The Gray Radiance

I finished reading the Gray Radiance by Robert Gore last night. The preface in the book by Mr. Gore requests that reviews should not contain spoilers and hopefully I will not unintentionally do so.

This is the second book of a planned trilogy. I have previously reviewed The Golden Pinnacle and recommend reading it also. The Gray Radiance is a novel concerning the Vietnam War (and WWII) and intelligence agencies. There are no footnotes, citations or bibliography in this novel for differentiating fact from fiction. When I finished the book, I had two thoughts:

1. I found that I had enjoyed The Golden Pinnacle much more and wondered why. I believe that I related more to the character of Daniel Durand and the time frame of The Golden Pinnacle. A rags to riches story set in the second half of the nineteenth century was a golden time for this country and the American Dream. While Daniel Durand had his setbacks in life, he left a great legacy. While Nick in The Gray Radiance was also a well defined character, I did not relate to him as I have never had any intention of being a reporter. The main time frame of the book was the 1960s and the main focus was the Vietnam War. This war was not a pleasant time in my life or those who did come back from combat in that war.
2. The second thought was the topic of the final book in this trilogy. Would it be the the COVID-19 pandemic, the stolen 2020 elections, the war in Ukraine or the war in the Gaza Strip? Any of these topics would be an effective follow up to the evil outlined in The Gray Radiance.

This is another good novel by Mr. Gore and I am highly recommending it.

David DeGerolamo

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