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The Gray Widow’s Trilogy by Dan Jolley
Note: Strong horror elements to this superhero series. The heroes fight true Monsters.
BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON for GRAY WIDOW’S WALK
“The only thing in this world you can truly control is yourself.”
Janey Sinclair’s ability to teleport has always been a mystery to her. She tried for years to ignore it, but when tragedy shatters her life, Janey’s anger consumes her. She hones her fighting skills, steals a prototype suit of military body armor, and takes to the streets of Atlanta, venting her rage as the masked vigilante dubbed “the Gray Widow” by the press.
But Janey’s power, and her willingness to use it, plunges her into a conflict on a much grander scale than she had anticipated. Soon she encounters Simon Grove, a bloodthirsty runaway with a shapeshifting ability gone horribly wrong, Garrison Vessler, an ex-FBI agent and current private defense contractor, who holds some of the answers Janey’s been searching for, and Tim Kapoor, the first person in years with a chance of breaking through Janey’s emotional shell-if she’ll let him.
But as Janey’s vigilantism gains worldwide attention, and her showdown with Simon Grove draws ever closer, the reason for her augmented abilities-hers and all the others like her-begins to reveal itself. Because, high above the Earth, other eyes are watching. And they have far-reaching plans…
MY REVIEW for GRAY WIDOW’S WALK
Gray Widow’s Walk is a superhero prose story written by Dan Jolley (co-creator of DC Comic’s Firestorm – so he knows supes). While this book includes the Gray Widow’s origin, it isn’t just an origin story. And while this is mostly a superhero story, it also includes romance, thriller, and horror elements. Well-developed characters are presented; the large-ish cast introduced one at a time in a clear and easy-to-follow manner.
Mr. Jolley knows how to write a novel by the numbers with solid action, great rise and fall of emotions, the tense of true crime and horror, the laughter of developing friendships, and a tight story. Solid “A” work here.
***
The victim of a home invasion as a teen, Janey Sinclair concentrated on never being a victim again. Then, one day, she gained the power of teleportation and she decided that no one needed to be a victim anymore if she could help them. The story starts on her first day “on the job”.
Like any job, what sold you on the job during the interviews, and what the job actually entails are two VERY different things. Janey had never met anyone else with powers but that changes, and some people that gain powers like making victims.
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BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON for GRAY WIDOW’S WEB
Janey Sinclair never knew how or why she gained her ability to teleport. She never wanted it, and for years tried her best to ignore it. But when horrible violence shattered her world, she vowed to use her mysterious talent to protect the citizens of Atlanta, in an effort to prevent anyone else from suffering the kind of agony she had. Wearing a suit of stolen military body armor, Janey became known to the public as the Gray Widow.
But now the extraterrestrial source of her “Augmentation” is about to reveal itself, in an event that will profoundly impact Janey’s life and the lives of those closest to her–
Tim Kapoor, who barely survived the assault of twisted, bloodthirsty shapeshifter Simon Grove and still struggles to pull himself together, both physically and mentally.
Nathan Pittman, the teenager who got shot trying to imitate Janey’s vigilante tactics, and has since become obsessed with the Gray Widow.
Sha’dae Wilkerson, Janey’s neighbor and newfound best friend, whose instant chemistry with Janey may have roots that neither of them fully understand.
And Janey’s going to need all the help she can get, because one of the other Augments has her sights set on the Gray Widow. The terrifying abomination known as Aphrodite Lupo is more powerful and lethal than anyone or anything Janey has ever faced. And Aphrodite is determined to recruit Janey to her twisted cause…or take her off the field for good.
Unrelenting ghosts of the past clash with the vicious threats of the future. Janey’s destiny bursts from the shadows into the light in Gray Widow’s Web, leaving the course of humanity itself forever changed.
MY REVIEW for GRAY WIDOW’S WEB
Second in this superhero prose series following the Gray Widow (a teleporter). As with many stories, the superhero prose isn’t ONLY a superhero genre – there are some (very light) romantic elements and a lot of horror story elements. The villains are more monsters than monologue-spewing superpowered beings out to take over the world for its own good – they are grotesques in the traditional meaning – shapeshifters and creatures stuck half-way between. The villains are in pain and want to share the bounty of their horrible existence. It’s up to Gray Widow and her friends to stop them.
The big question is since the villains and the heroes get their powers from the same source … how long until one becomes indistinguishable from the other?
A great book for superhero fans, horror fans, and monster-hunter urban fantasy fans.
Oh my goodness, the ending! So much!
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BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON for GRAY WIDOW’S WAR
When Janey Sinclair vowed to use her teleportation ability to protect the city of Atlanta in the guise of the armored vigilante known as the Gray Widow, she only wanted to spare others the kind of agony she’d long endured herself.
But now Janey and an unlikely group of allies — allies that include the man she’s come to love, as well as a best friend she never expected to gain — have become part of something much, much larger. Something that literally spans the globe.
And reaches beyond it.
The forces behind Janey’s “augmentation” have arrived on Earth, revealing their grand plan to use human DNA as raw material in a vast intergalactic war. If the planet is to survive, Janey Sinclair must unite friends and foes alike…and take the entire human species in a shocking new direction.
MY REVIEW for GRAY WIDOW’S WAR
The conclusion to the Gray Window Trilogy delivers.
The perfect mix of superhero and horror, amazing character development (with several different characters having their own growth stories), and action. The first part of the book is called “The Calm” and the second is called “The Storm” — action isn’t as strong in the first half, but sets up everything so that the Storm doesn’t have to stop, ever.
It’s the character development of so many different characters that takes my breath away. Mr. Jolley (the author) is amazing.
