Gray: Part I

"Gray: Part 1" is only book I've read by this author. I just finished it. It is self-published. But it is the real deal, unlike many self-published books. This is simply a very good book in the apocalypse genre, and in my opinion very well-written. Character, dialogue, scenery, action, EVERYTHING was well-paced, to the point I didn't even notice them. This book was simply a pleasure to read. Typos? I think I ran across two or three, but I've run across more typos than that in books from established publishing houses. The three typos were trivial misspellings and not a problem.I didn't give it five stars because it is the first book in a trilogy, and this book is relatively short. I just think the three books could have been combined into two books or possibly even one thick one. I don't spend money mindlessly and it irritates me to have to buy three short books. But this book was good, and so I am going to buy the next two immediately. I wouldn't do that if this book wasn't that good.If you don't like cliffhangers, don't buy Book 1. It leaves you hanging, for sure.

This book lacks any kind of a coherent plot. Coral’s reaction to the end of the world is–boredom (see chapter 2). An author needs to draw a reader in, to build a convincing world and to make what’s happening to the characters realistic. GRAY doesn’t do that.There’s a reason why this book and other science fiction books like it are so bad.1. Anyone with a computer can self-publish. Then they use a number of tricks to convince you to buy.2. Many so-called series books are designed to lure you in with the first book, so that you'll keep purchasing the rest and end up spending a small fortune.3. There's now an entire industry devoted to pumping these books into the bloodline of the public with even more tricks (such as bogus reviews) to get you to part with your money.4. But let's assume that this author is sincere and truly believes he can write. Lots of people think they can sing too. It's as if all the would-be contestants on American Idol were given recording contracts and their music uploaded on iTunes. How would you know what's worth your time and money?5. Traditional publishers aren't perfect, but at least there's a team that vets a book before it's published. About 3% of self-published books are worth reading. The rest are dreck.It's up to you if you want to take a chance. Or ask Amazon to label these books clearly so readers know what they’re getting.

Apparently, writing about surviving an apocalypse is difficult to do. The books I've read on the subject - which I actually enjoy reading about - seem to be all of one singular mind. The "event" happens, society immediately collapses and there is no government anywhere, and if there is, it's the "United Nations" as a tyrannical, empirical police force out to disarm every survivor and take over the entire world as an authoritarian dictatorship. The characters all encounter looting, maniacal, raping evil-doers taking advantage of a collection of weak, unprepared, incapable group of survivors who are herded like lemmings into cannibalism. The protagonist being the sole person with the collective knowledge to both survive and conquer the dictatorial UN, along with the evil surviving fiefdoms encountered along the way.While this book hasn't done all of the above . . . yet. It is the foreshadowing that is taking place in this "Part 1." I will admit, I've purchased "Part 2" and that is the reason I've awarded four stars to a manuscript that is short on plot . . . so far.

I will warn you first that this is a real cliffhanger of a first installment. So if you cant stand the suspense of waiting for a great storyteller and seemingly effortless writer to continue, go read the many first writings of other authors free on our Kindle Unlimited. This was definitely worth the small price tag. .What a fantastic story! The main character is a very strong athletic and intelligent woman, but she is not superwoman. There is no indication if she could have made it as a runway model, in fact, I would be hard pressed to be able to describe her.The world goes dark while she is RV camping and day hiking in a wilderness area, a terrible wind and boiling hot ash suddenly covers everything, she seeks cover in a cave, for days on end. Emerging finally when temperatures have dropped far enough for her to survive. It is then a desperate search for food and water.Is it an alien invasion? Is it a CME, or other solar event? Lou Caudle is a great writer and a great storyteller. How do you tell a great writer? A great storyteller, like a great singer, appears to perform effortlessly. You sit back and listen and don't have to worry about the grammar, the misspellings, superfluous characters.

What an awesome book ! I loved it !! And I am so glad that I found this book/series !I am such a huge, huge fan of natural disaster books, so when I found this book.. I could not resist grabbing my copy and started reading it, nor have I been disappointed in what I'm reading. I love how the author has kept the suspense of what has actually happened in Coral's world, as first there were dark clouds, then heat, followed by an almost burned out world. We read of Coral's struggle to stay alive in a confusing world that is now covered with ash and snow, and is known as what she calls The Event. Along the way, she meets Benjamin who becomes her friend and together they teach each other how to survive in their desolate world and from those that would do harm to the both of them.I liked this book so much, that when I finished this one, I also turned around and purchased the next 2 books of this series.Thank you for these books, Lou Cadle !

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this first instalment of Grey. It was well written. From the way the story developed you could tell research had been conducted around the themes without bogging the story down in unnecessary technical/scientific detail. The characters were easy to like. Straight off I liked the fact it had a female protagonist, who was strong but equally scared at the scenes unfolding before her. I could relate to her feelings as the tension built up around her as the story headed onwards. I felt myself wondering what would I do in that kind of an end of the world situation (if I survived of course!)? It made me think. And reading it makes you appreciate all the nice things we have around us now. The book was easy to read, in the sense that I could just get into the story and understand it from page one without trying hard to imagine scenery etc, which could have been quite tricky considering it's apocalyptic theme. Personally, I find some sci-fi/disaster stories difficult to understand and get into but this wasn't. It was so enjoyable I read the whole book in three days and am eager to start the second book.

I had settled in for an evening’s read, but the book ended before I’d poured my second drink! The price was discounted, which doesn’t compensate my disappointment - especially as the second installment is a similar length. A pity, as it is a well-told story, and absorbing. I was enjoying the developing relationship between the protagonists prior to the impromptu ending.

Enjoyed this apocalypse book, not sure what had actually happened, which is interesting - zombies? Nope, EMP? Doesn't really matter, as they learn to survive. Looking forward to next book.

That's the only thing wrong with this book... Greeeaaaatttt survival story, lots of detail and cleverly written to keep me in suspense as Coral slowly taught herself to survive a post apocalyptic world.

It makes you think what you would do in that situation. I really want to know what happens to them