mad_about_books's review
5.0
Evan Smoak. Orphan X. The Nowhere Man. A single man trained from childhood for the blackest of black ops is looking for some normal in his life. The problem is that he has no idea what normal is. He thrives on an OCD routine that demands exactitude in everything from the clothes he wears to the way he answers his RoamZone. A place for everything and everything in its place doesn't come close to the demands he makes upon himself.
His resolve to hang up the Nowhere Man shingle is sorely challenged when he receives a call from Aragon Urrea. Urrea is a drug lord whose daughter has been kidnapped. Here is a moral dilemma that can be rationalized as not helping the criminal but his child. The challenge to liberate Anjelina from a rival cartel without aiding Urrea in his illicit enterprise. A deal is struck where, as is usual, neither side is totally satisfied.
The Orphan X books all have one thing in common — believable action. As I read the fight scenes, I am reminded of the first Sherlock Holmes movie that starred Robert Downey, Jr. Before the actual bare-knuckle fight, Holmes sees it in slow motion from start to end. Evan Smoak assesses all that must be done against odds that the untrained person could not imagine. The bad guys don't know what hit them until it does. Hurwitz manages to write these scenes, so you see them as if watching a movie.
DARK HORSE will take you deep into two drug cartels that operate very differently. There is almost a white hat/black hat difference between the two. The Nowhere Man manages to traverse a dark road marked by unexpected twists and turns while staying true to the Commandments learned as Orphan X.
His resolve to hang up the Nowhere Man shingle is sorely challenged when he receives a call from Aragon Urrea. Urrea is a drug lord whose daughter has been kidnapped. Here is a moral dilemma that can be rationalized as not helping the criminal but his child. The challenge to liberate Anjelina from a rival cartel without aiding Urrea in his illicit enterprise. A deal is struck where, as is usual, neither side is totally satisfied.
The Orphan X books all have one thing in common — believable action. As I read the fight scenes, I am reminded of the first Sherlock Holmes movie that starred Robert Downey, Jr. Before the actual bare-knuckle fight, Holmes sees it in slow motion from start to end. Evan Smoak assesses all that must be done against odds that the untrained person could not imagine. The bad guys don't know what hit them until it does. Hurwitz manages to write these scenes, so you see them as if watching a movie.
DARK HORSE will take you deep into two drug cartels that operate very differently. There is almost a white hat/black hat difference between the two. The Nowhere Man manages to traverse a dark road marked by unexpected twists and turns while staying true to the Commandments learned as Orphan X.
kharliah's review against another edition
5.0
Evan is slowly becoming more human.
Maybe one day he'll give Joey a hug.
Maybe one day he'll give Joey a hug.
achoward's review against another edition
5.0
The seventh book in the Orphan X series opens in south Texas, at a party for Anjelina Urrea, daughter of "unconventional businessman" Aragon Urrea - in actuality, as much of a cartel as any other south of the border. When he steps away from the party to deal with a young man who has forced himself on a woman, armed, masked gunmen invade the party and take Anjelina away. Indications are that she's been taken by the Leones - one of the worst of the worst of the Mexican cartels, led by a bonafide psychopath. The opening is quite long- enough for us to know that Urrea is a bad man who also provides good things: the town is healthy, protected, people are taken care of, and he has a bit of a philosophical bent, not unlike Evan.
Evan Smoak, AKA Ophan X AKA The Nowhere Man is rebuilding his penthouse condo after it was destroyed in the previous book. Although I think most of the Orphan X books can be read as standalones, I'd advise reading at least the one before this for context, since the book opens in what could only be termed (for Evan Smoak) complete disarray.
Smoak hires temporary day laborers to help out in the evenings with the more unusual pieces of his rebuild. One evening, one of the (presumably) Mexican laborers asks if he is a bad man, or if he can help a bad man. Evan gives the man the usual number and tells him to pass it on.
And pass it on he does - to Urrea. When Urrea calls, Evan answers, as he always does. He has something telling him to say no on this one, but ultimately, he agrees to help, and the story takes off. Joey and Dog arrive to take over coordination of the legit rebuild of the condo, and also to provide IT services to Evan (Vera III in place!) as he heads to Texas and ultimately across the border to deal with the Leones.
This is by far the most gruesome of the Orphan X books. If you're really squeamish, you might want to skim over those parts. There's one really bad one involving a floor buffer - you should definitely skip that one.
One of the more interesting things about Dark Horse are the lengthy talks between Evan and Urrea about the nature of good and bad, and what bad men do for good reasons or for the greater good. They do slow down the action a little, but that turns out to be necessary, as do the moments when Joey and Mia come into the story. If those breaks weren't there, it would be nonstop infiltration, fighting, killing, and bombs. There is nothing wrong with this, but we could read Mack Bolan or The Punisher for that.
As we rush headlong to the end, sometimes things are not quite what they seem.
While I didn't like this one as much as the last one, I did enjoy it quite a lot: it's true to what we know of Evan Smoak and continues his evolution from a disposable killer into a real human being.
Five out of five stars.
Thanks to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the reading copy.
Evan Smoak, AKA Ophan X AKA The Nowhere Man is rebuilding his penthouse condo after it was destroyed in the previous book. Although I think most of the Orphan X books can be read as standalones, I'd advise reading at least the one before this for context, since the book opens in what could only be termed (for Evan Smoak) complete disarray.
Smoak hires temporary day laborers to help out in the evenings with the more unusual pieces of his rebuild. One evening, one of the (presumably) Mexican laborers asks if he is a bad man, or if he can help a bad man. Evan gives the man the usual number and tells him to pass it on.
And pass it on he does - to Urrea. When Urrea calls, Evan answers, as he always does. He has something telling him to say no on this one, but ultimately, he agrees to help, and the story takes off. Joey and Dog arrive to take over coordination of the legit rebuild of the condo, and also to provide IT services to Evan (Vera III in place!) as he heads to Texas and ultimately across the border to deal with the Leones.
This is by far the most gruesome of the Orphan X books. If you're really squeamish, you might want to skim over those parts. There's one really bad one involving a floor buffer - you should definitely skip that one.
One of the more interesting things about Dark Horse are the lengthy talks between Evan and Urrea about the nature of good and bad, and what bad men do for good reasons or for the greater good. They do slow down the action a little, but that turns out to be necessary, as do the moments when Joey and Mia come into the story. If those breaks weren't there, it would be nonstop infiltration, fighting, killing, and bombs. There is nothing wrong with this, but we could read Mack Bolan or The Punisher for that.
As we rush headlong to the end, sometimes things are not quite what they seem.
While I didn't like this one as much as the last one, I did enjoy it quite a lot: it's true to what we know of Evan Smoak and continues his evolution from a disposable killer into a real human being.
Five out of five stars.
Thanks to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the reading copy.
tbsims's review against another edition
4.0
A thriller, that explores your relationship with your body and environment (meditation and stretching), and this one...the stereotypical traits of women and men - a gay hitman, a main character that doesn't follow traditional male behavior..
(I'm always happy when the fight is against 'the bad guys' rather than our own government.)
(I'm always happy when the fight is against 'the bad guys' rather than our own government.)
katkinney's review against another edition
5.0
Evan Smoak was trained from a young age to be a government assassin. Now he works as the Nowhere Man, helping those who need his aid. In this book, he’s been called to assist Aragon Urrea, the head of a drug cartel in south Texas, whose only daughter has been kidnapped by a rival cartel at her eighteenth birthday party. The father is a terrible man. The daughter is an innocent. Evan has some conditions before he will agree to help. I liked this book particularly because the characters were interesting (and there were some surprise twists!) and also because the storyline with Mia (Evan’s downstairs neighbor and love interest) and her son Peter went in some interesting directions. I will be waiting especially to see how that turns out in the next book. 5/5 stars.
pancaked's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sjhaug's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
janeywaneyb's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Another good romp out with Orphan X doing what he does best as the Nowhere Man. Hurwitz rights believable but unbelievable action into his books which keep you pressing onto the next chapter. Just hoping the new found humanity spark doesn't interfere with the next book.