- Yarn

I knit and sew, and sometimes design clothing for myself, so I admit: I was prepared to condescend to Jon Armstong's book, Yarn. However, I speedily realized my error. Jon has been to design school and is miles ahead of me! I really thought I couldn't finish the book because it was so far over my head.However, I got a grip on myself, finished reading the story, and enjoyed the amazing storytelling. I will say I personally spent the most time marveling over the machines Jon invented, trying to imagine how they worked.The detailing in Yarn will blow you away. Forget what you think you know and let Jon lead you into his universe.You can listen to Jon's first book, Grey, at Podiobooks.com for an introduction to his storytelling ability. Check out his podcast, If You're Just Joining Us, for the interview where Jon talked to the cover artist. It was great.

I love, love love the mind of Jon Armstrong. His GREY was probably my favorite book I read in 2010, and one I discovered completely randomly in a bin at my local library. Why he isn't yet the overlord of his own fashion/literary cult...well, there is time.Yarn takes place in the same Fashion-fueled dystopia of Grey. Or is that Fascion? The casual melding of totalitarian cruelty and high couture, with no moral distinction, is part of what makes his world so bitterly funny and so compelling.The sentences this man writes can inspire me for weeks. "I am the corporate fashion slut of my dreams!" is one early example. Retail Warriors speak in "WarTalk" that is like Calvin Klein perfume ad copy as written by Joseph Conrad. There really is nothing quite like Yarn and Grey that I've found, and spending time in Mr. Armstrong's carefully and thoroughly-wrought world is as luxurious as fine cashmere kissing milk-white skin.A few minor quibbles: Mr. Armstrong appears to be sinking comfortably into a slot known as 'speculative sci fi.' I don't know what that means, only that the parts of the book that sagged for me where the parts where I was most aware of the author trying to fit into a 'genre' (when the book took itself seriously as a sci-fi thriller/mystery mostly). I don't know if that is author or publisher driven, but I'd say go with your gut Mr. Armstrong and write what you want, the stranger the better--risk the messy plot and keep the WarTalk coming. Good writing is good writing, don't focus on the sci fi / fantasy labels, defy and transcend them.Immediately after reading Yarn, I got Gary Shteyngart's "Super Sad True Love Story" on my kindle. Ironically, another near-future dystopian fiction. My review of that novel can be summed up as: 'meh.' Yet it's a critical smash and bestseller. To my ear and eye, Armstrong's take on vapid and rampant consumerism is far funnier and moving than is Mr. Shteyngart's. Where is Michiko Kakutani when you need her?I hear rumors of another book set in the same world of Grey and Yarn. I'm excited by that--the universe summoned by Mr. Armstrong is so rich in potential it could support at least 2 sequels. This corporate fashion slut cannot wait to go back.

This was quircky science fiction and I loved it. A universe where entire societies are based on clothing. Armstrong weaves a tale (pun intended) that is rich in description and a little wacky. Every other chapter is written in the present and the past, which builds the story as it goes along. I recommend it as a change of pace to other science fiction.

I like how in this book the hero isn't a mercernary or a cop or a super-hacker, just a farm boy come to the city with an interest in fashion. How many friends do you have who are mercernaries? Makes this book highly relatable even though it's set in a totally futuristic setting. Great dialogue, good action, excellent pacing, and fun from start to finish.

Uniquely fashionable cyberpunk

What I loved:It was the cover-art of this book that *really* grabbed me. I kept going back to where it was displayed at a FOGcon dealer table, and in the end decided to judge the book by its cover.The world-building was brilliant. I loved the Japanese cast to the whole thing, and using Fashion as the guiding principle of society was intriguing and unique. The descriptions were wonderfully evocative.But.There was some kind of mismatch between the plot and the place and pace. I felt the story wanted to be about the plot, but it kept getting overwhelmed by the world-building. The use of language, though inventive and apt, still required more effort than I wanted to make... there was perhaps a little too much of it? Like a brocade that's so densely figured that it detracts from all the other characteristics of the fabric. The continuing talk about the fabrics didn't feel "insider" so much as "swallowed a textile encyclopedia." It was difficult to get involved enough to care; I remained a distant spectator, even though I liked the protagonist.Takeaway:That said, it also feels like one of those books where once you've understood the world, it's easier going. So I may well decide to read the sequel some time, and may enjoy it more.This book was *very* visual. I can see movie rights in its future. And maybe a graphic novel if there isn't one already.