Grey by Ian Rogers
I would like to thank Absinth Books for an advance copy of this novella in exchange for a fair and honest review
Publisher - Absinth Books
Published - Out Now
Price - £18 hardback £2.99 ebook via https://pspublishing.co.uk/grey-ebook-by-ian-rogers-6398-p.asp
The Guf stands empty.
The last human soul in all of existence has been stolen by the Devil and his children, the Seven Deadly Sins, and humanity’s end is in sight. With no other choice, God enlists Heaven’s hatchet man—an entity called Grey that is neither angel nor demon—to retrieve the soul and save the world.
Noir fiction was much needed refresh of the crime genre. It stopped having perfect heroes, neat world of good and evil and also introduced us to the more recognisable private detective wisecracking and often personality troubled. The Knight with not so much shining armour but a messy coat. They get to enter all worlds of society and hold a mirror up to it to show no one is ever that pure or beyond redemption. It’s an apt style used in a very imaginative way in Ian Roger’s excellent fantasy novella Grey we travel with Limbo’s sole occupant from Heaven to Hell via Las Vegas as the world starts to end.
Grey is used by God sparingly only when She needs someone prepared to break the rules (and occasionally bones). Their long wait is disrupted by The Metatron saying Heaven has a problem - the last human soul to be born has gone missing. Humanity was already nearing the end but until the final human is born nothing can happen. Grey investigates and finds the dangerous Seven Deadly Sins are involved. Grey goes in a new body to late 21st century Earth and follows a trail to Las Vegas where nothing is quite as he last remembered it and finds that Hell’s Occupants are also no longer acting as they normally did. Grey needs to find out what is going on fast and now best to save the world whatever it takes.
Absolutely loved this story thanks to the unqiue character that Grey is and the wider supernatural noir world and characters we meet. When Grey tells us that Limbo is being alone just with Michael Bay movies to watch we know very quickly this is not the Heaven and Hell stories we tend to expect.
Grey is very much the irreverent, smart and wisecracking/bodysmacking detective figure but here as someone Angels and Demons don’t like as he does quite follow the rules of either. Even God the supposed employer is viewed with scepticism as Grey feels he just does the jobs Heaven can’t afford to get their hands dirty on.
We have three main movements. Heaven very much trying to show itself aloof and perfect but as the scene of the crime Grey’s understanding of a person’s nature quickly and very humorously identified the weak spot in perfection and the number one subject. It shows Grey not to be underestimated on brains.
Then we get to Las Vegas and Rogers has a fascinating dark world to explore. As humanity is now without births they imagine that women’s rights are increasingly taken away and Vegas is where a fight back against that has taken hold. Vegas as a progressive stronghold is an interesting angle amongst the casinos and we also get violent scenes as Grey gets captured and mistaken for a very bad person. These scenes shows Grey’s own morality and that for them violence sometimes is the only answer.
Then as Grey gets linked in with Hell’s involvement in the case things get really interesting. The Seven Deadly Sins are not quite as Grey remembered him (although they all have a low opinion of him) and what Grey finds is unsettling as the usual order of the world they know is being overturned. This leads into a trip to Hell and we have a fascinating trip - you will never see a jug of water as that friendly ever again! Rogers plays with the unreality of the place well and adds in violence and humour sometimes at the same time.
Just when you think this is a fun but violent take things in the final acts get very dark. We start to understand Grey’s importance to the bigger world of Heaven and Hell and the choices he is required to make. It’s an unsettling outcome where you do have to take a double take at what just happens but it works really well and ultimately we have to consider what options Grey had. It’s not a comfortable ending and that really works for the wider story.
Grey is a very impressive entry into this world of stories about supernatural entities and Heaven and Hell’s regular battles. Loved the character and a story that makes you laugh and gasp regularly is one to remember. Strongly recommended!
