The Survivor

By: Gregg Hurwitz

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Nate Overbay, a former soldier suffering from PTSD and ALS, goes to an 11th-floor bank and climbs out the bathroom window onto the ledge, ready to end it all. But as he’s steeling himself to jump, a crew of gunmen bursts into the bank and begins viciously shooting employees and customers. With nothing to lose, Nate climbs back inside, confronts the robbers, and with his military training, starts taking them out, one by one. The last man standing leaves Nate with a cryptic warning: “He will make you pay in ways you can’t imagine.” Soon enough, Nate learns what this means.

He is kidnapped by Pavlo, a savage Ukrainian mobster and mastermind of the failed heist. Now blocked from getting into the bank vault to retrieve the critical item inside, Pavlo gives Nate a horrifying ultimatum: Either break in and acquire the item or watch Pavlo slowly kill the people Nate loves most - his estranged wife, Janie, and his teenaged daughter, Cielle. Nate lost them both when he came back from Iraq broken and confused. Now he’s got one chance to protect the people he loves, even if it’s the last thing he is able to do.

©2012 Gregg Hurwitz (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

This... book...is...slow..

Listened to this book at double speed due to the readers' insanely slow pace of reading. Story line started strong, got unlikely, got improbable, and then just got stupid. I plowed through to the end, half hoping for the end to come to the 'hero' along the way. The final battle at the mansion was cheesy but slightly entertaining at the same time. Surprised that this is not some crappy Ben Affleck movie yet. If you skip this book, you won't be missing anything.

Constant action and suspense!

Nate Overbay has problems including PTSD from time in combat, ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) which is terminal, and a broken marriage. He is about to kill himself by jumping from the 11th floor of a bank building when bank robbers enter the bank and start shooting. He climbs back in the window and successfully defeats the bank robbers. His reward? He's kidnapped and the lives of his ex-wife and daughter threatened if he does not go back and rob the bank of the item the original bank robbers intended. Scott Brick narrates this excellent novel.

Survivor Holds Your Interest

I enjoy Gregg Hurwitz's books very much (and always like Scott Brick). This was a good one - albeit quite far-fetched. The plot was interesting and had some surprises. I will certainly stay with this author but I don't think this was his best book. The characters were all wonderfully developed - so that is a big plus, too.

Explosive

I would have given 5 stars but the unruly teenagers ruined it but the overall story was decent and supensive my credit was not wasted. From ALS to all the Rama emerged in this story I was surprised by all the twist especially with how Nate survived through most of it.

A good read, but...

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

Well, I don't know. It was entertaining, but there are still some problems with the story that bother me days later....things that didn't make sense or fit together or weren't explained properly.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I liked it ....I did expect him to make the decision he did make, so it wasn't a surprise, but satisfying.

What about Scott Brick’s performance did you like?

Just a great voice to narrate a man's experience

Any additional comments?

I did enjoy the story, but I don't think I'd recommend it to a friend. There were too many problems with the story, not mention it was gruesome at times. It might be nice as a free story, but not worth paying money for.

I would say it needs to be rated more like 3.5 stars

Entertaining but somewhat predictable. Purchased it on sale so worth my money.
Little over-the-top then an army grunt could put down a bunch of professional killers but nonetheless worth listening to.

I would listen to Scott Brick read the phone book!

Gregg Hurwitz does it AGAIN! A thriller from the very first page, Hurwitz manages to encompass hopelessness, desperation, and unending mental courage in one horribly flawed main character in Nate Overbay. Fighting physical and mental deterioration from an incurable illness, Overbay shows what it means to survive life even in the face of inevitable death. And Scott Brick as narrator is just...I love how he makes every single character its own voice, its own character, so to speak. 12/10 would recommend as a read AND as a listen!

Not perfect but I liked it

When I finish a listen, I sometimes like to go back and read reviews just to compare experiences. Another listener commented that the entire premise was preposterous, and that is completely accurate. Completely. But, I can't help but still like this book. This is my third Gregg Hurwitz, and they have similar elements; a man with a troubled childhood is ripped apart from his family, fighting back with an amazing survival instinct and nothing else to lose. Well, call me a sucker, but for whatever reason I'm able to just set my reasoning aside and flow with the story. There is always a strong underdog element going, maybe that's it. There's stuff here that is just done really well in my opinion.

Keeps you guessing

well done with a sympathetic protagonist..excellent plot. I highly recommend this author and book...get it.

Great twists with many story layers.

Good story overall. It has some great twists but gets a little predictable at times. Several backstories add interesting layers.