Gray Apocalypse

by James Murdoch

Book Overview

An alien species is positioning an enormous asteroid to strike planet Earth, eradicate the human race, and replace mankind with millions of hybrid alien creations. A flawed but determined hero,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0966443063
• ISBN13: 9780966443066
• Release Date: April 2018
• Publisher: Demand Publications
• Length: 286 Pages
• Weight: 0.72 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

FAST MOVING FUN READ! MUCH, MUCH ACTION!

To begin with, I must admit that I am one of those individuals that certainly fall into the "Doubting Thomas School of Thought" when it comes to UFO sightings and conspiracy theories. Of course I don't completely rule them out; to rule anything out is rather silly, but I do have my doubts. I guess you could sort of classify me as an "UFO/Conspiracy Agnostic." Now that being said, it does not mean I dislike and do not read stories about such things. As a matter of fact I rather enjoy stories in this genre. Hey, I don't really feel Hobbits ever existed, but I certainly have enjoyed there adventures over the many years I have read and reread Tolkien. The same hold true for the vast majority of SiFi and Fantasy books I have read in my life. This story as told by the author James Murdoch, is set in the very near future but we learn from prologue that the tale actually started during the Truman Administration in New Mexico. Strange visitors have landed President Eisenhower, who has just taken office, has learned and they have been "borrowing" folks around the country at will and there is not one thing we as a nation can do to stop them. What is the answer? Well, if you can't beat them, at least cooperate with them in exchange for technological secrets that will make our country the strongest. At this point the real story begins..... It would seem that these alien creatures who have occupied secret underground installations since the 1950s are not a very nice group of lads. In fact they desire only one thing; the total destruction of the human race! In addition they have quite a hoard of humans working for them who are not nice either. The ultimate plan is to divert a giant asteroid in order to strike earth. It seems to have worked for the dinosaurs, why not people? Amongst the humans that support the alien creatures is a group of men who are trained from birth as...well, hit men. Cold blooded killers who will stop at nothing to carryout the plans of their masters. One of these highly trained assassins, Kendon, sees the light and decides to change sides and stop the sinister plots of the gray beings. As our story begins, Kendon has only three days to find a way to divert the asteroid and save the human race. Will he be in time? Can one man turn the tide? Just how far will the aliens go to stop him, and more importantly, how far will Kendon go to stop the aliens? This is an extremely fast paced action thriller that mixes up alien conspiracy theories, psychic powers, a couple of neat love interests, a lot of thrilling chases, healing powers, and just good old shot'em up bang, bang action. This is the sort of book that you can read quickly, enjoy the escapism and become completely lost in this made up world situation. The author uses prose that clips right along. He is quite good with his descriptive writing and has the ability to cram quite a lot of action into almost ever page. Yes, I will admit that, as other reviewers have

Non-stop excitement

It's been a while since I've read a book concerning aliens and a possible government cover-up, so this was a refreshing change from my usual reading. The author establishes a very good plot line, and the excitement begins almost from the very first page. We have a story line where, many years ago, the government entered into an agreement with aliens to allow them access to earth in return for learning their advanced technology. It seems that it didn't quite work out that way, and the aliens are now planning to destroy all life on this planet and replace it with their own clones. A giant asteroid is being directed to hit earth and cause catastrophic damage. The protagonist was a former member of the conspiracy with the aliens, but now he feels he must prevent them from accomplishing their purpose. There are chase scenes, much action, murder and mayhem, and a culminating scene in Puerto Rico where the hero and his friends make a last stand against the alien incursion. Once you begin this book it is quite difficult to put it down without finishing it. It's one of those "stay up much too late reading" books that I encounter from time to time, and I enjoyed every minute of reading it!

Reminds me of Matthew Reilly...

Gray Apocalypse was introduced to me by the author himself, and after a polite request that I read and review his book, I opened away and began to read. The First 12 pages or so totally caught me off guard. It grabbed me rather quickly, and yet I was in the middle of moving, so I had to put it down for several days before I was able to re-locate it packed away with all my other unfinished books...the difference being this: I gave up on most of them because they couldn't keep my interest high. I consider myself someone who suffers from RADD--Reading Attention Deficit Disorder...meaning I lose interest really, REALLY quickly in books--unless they keep me 100% engaged and entertained. I am happy to say that Gray Apocalypse did exactly that: it kept me focused and absolutely enthralled, much in the same way Matthew Reilly did with 'Contest', which kind-of reminded me of this book...even though they really are quite different--except for the alien part. Many who read Reilly come down on him for his lack of character development in favor of a fast moving plot. Personally, I honestly don't care that much--if and ONLY if the rest of the story moves at a quick enough pace to make up for that. Reilly's books have as paper-thin characters as you are likely to find in print--but he more than makes up for that in sheer In Your Face Action, the likes of which NO other author I have personally read can come close to...that is, until I picked up this book. To be entirely honest: it wasn't as fast-paced as Matthew Reilly, but it certainly DOES move at a rapid pace enough to keep me along for the ride. Could I tell this was a first novel? I think so--but I've read an awful lot of first novels, and the majority don't entertain me to the degree that this one did--which I see as a remarkably GOOD sign. A few others have noted some oft-used writing styles, and seriously, some may find them a burden to get through, but none bothered me at all simply for one fact: I was kept interested in what would happen next. For those who absolutely DEMAND elegant writing and 3-Dimensional characterization from every person in a book, well you may want to consider going elsewhere...however, for those who enjoy a good X-Files type Action Oriented Sci-Fi thriller that is HEAVY on the action, consider seriously picking up a copy of Gray Apocalypse. The most important thing I can say about what I think about the book is this: I see a bright future for this author and plan to absolutely pick up his next book. Oh, and if you like Matthew Reilly, I really DO think you're in for a treat here. Kudos and good luck to Mr. Murdoch for much success with this first release and one more thing: it'd make a pretty dang fun movie should Hollywood be looking for an idea for the next Summer Blockbuster.

A great read ... a thriller that delivers

I nearly passed on this book when I understood the threat of an asteroid impact was central to the story. I had a previous encounter with a literary asteroid in the form of Arthur C. Clarke's soporific The Hammer of God. All I remember about it is laboring through the first 50 pages, then putting it down and never picking it up again. Despite this prejudice, I browsed through Gray Apocalypse after reading the jacket blurb and endorsements (David Brin, no less) and found I was drawn into the story no matter where I started. Murdoch clearly knows how to intrigue. So I read it from beginning to end and am I ever glad. What a ride! I don't want to give anything away or how it all turns out, but the author keeps you hanging until the very end. The prose is vigorous and the characters believable within the givens of the story. The psychic and out-of-body aspect of the story are interesting. The author's take on it, essentially that mind is a dimension of physics waiting to be discovered (something the aliens of the story understand and have learned to manipulate) would probably not be disputed by people at the cutting edge of physics. Perhaps the author tries to get too much mileage out of the concept, but within the context of the book, it works, and the main character emerges as larger than life, almost like an new type of superhero. Books need to be judged based upon what they set out to accomplish. This book claims to be a thriller, and it delivers. It was a thoroughly enjoyable read.

A page turning thriller destined to become a movie!

I had the good fortune of getting my hands on an advance copy of this book several weeks ago, and after spending a couple of afternoons reading it, I ended up really appreciating it on two different levels. I was in the Navy during the 1970s and was one of several seaman who witnessed a very large object come out of the sea between Puerto Rico and the island of Vieques and then shoot off at an incredible speed. All of us were threatened with serious reprisals if we talked about it. And so now I read a book that deals with this very subject of UFOs and Puerto Rico and it felt so eerily familiar. I also appreciated this book for its story telling. I got pulled into the story line right from the beginning. The author has a talent for action and for bringing even minor characters to life: a dentist, a National Guard commander, a fisherman, to mention just a few--they are all like people I've met somewhere or other. I got a chuckle out of the rural Texas sheriff. The violence is plentiful, within a military context, and believable because it's experienced from the perspective of the main characters. It's like you are there. Murdoch does use a few action cliches (someone jumps off a cliff to get away from pursuers.) But these are not serious flaws, and that cliff scene certainly moves the story along. If I could, I would give Gray Apocalypse ten stars for boldness. As an exciting read, it gets five thumbs up.