On Target

A Gray Man Novel

By: Mark Greaney

Narrated by: Jay Snyder

Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Court Gentry, aka the Gray Man, is back – and once again on the run from old friends and foes.

Four years ago, Gentry was betrayed by his handlers in the CIA. Now, an old comrade, Russian arms merchant Sidorenko, returns to force him on a mission against his will: kill Sudan’s President Abboud, the supposed trigger for the Darfur genocide. But the CIA has its own plans for Abboud. With his ruthless employers on one side, his blackmailing former friends on the other, and a doomed mission ahead, Gentry would kill just to get out of this one alive.

Every bit as thrilling, informed, and addictive as The Gray Man, and once again skillfully narrated by Jay Snyder, On Target is sure to hit the mark for thriller fans.

Check out Mark Greaney's best-selling previous book, The Gray Man, now.

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

Critic reviews

“An action-filled yet touching story of a man whose reason has long ago been subsumed by his work ethic.” ( Publishers Weekly)

No preaching just action with twists

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.

I enjoyed this one too.

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!

On Target

I liked the "Gray Man" better. I was disappointed that they have made him a drug addict. I think this is way out of character for a skilled assassin. The constant action going from one crisis to another keeps one glued to the Ipod. Looking forward to another book. Jay Snyder did a good job with narration.

Greaney does it again! (And so does Snyder!)

After I finished listening to "The Gray Man" ??? Greaney's prequel to "On Target" ??? I couldn't imagine how Greaney could surpass that first effort. "The Gray Man" contained so much well-written action that, I thought, Greaney must have exhausted all future possibilities for his poor, battered protagonist, Court Gentry. How could one man endure any more adventure? In his place, I would have patted myself on the back for a job well-done, and retired to rest on my laurels! But Court Gentry is made of sterner stuff. "On Target" comes at us with both barrels blazing. Gentry has not even recovered from all his injuries acquired in "The Gray Man," when Greaney throws him into the soup again. Now I see how Greaney keeps us on the edge of our seats, biting our nails: He puts Gentry into completely impossible situations, with no way at all to survive ??? and then ??? drawing upon his knowledge, experience, and skill, and utilizing only a few odds and ends on hand ??? Gentry figures out a way to prevail. Whew ??? that was close! Greaney's books should carry a warning on their covers: "This novel is harrowing!" Plus, Greaney does his research. With "On Target," you will learn more than you ever wanted to know about the Sudan (don't feel bad ??? I had to look it up in my atlas, too) and the horrors that have been perpetrated there. You will also discover how first-world countries manipulate the destinies of third-world countries to suit their own purposes ??? using, of course, our favorite assassin-for-hire to accomplish the job. Only Gentry happens to have a conscience and a heart in approximately the right place, which throws a monkey wrench into the best-laid plans of conniving politicians. Once again, poor Gentry gets all beaten and battered and bloody, and ends up having to run for his life ??? again. Which sets us up for the next audiobook in this series: "Ballistic." Long story short: Just buy it. And take tomorrow off, because you'll be staying up all night.

I discovered Grey Man

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.

Tired of the focus on drug addiction

I would rather he had stuck with the premise that the Grey Man was a hardened agent killer for righteous causes. The drug scenes get in the way of my respect. Also, he is supposed to be the guy that nobody can find, yet everyone seems to have heard of him. He needs to use his skills to get the really bad people that cross him also. Instead they just seem to drift into the past in a drug induced haze.

True entertainment!

Where does On Target rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Definitely in my top ten.

What other book might you compare On Target to and why?

American Sniper, Lone Survivor. Both of the previous books are based on true events and included a lot of detail. On Target is so well written and studied I felt as if everything the Gray Man experienced came straight out of a top secret file stolen from the desk of the director for the CIA.

What does Jay Snyder bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Definitely helps develop the charters, his performance provides tons of detail that I would not have been able to provide for myself.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I wanted it to last longer, and went straight to the next book in the series.

Solid

Nicely done, kept me interested. Will be continuing the series. Five words still remaining apparently.

The Gray Man Ups His Game.

I thought this second books was better than the first. The action was very real and the banter between the characters was fun. But there are some contradictory aspects of Gentry's personal philosophies that I wish Greaney would explore more. But I'm on biard for the rest of the Gray Man's adventures.

Beyond Awesome!

Where does On Target rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I was starting to get withdrawals after having listened to the last Vince Flynn book in the series (twice). I tried many highly regarded authors but none of them stuck out for me. Then I found the Gray Man series. The first book was great and this is even better. I have already added all the Gray Man series books to my audible library and can't wait to get in my car at 5am every morning for the long commute!

The storyline is fantastic. The main character is awesome. Jay Snyder is a pleasure to listen to. Highly recommended.