The Gray Man

By: Mark Greaney

Narrated by: Jay Snyder

Now a Netflix film starring Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, and Ana de Armas

The first Gray Man novel from number one New York Times best-selling author Mark Greaney.

To those who lurk in the shadows, he’s known as the Gray Man. He is a legend in the covert realm, moving silently from job to job, accomplishing the impossible and then fading away. And he always hits his target. Always.

But there are forces more lethal than Gentry in the world. Forces like money. And power. And there are men who hold these as the only currency worth fighting for. In their eyes, Gentry has just outlived his usefulness.

But Court Gentry is going to prove that, for him, there’s no gray area between killing for a living and killing to stay alive....

Get ready for white-knuckled listening. Greaney's debut novel introduces the enigmatic and elusive Court Gentry, a former CIA operative and a legendary hired gun. With a terrifying ability to vaporize targets and a strict moral code, he stalks the gray margins of the world, moving silently from job to job, accomplishing the impossible, then fading away. When his government and former employers turn on him, there is no safehouse to run to, no way to lie low. In a constant state of escape and pursuit, Gentry tears through the Middle East and Europe in a riveting life-or-death race against time.

©2009 Mark Greaney (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Through the carnage, Gentry remains an intriguing protagonist with his own moral code. Comparisons will be made to Jason Bourne, but the Gray Man is his own character. The ending screams for a sequel, but it will be difficult to maintain the intensity level of this impressive debut." (Booklist)

"Hard, fast, and unflinching – exactly what a thriller should be." (Lee Child)

"Bourne for the new millennium." (James Rollins)

This is for men or Action Lover.

Am a women but I lived with three "HE-MAN" types so I loved this one. Court is everything you want in your "Action Hero" type, the suspense was none stop.
I liked the voices and the music, Audible is better then ever.
The only thing missing is a little romance.

I've discovered a new author! And reader!

If you like thrillers as much as I do, you are going to love Mark Greaney's Gray Man. Yikes ??? Talk about relentless action! Not only does Greaney create an exciting plot, but he can also write. Court Gentry ??? the eponymous Gray Man ??? joins the ranks of fictional assassins ??? like Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon ??? for whom we root enthusiastically. Of course, Gentry only kills bad guys; so we can root for him without compunction. (I don't know how much these fictional good-guy assassins might correspond to anything in real-life; but, we all really appreciate them "taking out the trash," don't we?) Court Gentry is so tough and skilled that he seems virtually indestructible ??? although he does get pretty banged-up by the end of this novel ??? and we keep rooting for him the whole time, even through astonishing violence and blood-shed. Right now, I'm wondering what on earth Mr. Greaney could possibly come up with to top "The Gray Man;" but I'm eagerly forging ahead with his next novel ??? "On Target" ??? to find out. I suspect that I may have already succumbed to Greaney addiction, so I hope that he writes fast. To sweeten the pot, an excellent actor ??? Jay Snyder ??? narrates this audiobook. Good narration adds immeasurably to the fun of a good audiobook; and Jay Snyder has the chops to keep us listeners enthralled. In short: Unless you are very squeamish, buy this audiobook.

The biggest problem was cardboard characters.

Nonstop action. A dozen teams of top notch assassins are trying to find and kill one man Court Gentry, the Gray Man. Court is attacked, fights, wins, and escapes, and continues on his journey. Each time Court has some new body part injured. The whole book is this. I enjoyed the action scenes. I enjoyed the suspense. But when I stopped reading to do other things, I did not feel eager to get back to it.

It lacked multidimensional characters and relationship development. Nobody changes, grows, learns. The main bad guy is Lloyd a former CIA employee. His dialogue and actions - think cartoon villain with a mustache tying the lady to the train tracks. One dimensional. Everyone was one dimensional. This was not a rich reading experience. It might be appropriate as a movie script.

The best part was the beginning in Iraq, before the main plot kicks in.

The narrator Jay Snyder was very good except for his little girl voice. It was artificial and weird.

Genre: suspense thriller

Wonderful book!

This was an outstanding listen! I have listened to audiobooks for years, and have never had any desire to write a review, until this book. The narrator was excellent. The story was engaging and gripping.

Great frist book.

I enjoyed this book. It was a little different from what you usually find in this genre, but kept to much of the basic formula as well. Great first book. The other books in the series were not quite as good, but still entertaining.

superman of action

THE GRAY MAN BY MARK GREANEY WAS LIKE LISTENING TO A SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE. THE STORY OF AN ASSASSIN LEFT OUT IN THE COLD AND HUNTED BY EVERY LETHAL KILLER IN THE WORLD WAS JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED TO GET THE HEART PUMPING; BUT LIKE A SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER, YOU DO HAVE TO BE ABLE TO APPLY A CERTAIN SUSPENSION OF BELIEF.. THAT ANY ONE PERSON COULD SURVIVE THE ONSLAUGHT OF INJURIES THAT THE HERO SUSTAINS ELEVATES THE HERO OUT OF A REALM OF BELIEVABILITY, AND INTO A CERTAIN COMIC BOOK HERO STATUS. HE IS ABLE TO DEFEAT ARMIES OF ASSASSINS SINGLE HANDEDLY. BUT SOMEHOW IT ALL WORKS. CHALK IT UP TO GREANEY'S ADRENILINE FUELED PROSE; BUT ALSO NARRATOR JAY SNYDER DOES AN EXCELLENT JOB SELLING THE STORY USING DIFFERENT ACCENTS FOR VARIOUS CHARACTERS. HE GIVES EACH AND EVERYONE OF THEM A UNIQUE VOICE. (AND THERE ARE A LOT OF CHARACTERS WHO COME AND GO AND GET KILLED IN SPECTACULAR ACTION SEQUENCES). IF YOU LIKE ACTION ORIENTED STORIES, AND MOVIES LIKE MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, THEN THIS IS YOUR CUP TEA. A VERY STRONG CUP OF TEA WITH NO SUGAR OR CREAM, BUT A DOSE OF STEROIDS INSTEAD.

Kind of a less believable Mitch Rapp

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It was fine, fast, very light (as far as needing concentration - lots of blood and gore!). I got it because I was in a hurry and I like the Mitch Rapp type character. But this guy is unbelievably lucky. And the narrator, who did a good job as any of the men, can't do children's voices. I didn't actually listen to a sample. I was in a hurry and just picked it. While it wasn't horrible and would probably appeal to young guys who like shoot 'em ups, it wasn't nearly good enough for me to get anything else in the series.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The grey man could have been a little less god-like in his performance and ability.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

no

Fast Paced - love the hero!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

So excited to have discovered a new author - who has such an exciting writing style! Couldn't put it down! Love the hero Cort - you are so drawn to him that you don't even care that he is a good guy killer.

WHAT A RIDE!

Who doesn't love a story about ruthless killer, with a moral compass? Mr. Greaney had me hook w/in the first few pages and took me for a wonderful ride. Looking forward to the other stories in the series.

cliche is an understatement.

This is a book clearly written by someone with no actual tactical experiance and a type of fetishism for combat elite.

The writing is terse and follows a predictable path without much imagination and even less believability.

Stick to better written series by authors like Barry Eisler.