Gray Apocalypse by James Murdoch

For those interested in alien abduction/government cover-up conspiracy theories, Gray Apocalypse should be an enjoyable and exciting book. Murdoch spins an action-adventure tale that incorporates many elements of standard alien abduction lore.

For the rest of the reading world, the novel has less to offer, but is not without value. Murdoch offers a fairly uninventive blend of The X-files and Jason Bourne. The action is fast-paced enough to maintain the reader’s interest, despite the novels (many) failings.

Two difficulties prevent this being a truly good thriller. First, Murdoch’s writing is, at best, awkward enough that the reader is always aware of reading—unable to get lost in the story. At his worst, Murdoch drops some real clangers, phrases and descriptions that are groan-out-loud bad, especially in his dialogue. The ending in particular rates five stars on the corny scale.

Second, Murdoch requires too much suspension of disbelief, even for seasoned sci-fi fans. The reader must accept not only that evil aliens have been using human abductees in a hybrid breeding program with the explicit consent of a vague but ultimately powerful cabal of human collaborators, but also that these aliens are going to destroy the world by steering a huge asteroid at it, that they will somehow rehabilitate the resulting cinder for their own habitation and, for reasons that remain unclear, they will allow a few thousand chosen humans to cohabit the planet. If you can stomach all that, add to it a protagonist who can not only heal cancer by a laying on of hands for only a few minutes, but can also hear the thoughts of those around him and deflect large objects with his mind.

For conspiracy theorists, this is a must-read. If you have run through all the thrillers on your list and need something to tide you over until the next Lee Child or Greg Rucka novel comes out, this is worth a try. It certainly has a lot of action and the author is plainly conscious of the conventions of the genre. Murdoch is, to be fair, a first-time novelist (and the book appears to be only the second release from a very small press) so these qualities deserve some credit. Nonetheless, for the general reader, this novel can sit near the bottom of the to-read stack.

Reviewed by Zade

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