Orphan X is a solid start to a promising new series. Evan Smoak is a badass like Jack Reacher, with a softer heart. This book had lots of action, bad bad guys, and enough back story to give it heart. Can't wait for the next one!
There are somewhere around 150 books on my want list, and a few less than that already on the TBR shelf. I don't always remember why I add particular books, and sometimes I'm surprised by what I chose. So it is with Orphan X. A testosterone-infused fast-paced thriller with lots of twists and turns, lengthy martial-arts fight scenes with every blow lovingly detailed, and pages of weapons jargon. Not to mention several paragraphs about very pretentious vodka. I did like the plot, I mostly liked Evan Smoak, but I'm not one to enjoy all those technical details. I should have guessed this at the beginning because I very much enjoy the Jack Reacher and Jason Bourne movies, but the books leave me cold. I think Hurwitz did a good job adding to the genre (just a little segue here, how many series are there with little kids trained as assassins?) and I see there are several more in the series. Orphan X has one mostly complete story arc; I admit I'm a little curious about what Evan will learn in the future, but not enough to keep going. If they make a movie though, I'll watch it.
At twelve years old, Evan Smoak was removed from his group home and put into an off-the-books government program to train orphans to become elite assassins. After years of following orders, Evan goes off the grid and leaves the program. Now Evan is the "Nowhere Man" who helps those to have nowhere to turn. He only takes one client at a time and doesn't stop until the job is done. His latest case goes awry when someone takes a shot at this client...or was the shot meant for him?
This is a fast-paced thriller that I thought got off to a slow start. Thankfully I hung in there and the story quickly ramped up with several twists and turns along with loads of action scenes. I'll definitely be reading the next book in the series soon. My rating: 4 Stars.
This is a fast-paced thriller that I thought got off to a slow start. Thankfully I hung in there and the story quickly ramped up with several twists and turns along with loads of action scenes. I'll definitely be reading the next book in the series soon. My rating: 4 Stars.
I always love books where the protagonist is kind, honest and a ripped hunky guy. This is so for this story. He was taken in by a man when he was young and trained in all manner of marshal arts, weaponry, etc. His handler is killed and he's left in the wind. So, he uses his expertise to help innocent people in trouble. Kind of like a modern day Superman whose power comes from hard work and discipline. Love this character and story.
I was in the mood for a good thriller and liked the synopsis of Hurwitz's Orphan X. This fast-paced story did deliver, but not quite as much as I'd expected. Hurwitz doles out Evan's backstory sparingly, which only makes readers want more. However, it is enough to wow you with the character's abilities and to make you want to hug the little boy he once was. As a result of his training, Evan really doesn't know how to play well with others. Actually, he doesn't know how to play with others at all, and we see this during his interactions with the other residents of the building in which he lives. There's the grumpy old lady who seems to lay in wait for him at the elevator so she can complain non-stop, but we normal folk would have problems with her, too. No, it's when Evan becomes acquainted with divorced lawyer Mia and her inquisitive eight-year-old son Peter that we see how much he has to fight against that long-ago training of his.
Where the soufflé fell for me was in the too-numerous-to-count fight scenes. Hurwitz wants us to know exactly how extensive Evan's hand-to-hand combat skills are, and each fight scene is laced with mixed martial art terms like "wing chan oblique kick." Over and over and over again. This is all well and good if you are a fan and want to be able to picture the fight in your mind, but I definitely do not fit that category. One movie scene comes to mind. Raiders of the Lost Ark. Indiana Jones is cornered in a bazaar by a sword-wielding showoff. Jones doesn't have time to wait for the nitwit to stop strutting his stuff, so he pulls out his gun and shoots him. Problem solved. Since this is the fight scene category I belong in, you can see where these minutely-described scenes in Orphan X made my eyes cross in boredom.
Since I have a feeling that these fight scenes will continue as the series progresses, I will leave Evan Smoak here in book one. But I am certainly glad that I made his acquaintance, and I wish him well.
Where the soufflé fell for me was in the too-numerous-to-count fight scenes. Hurwitz wants us to know exactly how extensive Evan's hand-to-hand combat skills are, and each fight scene is laced with mixed martial art terms like "wing chan oblique kick." Over and over and over again. This is all well and good if you are a fan and want to be able to picture the fight in your mind, but I definitely do not fit that category. One movie scene comes to mind. Raiders of the Lost Ark. Indiana Jones is cornered in a bazaar by a sword-wielding showoff. Jones doesn't have time to wait for the nitwit to stop strutting his stuff, so he pulls out his gun and shoots him. Problem solved. Since this is the fight scene category I belong in, you can see where these minutely-described scenes in Orphan X made my eyes cross in boredom.
Since I have a feeling that these fight scenes will continue as the series progresses, I will leave Evan Smoak here in book one. But I am certainly glad that I made his acquaintance, and I wish him well.
WOW What an amazing ride! This non stop exciting thriller was a heart pounding, anxiety filled nail-biter of a story. I am so happy to add it is the first of a series starring Evan Smoak.
Waiting for book 2 with bated breath!!
Greg Hurwitz never disappoints!
Waiting for book 2 with bated breath!!
Greg Hurwitz never disappoints!
This is a good, action packed tale with twists and turns, but it leaves a lot of loose ends dangling. Certainly set up for a sequel.
This was one of the better books I have read in the last year.
Started it on take off of my flight, finished it about an hour before landing and was mad at myself for not bringing the second one in the series.
One thing that was nice to see was the attention to detail on things. Not just attention to detail, getting the details correct. For example, his favored pistol is the 1911 from Wilson. (Lets not get into the debate of 1911 vs this or that.) Not only did he use correct terms for things, like magazine vs "clip", he describes it fully and accurately. It seems he actually went out and at least handled one, if not shot it. So many authors just toss a bunch of firearm terms together to describe something and just come across as sounding really ignorant. It wasn't just the firearms either. from the truck to the other characters.
Was a good read and looking forward to getting into the next book in the series.
Started it on take off of my flight, finished it about an hour before landing and was mad at myself for not bringing the second one in the series.
One thing that was nice to see was the attention to detail on things. Not just attention to detail, getting the details correct. For example, his favored pistol is the 1911 from Wilson. (Lets not get into the debate of 1911 vs this or that.) Not only did he use correct terms for things, like magazine vs "clip", he describes it fully and accurately. It seems he actually went out and at least handled one, if not shot it. So many authors just toss a bunch of firearm terms together to describe something and just come across as sounding really ignorant. It wasn't just the firearms either. from the truck to the other characters.
Was a good read and looking forward to getting into the next book in the series.
This page turner is a wild ride with lots of twists and surprises. First Orphan story I've read, and it definitely won't be the last. Someone called this character âJack Reacher on steroidsâ and that is an apt description. âWith a softer heart' as another reviewer wrote. Yes indeed.
