On Target: A Gray Man Novel

I liked the first Gray Man book but this was even better. The set up takes a little while, but the second half is non-stop action. Maybe not for the squeamish, who probably won't be downloading it anyway, but as exciting a listen as I've had recently. Vince Flynn has been my favorite but his books have gotten very preachy and "talky." If I want that, I'll turn on cable news. This guy has guns blasting most of the time, and it's a lot more fun.

This one of my favorite new authors. The main character is an assassin but with his own ethics and you actually root for him. Sounds strange...liking a killer but the way it is written...you will too. The book is full of action, doesn't lag. If you like Vince Flynn, Brad Thor or Lee Child...you will like this author too. Strongly recommend this book (and his first novel too).

i'm a difficult reader to please but Mark Greaney has done it again. Like his previous, first work, Greaney packs this thriller with speed, suspense, and incredible imagination. This time he also adds an element of global politics. The gray man will constantly surprise you again. Also, if you are a fan of the more technical aspects of a good thriller, Greaney knows his weapons and machines and the types of backgrounds and training that go into becoming a CIA SAD operatives. Worth the money and time.

Bravo to Greaney for having the boldness to give his main character a pain killer addiction, and NOT use it the way that EVERY OTHER AUTHOR WOULD HAVE! What I mean is, it's set up so that you think that ultimately Gray Man will suffer enormous harm from his addiction to the drugs, and learn some "valuable" lesson... like an after-school special. I was honestly dreading that moment, and had decided to stop listening to the book if Greaney took that "easy" way out. But, he never did.

It's refreshing to see an author that actually understands that people can take drugs for valid reasons (like intense pain), and still be able to function on them. Seems like every book I read, where a character has a drug addiction, the author takes every opportunity to preach to me about how bad drugs are. I'm an adult, thanks. I don't need a fiction writer preaching to me about morals.

Greaney gives you have a character that is so flawed, real, and interesting, that you don't want the story to end. In fact, the character is brought to life so well that you forgive some of the more implausible things that may happen in the world around him.

Overall, the narrator is top-notch, and the story is captivating. Jason Bourne meets Keith Richards...

This is a great next step from the Gray Man. Mark Greaney does not make his characters nice guys or heroes, they just are. It is generally believable, and the reader makes it more believable the way he speaks for each character. I think this is a better audio book than when read, because of the intensity of his voice. Very hard to stop listening, always another dilemma.

After reading the mixed reviews I was really hesitant to buy it. I am glad that I did. For sure it was not Quite as good as The Grey Man but it is a sequel (what do you expect?). The narration wasn't as bad as I had feared after reading the reviews ether. Since Lee child, Vince Flynn and the like only put out about a book a year what are you going to do? I would have liked the Grey Man to have gotten over his addiction, but I have been trying to quit smoking for years. Enjoy!

Sometimes I discover new authors, I mean they are new to me. One of them is Mark Greaney. I have never heard of him before, but I'm glad I've bought his book.
On Target is about an "independent contractor", meaning assassin called the Grey Man. At first it was strange to see a bad guy as a protagonist, but soon I learned that he is more like a surgeon: cutting out tumors from the body of the society. He is after the really bad guys, which makes him somewhat a good guy.
The story got me from the beginning, and kept my dopamine level high: cool, what's next? The idea of kidnapping the Saudi president is crazy on it's own, but when following the story, it's completely logical. Which doesn't make it less dangerous, because something always go wrong. Planning is necessary, but plans are always turn into mess at the end. It is so in On Target. The Grey Man has to adapt and improvise right from the beginning to be able to accomplish the final goal. And at the end it's still not what he wanted. Ok, I may sound a little cryptic here, but I don't want to spoil the story, in case you haven't read it yet.
This is the second Gray Man book, I believe, and sometimes I missed some backstory (what happened in the first book), but there were enough references to enjoy this story.
The book is well written, and I could immerse in the story forgetting that I'm listening to a book.

It continued the Gray Man's story, and did so in a very believable way. I read this before I read Gray Man, and still had enough context to understand the story. That's the mark of a good and careful author. The book is full of action and exotic places. The hardware is realistically described. The emotions of the main characters seem real and not stilted. This is not a Mission Impossible type book where everything goes perfectly for the main characters. It has gritty detail that makes it believable. I would recommend this book highly.

the Gray Man; he is believable and complex and I can see a lot of me in him (not that I'm an assasin mind you, I'm a lawyer, but I understand the way he thinks).

No, this was my first, but having heard later performances, I really liked him.

No.

Great book, great voice characterizations. You will be quite satisfied.

Bit of politicking going on - the author expresses his opinion of some Middle Eastern nations/policies/politics - and sometimes peoples' behaviors just don't make sense (ie... some nomads just murdered some of your party and tried to kill you, but they got shot and you survived - so then you want to "save them" when doing so will jeopardize yourself? naw... doesn't matter how goody-two-shoes you are, someone murders half your party, you're going to take your chance to run, not try to save those murderers who haven't died from their gunshot wounds yet).

I didn't find it as far-fetched as the first book was - of course it's over the top and only James Bond could do better (but only because he would have managed to bed the chick when Gentry did not) - but if you liked the Grey Man, you'll like this one at least as much. I liked it better because the premise made more sense than the first - it's logical that people would want a dictator removed and that they'd hire an assassin to do so.

The "battle" during and after kidnapping of the president went on WAY too long - I know it's an action book but the pacing was off - the first 2/3 covers a lot of ground, different scenes and stuff going on, but then most of the last 1/3 of the book is spent on one long drawn out fight scene - no more plot, just bullets and chasing and bleeding and more bullets and chasing and bleeding...

Overall it's a fast, non-thinking action book that is decently narrated and nicely resolved. (Oh, and there's no sex in it but there is tons of swearing.)

Mark Greaney has been compared to Vince Flynn and Lee Child with good reason. Personally, I enjoyed his first book better but still enjoyed this one. It is action packed and keeps you wanting more. You don't need to read "The Gray Man" first to enjoy this one, but it will help for reference background.