The relationships in the story also left me scratching my head in places. For example, Michael kills Laura's father in the opening chapter of the book. But when he tells her about it later, she doesn't really react in a realistic manner. She closes her eyes, pauses a moment, and then keeps on going like nothing really happened. I know she hadn't seen her father for 10 years or more, but I would have expected a stronger emotional reaction to learning that this man who has convinced you of the impending doom of the planet actually killed your father just a couple of days before.
Murdoch did leave the end of the novel open for a sequel. Perhaps in the next book we'll start to uncover more of the mysteries of "The Collaboration" and figure out what the aliens were truly up to.
In some ways, this was a combination of the Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle book Lucifer's Hammer and a Battlestar Galactica (new, not old) style of conspiracy where the aliens live among us. Toss in a few cases of UFO paranoia from the X-Files and set the blender on "crush" and you almost have the plot.
For a first novel, Gray Apocalypse was really quite good. Murdoch came up with an interesting tale and heroes that were worth rooting for. That much bodes well for future projects. But I hope he learns to develop deeper characters and answer all the questions that he raises next time.
If you like alien conspiracies and doomsday plots, be sure to check out Gray Apocalypse at your local bookstore or online.
Article comments