Review: Shades Of Gray
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 7, 2013
As you can tell from the title of this trilogy (all in one volume), the story's main character is an assassin.  The first book, The Silver Bear, sets up the character on a major assignment with multiple flash backs to tell the reader how he gets into the business and what his life has been like.  These stories are told in first person, which for me can be a little limiting in that you only have one point of view.  The second book, Columbus (name of the assassin), is all about the results of one of his jobs -- a trail of assassins after him!  In this book, he tells you he is not someone to like.  He learns enough about his targets so that he dislikes/hates them so that he can kill them without having regrets afterward.  He seems a lonely, lonesome person.  When he seems to meet someone that he can be close to, they are killed.  In each of the first two books, he meets a girl/woman that he falls in love with, but that cause problems for him.  It isn't good for a killer to have someone close to him that could be used against him.  He even loses his handlers (the guys that research his targets and negotiate his contracts).  So every time he seems to have someone he's close to and can help to humanize him, he loses them.  Columbus goes out of his way to remove himself emotionally from his targets so that he doesn't psychologically suffer from what he does.  But this tends to dehumanize him.  And yet I found myself trying desperately to like him and find redeeming characteristics in him.  I am ready to start the final book in this trilogy -- Dark Men.  Columbus ends with him deciding to leave the business and make a new life with a woman he has fallen in love with.  Somehow I don't think this will work out like he hopes in Dark Men.  That seems to be the vibe from these books -- just when he thinks he can become close to someone who will make him more normal and more human, he loses them.  I will update this review after finishing Dark Men.  I am enjoying this trilogy.  But the story and characters are a little more sterile than I would prefer.  I find myself looking for reasons to like and root for Columbus.Update:  Just finished Dark Men.  Another interesting read.  Now Columbus is in love and out of the game . . . that is until someone kidnaps his old fence.  That puts the two on a race to find who has kidnapped the fence and free him.  He goes down a few wrong turns but eventually gets to the guy with the fence.  All the time he is wondering if his girlfriend will understand what he does and tolerate it, or will it turn her away?  I won't ruin any surprises for you, but it becomes fairly clear what continued role she will play in his life -- though she does throw him a curve ball at the very end.  Obviously there will be more in this series.Again, it is interesting and keeps you reading.  But the way they are written just manages to keep you connected to Columbus, while also holding you at arms length -- just like Columbus must keep everyone but his girlfriend -- in order to survive in his world.  Worth reading.