where Shades of Grey ended. Eddie is about to married off as little more than breeding stock to the repulsive Violet deMauve, and Jane is now a Brunswick, and has been promoted to retail: working in East Carmine's Inspirational Living shop. Courtland Gamboge's death has not been forgotten, and Yellow prefect Sally Gamboge with the help of Yellow-Prefect-in-Waiting Bunty McMustard are keen to have Eddie and Jane consigned to the Green Room as punishment. Needless to say, Jane and Eddie are not keen for this to happen - after all, there is the entire social apparatus of Chromatacia to be brought down..

Along the way we discover more about the world they live in, the secret behind the Fallen Man, what Eddie's Mum was doing at Jollity Fair, and all manner of questions that they - and you - may have about the world.

This is how it opens:

"My name is Eddie Russett, but only for another one hour and nine minutes. After my negotiated marriage to Violet I will take on the prestigiously dynastic surname of deMauve, but within seventy-two hours I find out that I am not Eddie Russett at all, but HE-315-PJ7A(M). Three days after momentarily becoming Russett again I reluctantly become Mr Hollyberry before quickly reverting to the name of deMauve, but less than forty-eight hours after that I decide to dispense with a colour based name entirely.

There is jeopardy, too: Jane and I almost catch the Mildew, a group of Yellows try to kill us and the ever-present Green Room beckons us toward its soporifically deadly charms. We also meet a Tinman, a Riffraff and have an encounter with an Angel who tries to kill us three times.

But it's not all bad. At least Jane and I get to figure out the riddle of existence. Not the riddle, I should add, just ours, and we also learn there is a literal truth to the adage that you can't go home..."