Orphan X

The Nowhere Man is a legendary figure spoken about only in whispers. It's said that when he's reached by the truly desperate and deserving, the Nowhere Man can and will do anything to protect and save them.

But he's no legend.

Evan Smoak is a man with skills, resources, and a personal mission to help those with nowhere else to turn. He's also a man with a dangerous past. Chosen as a child, he was raised and trained as part of the off-the-books black box Orphan program, designed to create the perfect deniable intelligence assets---i.e. assassins. He was Orphan X. Evan broke with the program, using everything he learned to disappear.

Now, however, someone is on his tail. Someone with similar skills and training. Someone who knows Orphan X. Someone who is getting closer and closer. And will exploit Evan's weakness---his work as The Nowhere Man---to find him and eliminate him. Grabbing the reader from the very first page, Orphan X is a masterful thriller, the first in Gregg Hurwitz's electrifying new series featuring Evan Smoak.

Book source ~ KU/Audible

Orphan X

Orphan X, #1

Author ~ Gregg Hurwitz

Narrator ~ Scott Brick

19 January 2016

Technothriller

11 hrs 15 min

My Rating ~ 5 bites

The Nowhere Man. He’s got skills. Mad skills. And he’ll use them to help a person out. But only once. No repeat customers. He’s just living his life to the best of his ability when his past comes knocking. Things are about to get hairy.

Ho-ly Shit. I saw a review for this series on Twitter and wondered how I had never heard of it. I was happy it was listed on Kindle Unlimited but then I noticed something I had no idea about. KU has some books you can get with Audible. WTF?! So I grabbed it and listened on my drive home to North Carolina from Ohio. I have to tell you, it made the trip fly by! I was engrossed from the start. Orphan X is one hell of a rip roaring, action-packed, character driven book that will entertain and surprise. Evan Smoak, the Nowhere Man, is a character that will grab your heart and not let go. I love him. I love him for his skills, his faith in the Commandments taught to him by his mentor, his uncertainty in trying to live like a “normal” person, and his loneliness. He’s a character you can really sink your teeth into. Not in a kinky way or anything. The plot, the world, the writing are all great, but Evan is the reason this book is one of my favorite reads of the year. I said I love him, right? Just sayin’.

The story is awesome, but having Scott Brick do the narrating makes it sublime. As far as I’m concerned he is Evan Smoak. And I’ve listened to two more books since. I know of which I speak. I told my husband about this book and he was all, meh. Then we traveled to Ohio together and I convinced him to listen to book 2, The Nowhere Man, with me. He was hooked from the start. See? I know what he likes even when he’s skeptical. LOL We even listened to Orphan X on the way back home even though I’d already read it. I didn’t mind though. If you’re a fan of books with the likes of Jason Bourne, Jericho Quinn, or Scot Harvath then this should be right up your alley.