SLAY

by Scott Sigler, Rob Otto

You got a monster, and you want it dead, but you ain’t got the guts? You better pony up the bucks because the Man in Grey doesn’t do freebies.

SLAY is the electrifying debut of a five-book series starring enigmatic anti-hero Lincoln Franks.

"The Witcher meets THE BOYS. Filled with irreverent humor and gleeful bloodshed. Highly recommended!”
Jennifer Brody, author of STAR WARS Stories of Jedi And Sith and A Sacrifice of Blood and Stars

"Monsters, bastards, and things that go bump in the night don’t stand a chance when the ruthless Man in Gray comes gunning for them. SLAY blasts along with Sigler’s prose coming at you as hard and precise as the Man himself. Packed with action, clever ideas, and memorable characters this is Sigler at his very best.”
Richard Kadrey, author of Sandman Slim and The Everything Box

Pay to slay…
For millennia, a secret society known as the Bastion has protected mankind from the horrors of the “Underskin” — malevolent forces lurking unseen in civilization’s shadows. Monsters, demons, spirits, lawyers, and Fortune-500 CEOs, the Underskin’s fiends pray upon the weak.

When these creatures spill blood, it falls upon the rixators — the Bastion’s elite warriors — to cut them down. Armed with ancient relics and modern weaponry, altruistic rixators hold the line against chaos.

But a rixator’s sworn oath of poverty grinds against Lincoln’s life. Faced with providing for his agoraphobic former partner, who was crippled by a monster, his father, whose life as a rixator left him broke and broken in an old folk’s home, and his son who is imprisoned in a land of nightmares, Lincoln’s got bills to pay.

Vow of poverty be damned — it’s time to cut off some heads, collect bounties, and bring home the bacon.

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Urban Fantasy, Horror, Crime

382 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 1, 2024

About the author

THE CRYPT: SHAKEDOWN is Book I of a new five-book series. It’s out October 3, 2023 in hardcover, eBook, and audiobook narrated by Ray Porter.

iTunes by subscribing to his podcast.

#1 New York Times best-selling author Scott Sigler is the creator of fifteen novels, six novellas and dozens of short stories. He gives away his stories as weekly, serialized, audiobooks, with over 40 million episodes downloaded.

Scott launched his career by releasing his novels as author-read podcasts. His rabid fans were so hungry for each week’s episode that they dubbed themselves the “Junkies.” The first hit is always free …

He is also is a co-founder of Empty Set Entertainment, which publishes his Galactic Football League series. He lives in San Diego, CA, with his wife and wee little Dogs of Døøm.

Reviews

[Paul Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Old school Sigler is back and there is LOTS and LOTS of violence. I forget how much I love Scott’s books, then I binge this story and I just want to read everything he has written all over again. Scott does flawed characters like no other and soon you would rather die than put the story down.

[Richno3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Get ready to be wowed

Rob and Scott have created a story for us to be wowed and enjoyed like we haven't before. Read this one to start our journey into the life of magic and Bad Ass characters. Enjoy.

[anarresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lincoln Franks was trained as an elite monster hunter, earning himself a dramatic magical gray cloak. He still has the cloak but now is a drunken bounty hunter supporting his antagonistic elderly father and agoraphobic former partner Magda. He's also an assassin under contract with a demon who is protecting his son, trapped in a circle of hell.
When innocent teenage Billy begins to see the "underskin" where these monsters dwell he attracts an unusually large bounty that Lincoln can't bring himself to complete. Several competing bounty hunters have no trouble trying to kill Billy, requiring Lincoln to protect him. Underskin lawyer Ariella, another bounty Lincoln couldn't complete, will try to get this financial and household mess under control.
Crude, violent - very 90's action and comedy vibes (and references.) In the midst of super sweet Christmas entertainment I like to complement it with trashy action, this fit perfectly. Read by the author - not as talented as some professional voice actors, but with some of the raw honesty that authors can bring to their work. A fun series I'd like to continue when the mood strikes.

[Miss Monday · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book itself, the story, I would give 5 stars, but I listened to the audiobook and I would give just one star for the narration. It can be a good thing if the author himself reads the story, but not here. His range of voices, to play the different characters, was very limited, although the voices of the two female characters were not bad. But what irritated me to no end was his 'stop motion' style of reading. there are portions where he did some sentences in a more fluent way, but 80% of the book was: word, pause, word, pause, word, pause etc. So one star less for that.
That said, I can't wait for the next book because, as I said earlier, realy liked the story. But please, get a professional narrator.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the podcast version. I really enjoyed Sigler's The Galactic Football League, however, this book felt like there was way too much adolescent potty and sexual humor. The basic plot was good and interesting. Rixators are a long-standing group who battle against and kill monsters. They work for The Bastion. Lincoln, formerly a Rixator, but now a free lance bounty hunter who is forced to do the bidding of an evil magical gangland leader because she holds the key to safeguarding Lincoln's son. Way too much drugs and alcohol and implied bizarre sex. I don't plan to finish this series, but will try some of Sigler's other books. Earthcore is in my stack to be read.

[Jodysigler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great listen. I fell in love with the characters at the jump — enjoying their quirks and idiosyncrasies that made the story that much more delightful to listen to.

And what a story it was! Engaging, well-paced, and a slew of final chapters that crescendoed into a thrilling ending that left me wanting more.

I love books on Audible that have the author also as the narrator — they rarely disappoint and this was no exception. Scott Sigler’s narration was on point.

I recommend this book 100%.

[Bill Philibin · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.75 Stars)

This was classic Sigler, and narrated by the author. It was fun, light reading. It has a unique take on magic in the real world that I really liked. The characters are well developed and the world is familiar.

It is campy, horror(ish), action filled, and full of puns, innuendos, and double entendres.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic awesome Sigler. Everytime you think you know where it is going...it goes opposite. Great characters, lots of violence, and best of all...a noodle dog is a key character. It has been awhile since i read Nocturnal so cannot recall how much is cross covered. Look forward to Slay season 2.

[Tony Gaglio · Rating 5 out of 5]

good fantasy novel

I loved the character development and the story was fairly unique. A great novel to lose yourself in for a few hours. Wished I didn’t have to wait for the next episode. Darn you Scott Sigler, at your mercy again

[Ross Bacon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun Times!

Cartoonish and just a little stupid, but tons of fun and a great introduction to a unique action fantasy world. It had been awhile since I'd read any of Sigler's stuff, but I'm glad I jumped back in with this one. Can't wait for Book 2.

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me a while to finish this one but that was only due to my own stubbornness after archery. The story was absolute fantastic and oh so violent. Much like old school Sigler. Despite the many characters it was easy to follow and was a gripping novel from start to finish.

[Andrew Clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF- that was one of the most unbearable audiobooks I’ve ever attempted. The narrator’s tempo made no sense. He would read. Every. Word. And add random pauses between words. I just couldn’t do it.

Otherwise, I feel like I would have enjoyed the book

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love love it!!!!!

[Kitten Kisser · Rating 1 out of 5]

What the hell is this crude, stupid, utterly uninteresting pile of trash? This is Scott Sigler?!?!

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scott Sigler owes Urban dictionary, imdb, and a whole lot of other trope websites royalties. This book was hilarious.

[sheila kerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny!

It's a different kind of funny. Like Xanth with an edge, a really rusty bloody edge. I want to read more.

[Rachel Scoglietti · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like it. All Sigler's other stuff is awesome.

[Brandon Peters · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the few Sigler books that didn't quite work for me. It was fine when listening, but nothing write home about

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. The Man in Grey: 2023
2. Hatchet Man: 10/02/2024 - 02/25/2025
3. Easy Kill: 05/25/2025 - TBD
4. TBD (podcast to begin in November or December of 2025)
5. TBD