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The Grays  By  cover art

The Grays

By: Whitley Strieber
Narrated by: Stephen Lang
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Publisher's summary

Millions of people are confronting aliens that authorities say do not exist. Now Whitley Strieber, author of the #1 best seller Communion, which detailed his own close encounters, returns with The Grays, a mind-bending journey behind the curtain of secrecy that surrounds the subject of aliens. This audiobook will make you think deeply, not only about the mystery of who the Grays are, but who exactly we are.

Meet the Three Thieves: a group of Grays assigned to duty in a small Kentucky town. They've been occupying this town for decades, abducting its residents and manipulating bloodlines in an attempt to create an ultra-intelligent human being. Nine-year-old Conner Callahan will face the ultimate terror as he struggles to understand who he has been bred to be and what he must do to save humanity.

Meet Colonel Michael Wilkes, a government official who has monitored the Grays' presence for years. He's done everything in his power to keep the secret of the Grays from reaching the public, but when the Grays begin to reveal themselves, Wilkes' fear of ultimate occupation forces him to set in motion a sinister plan to ensure the survival of humanity. But at what cost?

The fate of the human race lies in one woman, Lauren Glass. Her father was the only man to communicate with the Grays. His untimely death leaves Lauren the unique ability to communicate with the last remaining captive Gray, known as A for Adam, and she may be the only one to truly unravel the Grays' ultimate plan.

©2006 Whitley Strieber (P)2006 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC

Critic reviews

"A terrific read." (Booklist)
"It goes without saying that [Strieber's] abduction scenarios have a disturbing authenticity that even skeptical readers will find provocative." (Publishers Weekly)

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What listeners say about The Grays

Average customer ratings
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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • L.
  • 09-29-06

EXCELLENT listen

I got this book because I have listened to MOST of the Sci-fi books here since I have been a member for a long time.. Basically, I thought I was out of "good" Sci-fi to listen to for a while, but stumbled across the reviews on this one and decided to give it a try.

At first It seemed VERY slow, and I thought "Here's one I won't finish", but a friend said, "Make it through the first hour, it gets a LOT better!"

It got a LOT better!!! So much better that I spent 8 straight hours (all night, until 7 this morning) listening to the rest of it.

It's like the X-files meets every UFO Conspiracy theory ever produced, but the author pulls it off so well that you can give a nod to a "Conspiracy theory" as it passes by, without it damaging the story, in fact it adds more to it.

The Science and philosophy is More than excellent in some areas, but a bit weak in a few spots (Not enough to damage the story though).

I'm sure there will be a second book, now I just have to wait for it (I HATE that part ;).

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29 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Riveting, Don't Miss!!

This is the first time I have ever given any Audible book a five star rating. Strieber has written an extraordinarily well crafted story with a 5 star chill factor. Whether you believe in UFO’s or not, you will find this stunning story keeps your interest to the point that driving a car while listening to some scenes can be a dangerous to life and limb. Strieber is going to produce a motion picture based on this book. If he can get his writing on the screen as it comes across in the novel, it will be a mammoth hit. If you like action, suspense, terror (in places), excellent characterizations, and well choregraphed chaos, don't miss this one.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

A good SF yarn

At first it started like a humdrum abduction story that had me rolling my eyes. Fortunately, it quickly moved into a complicated story that pulled me in. Good characters, twisty plot, historical ties, and no clear villain, all that I like. I found myself siding with the antagonists occasionally -- they could be right.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Surprising, and due for a sequel!

OK so this is a sprawling, complex book with several parallel plot lines, multiple interests and agendas at play, and characters that are rich enough to continue to care about.

There is some filler here, and the reader certainly needs to buy into the "aliens are amongst us " concept to likely enjoy the book.

All that said, I found this a very entertaining book, performed well. Like many books that lend themselves to aliens/conspiracy theory/black helicopters etc. it takes a somewhat elevated level of disbelief suspension to fully enjoy, but once you do, the ride is worth it, to me at least.

I will say that Stephen Lang is becoming one of favourite performers , and this performance is certainly worthy of note. He has lots of characters to illustrate, and does a fine job . ( Again noting that there are so many, it's sometimes difficult to keep them straight, but maybe that is just me! )

Final word? If you enjoy alien "stuff" this one is for you!

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

If You Loved "Communion", You'll Love This

Any additional comments?

The 1st of the 11 hours sort of dragged on but once you're past the beggining of the book, it really takes off. Anyone who is interested (even mildly) in aliens/UFOs will find this book absolutely riveting.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Strieber does it again

What a great book! I really hated for it to end. Good story, and great narration.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Nail-biting fantasy

I had fun listening to this tale of how aliens have been guiding our lives for thousands of years. Even the President was involved.
The best thing about the book was the description and activities of the child who had an IQ above 200. This would have been a great science fiction story that my middle schoolers could read except for the violence.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Really fascinating

Compelling story that really moves quickly. Do you miss the X-files? I sure do, so this excellent book is almost nostalgic. Extremely cinematic in terms of action and dialog. Kind of believable in its own special way, and the real-ness of the human emotion portrayed gives the UFO story punch. After I got done walking the dog, I kept listening until the iPod's battery drained!

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Very enjoyable

I wasn't really expecting much from this book but I was pleasantly surprised. Well written, compelling story and interesting characters. Strieber brings together various UFO theories and accounts and blends them well. I very much look forward to the sequel(s?).

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

I have read quite a few science fiction books....

I have read quite a few science fiction books lately and so I was hoping this one would be a bit different from the others and that I would feel okay about the ending and book in general.

Well....this book didn't let me down.

I enjoyed The Grays because it had a very human side to it and you felt for the characters both alien and human....there were times when I was actually a bit afraid to go on...not wanting to know what would happen next but not being able to stop listening. There were a couple of slow parts which I just daydreamed through but overall I was particularly enthralled with this book and the idea of the human race being saved by a little boy. I couldn't help but wonder what would it be like to be his mother and how would I react to all the craziness that came my way. I was particularly happy with the ending for most of the science fiction books I have read lately have been such a downer.....but this book gave me hope and was filled with hope in the midst of danger....and I felt relief in finding a book that would end on a high note.

Thanks to this little novel my hope in science fiction reads has been restored again.

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3 people found this helpful