Official Review: The Gray Man: A Novella by L. N. Nino

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 27 Oct 2014, 04:11

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Gray Man: A Novella" by L. N. Nino.]

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The Gray Man: A Novella by L. N. Nino is a short story that doesn’t really seem to fit into any specific genre. If it were a movie or short film, I might classify it as a suspense. The disclaimer at the beginning of the book states that this is a work of fiction. However, this story can easily be imagined as a true tale, and I seriously felt like I was experiencing a memoir as I read through this book. If there is any truth to this story, it’s utterly terrifying and would cause the book to jump into the horror genre.

The story is told by the main character, going by the moniker Greg, who makes a point to say that details such as names and descriptions are arbitrary and completely irrelevant to the point of the tale. The main point being that his life changed when he met The Gray Man, and the entirety of the story is spent telling about the events that led up to this meeting. Leaving their home country in search of a more meaningful life, Greg and his wife Carla settled in Bigcity, Bigstate, America. According to Greg, their lives then became even less meaningful, though Carla thrived, even in a horribly demeaning job, while Greg sank further into depression and survived only with his dream of being a published author. Then he finally met The Gray Man, and his life would never be the same again.

The first thing you will notice when reading this book is the language. It’s not casual at all; it’s hardly even modern. It reads like the typical classics we all had to suffer through in high school, and I would be lying if I said that I didn’t need a dictionary to look up a word or two (or ten) as I was reading. The vocabulary is like a graduate school entrance level exam at minimum, and anyone who is looking for some light reading would not find pleasure in this book. Because of this high level, I first thought the tone was a bit pretentious and condescending, but the more I read, the more I realized: that’s exactly the point. The character Greg is a pretentious and condescending man who feels that he can write classic masterpieces like the literary greats of our history. The author did a fantastic job conveying the main character in such a way.

I love how the story is just one big build-up to the climax, the meeting of The Gray Man. The suspense and anticipation of finding out what this Man was all about captured me. I read this whole story in one sitting, very late at night, which might have been a mistake. The surprise ending gave me goosebumps, and then I couldn’t sleep for a few hours after that. Initially, I was just disturbed and rather terrified, but upon further consideration, I became fascinated. Any difference to the ending would have been bland in comparison.

Despite the difficult reading level of the book, the ending is what sold me on this story. If others can patiently pace themselves through the story like I did, they won’t be disappointed. I give this book a rating of 4 out of 4 stars and encourage others to give it a chance as well. It wouldn’t surprise me if this book ends up in the classic literature section of the library one day, next to the works of Edgar Allan Poe.

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LivreAmour217 · Post by **LivreAmour217** » 28 Oct 2014, 11:15

Oooh, this sounds interesting! I was just perusing a book entitled A Field Guide to Irish Fairies and there is an entire chapter devoted to an entity called The Gray Man. He is a particularly malevolent being and I am not surprised that you had trouble sleeping after reading this book!

Gravy · Post by **Gravy** » 28 Oct 2014, 21:53

I just wish it were on paperback!
It sounds very edge of your seat...maybe turn on all the lights even...
Even your review feels kinda edge of your seat

How did you do that?!

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 28 Oct 2014, 23:01

It was so suspenseful! The whole time I was anticipating the gray man and trying to figure out what he was all about, I didn't know anything about any fairy-like entity with the same name though. But now that the seed has been planted.... I could see the relation.

ejcogan · Post by **ejcogan** » 30 Oct 2014, 16:24

I love it when books feel real. That's why I enjoy reading. Your review piqued my interest in this book. I would like to say that I will be reading this in the near future however, since joining this book club and reading many reviews, I have to say that the "near future" is getting further down the road. No complaints though I like having all these books lined up to read.

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 01 Nov 2014, 05:25

ejcogan wrote:I love it when books feel real. That's why I enjoy reading. Your review piqued my interest in this book. I would like to say that I will be reading this in the near future however, since joining this book club and reading many reviews, I have to say that the "near future" is getting further down the road. No complaints though I like having all these books lined up to read.

I definitely know the feeling! My reading list has become longer than I ever imagined it would be! I probably wouldn't have chosen this book on my own, outside of this book club, but I am glad that I had the opportunity. It wasn't what I expected, but in a good way. I hope you enjoy it, if/when you get around to reading it!

AVK2913 · Post by **AVK2913** » 04 Nov 2014, 23:01

This book sounds very interesting, especially because of the title (kind of creepy, to be honest).

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 14 Nov 2014, 09:26

AVK2913 wrote:This book sounds very interesting, especially because of the title (kind of creepy, to be honest).

Yeah, it's really vague, and then there are horror stories about some kind of "gray man" which just makes it even creepier!

PashaRu · Post by **PashaRu** » 14 Nov 2014, 13:40

Thanks for the nice review, ALynn. Very well written. The story sounds intriguing. I'll have to put it on my TBR list.

Skillian · Post by **Skillian** » 19 Nov 2014, 16:39

Alynn, I love how you tackle the novella with apprehension, and are so honest in your review with what areas you were skeptical of at first. I also love how suspenseful your summary paragraph is. I am left feeling the need to know who The Gray Man is and... what happened?! lol. *adds to reading list*

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 23 Nov 2014, 04:37

Skillian wrote:Alynn, I love how you tackle the novella with apprehension, and are so honest in your review with what areas you were skeptical of at first. I also love how suspenseful your summary paragraph is. I am left feeling the need to know who The Gray Man is and... what happened?! lol. *adds to reading list*

It is a super suspenseful story, for sure! I wanted that to be clear to everyone!
And trust me, the WHOLE time, I was sitting there going, "WHO IS THIS GRAY MAN!?!?!"
And then when I found out... whoa...

Post by **bookowlie** » 23 Jan 2015, 12:20

Great review! Now I want to know who the Gray Man is.....guess I will have to add this book to my reading list

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 24 Jan 2015, 12:03

My lips are sealed.

Margjohns51 · Post by **Margjohns51** » 06 Mar 2015, 19:42

I like the way you reviewed this book, without giving away too much of the story line... only enough to whet my appetite. I guess I, too, will have to add this to my list of books that need to be read. Darn you! My life is dwindling before my eyes. lol.