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The Global Federation of Nations #1
The Grey Zone
For most of the world life had improved after the implementation of the Basic Human Standard and the formation of the Global Federation of Nations. However, after fifteen years, there are some who still fight against the principles of the organization. Natalie Kelley is a journalist for the Chicago Tribune whose reporting focuses on American terrorist groups in opposition to the GFN.
When an Oklahoma City restaurant is attacked, Natalie travels to investigate the incident, but soon begins to question whether the assault was an amateur action or part of a larger conspiracy.
The Grey Zone follows Natalie and a cast of characters from both sides of the battle and explores the ramifications of an exceedingly globalized planet as conflicting ideologies clash across the United States.
When an Oklahoma City restaurant is attacked, Natalie travels to investigate the incident, but soon begins to question whether the assault was an amateur action or part of a larger conspiracy.
The Grey Zone follows Natalie and a cast of characters from both sides of the battle and explores the ramifications of an exceedingly globalized planet as conflicting ideologies clash across the United States.
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First published September 21, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 10, 2018
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The Grey Zone by Jason McMillan is a novel taking place in 2072 when the United States joined a worldwide initiative. This is Mr. McMillan’s first book.
The United States has joined the Global Federation of Nations to implement the Basic Human Standard, which improved life for much of the world. Fifteen years later, many Americans still dismiss the principles of the GFN, and fight against it and its forces.
Natalie Kelley, a journalist on her way up, reports on the American terrorist groups who oppose the GFN. Natalie realizes that there might be a bigger story when she investigates a restaurant attack in Oklahoma City.
The synopsis for The Grey Zone by Jason McMillan sounded very interesting to a political junky like myself, add to that the sci-fi/fantasy element and I was sure to pick up the book. The author creates a world where two extreme political ideologies clash, and in a country as diverse as the United States, with people who pride themselves on being independent, that clash creates an interesting society.
I found the book to be very interesting on several levels. The world building, the multiple story-lines, and most of all the political aspects and parallels to today’s conservative/liberal/Republican/Democrat/Independent narrative.
The world building aspect was one which I can see the author expending onto in the future, especially when national and global policies are put in the proper perspective without the noise surrounding their implementations. I liked that the world hasn’t evolved, technologically wise, out of control but technologies that we either have, or are very close to having, are standard. If I could advise the author, I’d only mention to look into the not-so-new research of powering devices with light as oppose to electricity.
The multiple story-lines were interesting, I saw that several readers got confused, I can see how they did but for me everything made sense. The story follows the journalist, Lt. Director Luna who is a very senior official in the government, responsible for the “grey zones’, those areas who have not officially joined the Global Federation of Nations to implement the Basic Human Standard, and that of Wade, a religious man, anti-GFN, who borders the line of terrorist/martyr/useful idiot.
For me, the most interesting aspect was the political angle, how two extreme ideologies clash and the ideological hypocrisy one must suffer in order to support the bigger picture. What happens when one ideology will win over the other, and how the extremists who support the one that lost will react? Does the end really justifies the means?
Mr. McMillan’s world is not black and white, good people do bad things for good reasons, ideologists of all kinds believe that they’re 100% right, a problem for those who slightly disagree and an issue for those on the receiving end of their methods. A parallel line is drawn between religion and ideology and how extremists are really not that different.
The Grey Zone by Jason McMillan is a novel taking place in 2072 when the United States joined a worldwide initiative. This is Mr. McMillan’s first book.
The United States has joined the Global Federation of Nations to implement the Basic Human Standard, which improved life for much of the world. Fifteen years later, many Americans still dismiss the principles of the GFN, and fight against it and its forces.
Natalie Kelley, a journalist on her way up, reports on the American terrorist groups who oppose the GFN. Natalie realizes that there might be a bigger story when she investigates a restaurant attack in Oklahoma City.
The synopsis for The Grey Zone by Jason McMillan sounded very interesting to a political junky like myself, add to that the sci-fi/fantasy element and I was sure to pick up the book. The author creates a world where two extreme political ideologies clash, and in a country as diverse as the United States, with people who pride themselves on being independent, that clash creates an interesting society.
I found the book to be very interesting on several levels. The world building, the multiple story-lines, and most of all the political aspects and parallels to today’s conservative/liberal/Republican/Democrat/Independent narrative.
The world building aspect was one which I can see the author expending onto in the future, especially when national and global policies are put in the proper perspective without the noise surrounding their implementations. I liked that the world hasn’t evolved, technologically wise, out of control but technologies that we either have, or are very close to having, are standard. If I could advise the author, I’d only mention to look into the not-so-new research of powering devices with light as oppose to electricity.
The multiple story-lines were interesting, I saw that several readers got confused, I can see how they did but for me everything made sense. The story follows the journalist, Lt. Director Luna who is a very senior official in the government, responsible for the “grey zones’, those areas who have not officially joined the Global Federation of Nations to implement the Basic Human Standard, and that of Wade, a religious man, anti-GFN, who borders the line of terrorist/martyr/useful idiot.
For me, the most interesting aspect was the political angle, how two extreme ideologies clash and the ideological hypocrisy one must suffer in order to support the bigger picture. What happens when one ideology will win over the other, and how the extremists who support the one that lost will react? Does the end really justifies the means?
Mr. McMillan’s world is not black and white, good people do bad things for good reasons, ideologists of all kinds believe that they’re 100% right, a problem for those who slightly disagree and an issue for those on the receiving end of their methods. A parallel line is drawn between religion and ideology and how extremists are really not that different.
December 12, 2018
I recieved a Kindle edition of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
The Grey Zone was a mostly entertaining read. I thought the future world was imaginative and well constructed. The story takes place in about 2050, and the technology is advanced, but not so advanced as to be unrecognizable to our society now. The story was paced pretty well, and it was interesting to see how the three main narrators' stories ultimately tied together.
Some things about this book just rubbed me the wrong way. The way Natalie's story arc ended made it feel to me like her portion of the book was almost completely unnecessary. Also, the story just kind of blandly lauded this socialist utopia while hinting at a dirty underbelly and refusing to really dig into it. I guess that might be for follow-up books, but it just felt like it was really lacking from this book.
So overall, I never felt like I wanted to put it down. I always wanted to know what was going to happen next to the characters, but when it finally did happen, I didn't really care as much as I would have liked to.
The Grey Zone was a mostly entertaining read. I thought the future world was imaginative and well constructed. The story takes place in about 2050, and the technology is advanced, but not so advanced as to be unrecognizable to our society now. The story was paced pretty well, and it was interesting to see how the three main narrators' stories ultimately tied together.
Some things about this book just rubbed me the wrong way. The way Natalie's story arc ended made it feel to me like her portion of the book was almost completely unnecessary. Also, the story just kind of blandly lauded this socialist utopia while hinting at a dirty underbelly and refusing to really dig into it. I guess that might be for follow-up books, but it just felt like it was really lacking from this book.
So overall, I never felt like I wanted to put it down. I always wanted to know what was going to happen next to the characters, but when it finally did happen, I didn't really care as much as I would have liked to.
February 19, 2019
I really enjoyed The Grey Zone. Admittedly, the first chapter was a little hard for me to get through. I think Mr. McMillan did a great job at the political and futuristic world building; however, it was a lot of new acronyms of groups/organizations to get through initially. Don’t let this scare you though. The three characters that the story follows are very intriguing and the author presents a compelling, interwoven story that made me want to keep reading. The imagery the author presents made me feel like I was with each character as they were experiencing their individual storylines. Ultimately, I seek a book that grips me and that’s exactly what The Grey Zone did.
November 17, 2019
I was given a free review copy of this audio book, at my request, and am voluntarily leaving this unbiased review.
I struggled with how to rate this book. On the one hand I feel it is very well written and has a lot of insight into the human condition. However, I also didn't feel connected to the characters or events of the book and it failed to leave an impact on me.
The book takes place about 50 years in the future, where a global government has taken root as kind of a useful UN, to unify the country's around the world to have the same rights and freedoms for all people. Of course, not all people want rights for everyone and therefore there are places that haven't joined. It has also lead to terrorism and death in the name of religion and freedom as the non-joined places attack the global government.
The story is viewed through 3 characters, a journalist, the vice head of security for the US portion of the global gov, and a person living outside the global government in an area known as the Grey Zone (roll credits!).
There is a LOT of narration in this book. The bulk of the book is narration. It is not internal dialog, or insight into the characters, it is just narration to build the world and establish the events. The first chapter has about a dozen acronyms that are going to be explained once, and you need to remember them cause they will be used constantly but never again explained. It is a very richly built world with a lot of nuance and detail. But the level of detail leaves it fairly dry.
This was my overall issue with this book. It is dry, it lacks emotion connection. The 3 main characters are explained well, and their motivations are fully explored and are complex. The characters are deep with complicated emotions and feel like real people. But the author fails to make me care about these people. I actually felt more of a connection with seldom heard secondary characters rather than main characters.
Ultimately that's what did it for me. I didn't care about the characters, so their struggles are meaningless. A 12 hour book about 3 lives that I was indifferent about. I didn't dislike the book, I just had little interest in the story.
However, the story is very good. It is grand overall, but comes down to a small but significant event. The lore of the world is incredibly detailed and carefully thought out. It is believable and realistic in its depiction of its religious zealots.
The technology is an extention of current tech and isn't pushed to the point of unbelievability. There is little that I didn't recognize as just an evolved version of what we have now, which I felt was a mistake for 50 years advancement. Not a big deal but a little unambitious.
The plot is a little straight forward and is fairly predictable. It didn't have may surprises for me, but at the same time it was believable so I didn't mind.
The voice narration by Cheryl May is amazing. Her voices are varied and she has a great range. More importantly her female voices sound like females and her male voices sound convincingly enough male. She has done an excellent job with this book.
All in all, a very good book (with some amazing voice work), that just couldn't connect with me. The writing is very well done, the world is incredibly detailed and thought out, the plot is realistic and has great insight into the human condition. However, it lacked an emotional connection with me and I struggled to maintain interest in characters that I didn't care about.
I don't think I will continue with this series, but I may. Time will tell.
I struggled with how to rate this book. On the one hand I feel it is very well written and has a lot of insight into the human condition. However, I also didn't feel connected to the characters or events of the book and it failed to leave an impact on me.
The book takes place about 50 years in the future, where a global government has taken root as kind of a useful UN, to unify the country's around the world to have the same rights and freedoms for all people. Of course, not all people want rights for everyone and therefore there are places that haven't joined. It has also lead to terrorism and death in the name of religion and freedom as the non-joined places attack the global government.
The story is viewed through 3 characters, a journalist, the vice head of security for the US portion of the global gov, and a person living outside the global government in an area known as the Grey Zone (roll credits!).
There is a LOT of narration in this book. The bulk of the book is narration. It is not internal dialog, or insight into the characters, it is just narration to build the world and establish the events. The first chapter has about a dozen acronyms that are going to be explained once, and you need to remember them cause they will be used constantly but never again explained. It is a very richly built world with a lot of nuance and detail. But the level of detail leaves it fairly dry.
This was my overall issue with this book. It is dry, it lacks emotion connection. The 3 main characters are explained well, and their motivations are fully explored and are complex. The characters are deep with complicated emotions and feel like real people. But the author fails to make me care about these people. I actually felt more of a connection with seldom heard secondary characters rather than main characters.
Ultimately that's what did it for me. I didn't care about the characters, so their struggles are meaningless. A 12 hour book about 3 lives that I was indifferent about. I didn't dislike the book, I just had little interest in the story.
However, the story is very good. It is grand overall, but comes down to a small but significant event. The lore of the world is incredibly detailed and carefully thought out. It is believable and realistic in its depiction of its religious zealots.
The technology is an extention of current tech and isn't pushed to the point of unbelievability. There is little that I didn't recognize as just an evolved version of what we have now, which I felt was a mistake for 50 years advancement. Not a big deal but a little unambitious.
The plot is a little straight forward and is fairly predictable. It didn't have may surprises for me, but at the same time it was believable so I didn't mind.
The voice narration by Cheryl May is amazing. Her voices are varied and she has a great range. More importantly her female voices sound like females and her male voices sound convincingly enough male. She has done an excellent job with this book.
All in all, a very good book (with some amazing voice work), that just couldn't connect with me. The writing is very well done, the world is incredibly detailed and thought out, the plot is realistic and has great insight into the human condition. However, it lacked an emotional connection with me and I struggled to maintain interest in characters that I didn't care about.
I don't think I will continue with this series, but I may. Time will tell.
March 6, 2022
Okay storyline, but extremely lazy writing/editing. This book reads like first draft. There are many instances where you could tell the author changed his mind about the sentence wording, but didn’t actually reread the sentence after he’d changed things so you end up with phrases like “Natalie went to her Natalie’s bed”. Toward the end there are more and more sentences with missing articles. At one point, while explaining the background of Antoine (the world leader) he mistakenly refers to that character by the name of the young, terrorists-leaning character that hates the president instead. He mixes up the type of plane the world leader arrives in, after having mentioned it multiple times within the same paragraph.
And don’t even bother with any of the “sexy” descriptions in the book. They’re hopelessly bad - the one scene of seduction involves the woman licking the man’s open, bleeding wound! And a few paragraphs before the man was distracted by the “twin hills of her rump”. Oof.
This is very clearly a first pass at a first novel and could have used several more rounds of proof-reading and edits. The acknowledgments thank the gentleman that did the proof-reading and state that any errors are that of the author misunderstanding the proofer’s notes… maybe instead of writing a disclaimer on your mistakes….just fix them? Like it’s not just one or two here and there. It’s a lot. It’s really rough. And it’s not like he was on a deadline - this is self published. It was just laziness.
And don’t even bother with any of the “sexy” descriptions in the book. They’re hopelessly bad - the one scene of seduction involves the woman licking the man’s open, bleeding wound! And a few paragraphs before the man was distracted by the “twin hills of her rump”. Oof.
This is very clearly a first pass at a first novel and could have used several more rounds of proof-reading and edits. The acknowledgments thank the gentleman that did the proof-reading and state that any errors are that of the author misunderstanding the proofer’s notes… maybe instead of writing a disclaimer on your mistakes….just fix them? Like it’s not just one or two here and there. It’s a lot. It’s really rough. And it’s not like he was on a deadline - this is self published. It was just laziness.
December 19, 2019
Thank goodness I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway – I would have been really upset if I had paid for it. I was expecting a Sci Fi / Thriller, and instead got a leftwing polemic filled with caricatures instead of characters. “One World Government Inc.” (the Global Federation of Nations – GFN) (the White Zone) has replaced the governments of Europe and many other countries, including Red State USA. Of course, the GFN is a utopia populated by attractive, intelligent, happy people who are given everything by a benevolent dictatorial nanny state. The GFN is led by a French philosopher/athlete and a band of elites who know what’s best for everyone, as long as they surrender their individual freedoms and national identities. Those dwindling parts of the USA (the Black Zone) that are foolish enough to resist the GFN and remain governed by the Constitution are economic disaster areas, populated by ignorant, malformed, religious fanatics who are all terrorists or terrorist sympathizers. The Grey Zone is the boundary region that the GFN is attempting to annex by all available means, including economic warfare, subversion and direct military action. Overall, I consider this book to be a poorly written piece of propaganda that I’m sorry I wasted any time reading.
November 9, 2023
The Grey Zone is a fast moving, suspenseful book. It has a strong balance of detail versus action. Due to the futuristic setting, the book takes some time to build out the backstory as well as familiarize the reader with "new-age" terminology. However, that does not hinder the plot from evolving quickly and creating some suspenseful moments early on.
The author does well to provide intricate details of each scene, allowing the reader to develop clear mental images while simultaneously preventing the plot from getting bogged down. About mid-way through, the book truly becomes a page turner that is hard to put down. The three parallel plots start to intertwine, creating a very strong and exciting ending.
I do recommend having The Diamonds of Eden on hand. The cliffhanger at the end of The Grey Zone will undoubtedly leave you wanting more, which is exactly what McMillan delivers in The Diamonds of Eden.
The author does well to provide intricate details of each scene, allowing the reader to develop clear mental images while simultaneously preventing the plot from getting bogged down. About mid-way through, the book truly becomes a page turner that is hard to put down. The three parallel plots start to intertwine, creating a very strong and exciting ending.
I do recommend having The Diamonds of Eden on hand. The cliffhanger at the end of The Grey Zone will undoubtedly leave you wanting more, which is exactly what McMillan delivers in The Diamonds of Eden.
October 9, 2018
The storyline was interesting and set in a future, globally united world, with factions of differing political beliefs arguing against mass globalization. There are a lot of characters in multiple settings that effect one another, this is a book that you will need to pay attention to. Unfortunately the characters did not resonate with me and I felt there was some repetitiveness. I would recommend to readers of S. M. Stirling.
July 31, 2020
Good, but
Not sure how to describe this. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't very compelling till the end section. A book where it's not clear who the good guys are. Or, rather, there aren't clear good guys. No clear character or characters we are rooting for, as a reader. Good, but... lacking having any character I particularly like. No one I rooted for or strongly connected with. Interesting characters, but observing them rather than rooting for them.
Not sure how to describe this. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't very compelling till the end section. A book where it's not clear who the good guys are. Or, rather, there aren't clear good guys. No clear character or characters we are rooting for, as a reader. Good, but... lacking having any character I particularly like. No one I rooted for or strongly connected with. Interesting characters, but observing them rather than rooting for them.
October 8, 2022
When I first started reading this book, I found myself thoroughly confused by the different acronyms and who was on what side, et cetera, and I almost threw in the towel. But I'd been so in the mood for a dystopian-type thriller that I kept going. Boy, am I glad I persevered. EXCELLENT READ!! I can't wait for more in the series as I feel invested with Natalie, Luna, Noah (surprisingly), Joseph, and others. And Sonya! What an intriguing minx! LOL
Anyway, wonderful book!
Anyway, wonderful book!
Did Not Finish
July 5, 2025I received my copy of this book via Goodreads giveaway, which has no bearing on my review.
I forced myself to finish the first chapter, but my initial impressions remained the same. This felt like a first or second draft instead of a complete novel. Stilted and repetitive dialogue, unnecessarily complicated way of introducing characters and their relationships, and no good reason to care about anyone.
Next!
I forced myself to finish the first chapter, but my initial impressions remained the same. This felt like a first or second draft instead of a complete novel. Stilted and repetitive dialogue, unnecessarily complicated way of introducing characters and their relationships, and no good reason to care about anyone.
Next!
February 12, 2019
Decent political futuristic novel. Many of the tech advances seem very believable. Big idea of the book... No side is the absolute right side... so true in today's political climate. My complaints... Jay was not necessary in the book. The cliff hanging end... The undertones of Christianity negativity.
May 1, 2019
DNF, Good story line but far too heavy with the global liberalism/socialism. I found it to overwhelm the readablity of the book. Further, the strange use of descriptive words that did not fit the flow of the story kept me losing focus. Other times the author used words that just were incorrectly used. Could have used some serious editing.
May 5, 2020
Great book, once it got thru the set-up that a typical sci-fi book dies I had a hard time putting it down. I typically don't like books that jump from character to character stories; but this was well written and i kept finding myself exciting to read faster so i could get to the other characters story. I'm looking forward to the next book. And .25 of a star for being a fellow Nebraskan
January 10, 2019
I recieved a Kindle edition of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
Really enjoyed the book by this author Jason McMillan.
Really enjoyed the book by this author Jason McMillan.
March 20, 2019
The pace and structure of this thriller makes for a reading experience that won't let you put the book down.
September 1, 2018
Set in 2072 in the United States, this story tells of a future different then that of today. An America that now has both new (and cool) technologies as well as some of the political and social problems currently existing in other parts of the world.
I enjoyed this stories futuristic technology concepts and how things might look in 50+ years. Who knows, maybe the author will have predicted some of this.
The story lays out from a few perspectives. Primarily a journalist, a Lt Director who has a role in national security, and a terrorist. It shows the different points of view in a way that makes you consider what motivates people and how corruption can reside in a country that considers itself to be "the good guy"
I enjoyed some parts of the story such as the technology and I liked some of the characters.
However, I had some difficulty following this story at times. I think some of it was just too complex for me. There were too many acronyms to keep track and a lot to absorb. It made me feel like I was plodding along at times.
Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and author for an advanced copy for my honest review!
I enjoyed this stories futuristic technology concepts and how things might look in 50+ years. Who knows, maybe the author will have predicted some of this.
The story lays out from a few perspectives. Primarily a journalist, a Lt Director who has a role in national security, and a terrorist. It shows the different points of view in a way that makes you consider what motivates people and how corruption can reside in a country that considers itself to be "the good guy"
I enjoyed some parts of the story such as the technology and I liked some of the characters.
However, I had some difficulty following this story at times. I think some of it was just too complex for me. There were too many acronyms to keep track and a lot to absorb. It made me feel like I was plodding along at times.
Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and author for an advanced copy for my honest review!
June 4, 2019
The author does a great job with world building and character development, but I could have gone for a more climactic ending. It seems some characters' narrative weres cut a bit short... likely because a sequel might be in the works. Either way, give it a read you'll be entertained.
November 6, 2018
Rather remarkably well done!
Initially, I had a poor opinion of this book, perseverance paid off! The twists and turns of this story are worth waiting for.
Initially, I had a poor opinion of this book, perseverance paid off! The twists and turns of this story are worth waiting for.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews