The Gray Man

By: Mark Greaney

Narrated by: Jay Snyder

Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

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)

Lot of action

Where does The Gray Man rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It was ok. Was the most 'action packed' book I've listened to. Will make a good action adventure movie.

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

It was predictable, but still interesting.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Jay Snyder?

The ENTIRE book was read at 'high intensity' level. It seemed it never came down. Everything was 'edge of your seat', even if it wasn't. For me that dilutes the real nail biter parts. Since this is a series I might try another book and see if I still get the same feeling about it. Not sure if Snyder always reads like that or not - hope not. But then again, I felt the same way about Frank Muller, then grew to love hearing him read.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Without giving away too much, of course the kids and the girl.

good listening

It got too far fetched in the last quarter of the book and the end was a bit lame but overall it ok. The reader was great.

Little too much

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Just a little over the top for me... I was looking for something slightly more realistic. Still, not a bad book.

Triple Wow!

This book reminds me of the soldiers creed, "I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade." The dedication and hard grit of the main character, Court Gentry, is what this book is all about. He is a soldier of sorts, but you'll need to read it to see what I mean. Some may say it's against insurmountable odds that he'll succeed in this mission, but that's what I like in the story, and that's what I want in a hero. This hero is a class act. Action packed, and a quick, engaging read. The narration was absolutely great, and I felt like I was really inside Court's head as he is going through all of these actions and emotions. Will be getting the next book!

Heroes

What did you love best about The Gray Man?

The story is great. Simple but good. A real action hero story. With many and great action scenes. No dull moments.

What other book might you compare The Gray Man to and why?

This is a book in the line with the writer Andy McNab. I like the genre

What about Jay Snyder’s performance did you like?

The narrating by Jay Snyder is fabulous. What a great voice. He can do al different kind of characters. He really puts an extra dimension to the story.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Unstoppable.

The premise for the original conflict is lame

Would you consider the audio edition of The Gray Man to be better than the print version?

Haven't read the print version.

Would you be willing to try another book from Mark Greaney? Why or why not?

Yes. His ability to maintain suspense and the action sequences are gripping. Maybe sometimes a little unbelievable in the ability of his title character to take severe damage and keep moving forward. But, he keeps you rooting for him and the supporting cast members, while sometimes prone to over-acting (primarily the main bad guy), are well developed to the point where you think you understand their decisions. I discuss the stupidity of Fitzroy's handling of the initial setup in my additional comments. Without that stupidity, it would be a much shorter story. I find that fault in a lot of action thrillers--both books and movies. You know the point in the story where you say to one of the almost good guys--"no, no, no, don't go there!!! There is a much smarter and simpler solution right in front of your nose!!" And then, no matter how loud you shout at him, the allegedly smart character goes there anyway. That criticism notwithstanding, I will probably burn a credit on the next book in the series.

What about Jay Snyder’s performance did you like?

His narration was solid--very professional sounding--and the voices of his characters were very much what you would imagine them to be based on their personalities and roles in the story. He does the female voices and even the foreign accents well enough that they are both distinguishable and believable. He only dramatizes to give voice to the emotion of a character. When narrating events, he just tells the story without drawing attention to himself. I think he is an excellent narrator. I gave him a 5. I listen to nearly all my books at 1.25 speed to keep the narration from dragging. That speed seemed perfect for Jay.

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

No. An occasional chuckle at the dialog. Sometimes it seemed a little over the top unrealistic. My biggest issue was the ongoing feeling that the whole situation was unnecessary give the talents of the Gray Man and the entities creating the problem.

Any additional comments?

Minor spoiler alert for the setup of the action.

As mentioned above, the whole initial threat situation and subsequent loss of blood could have been nipped in the bud before the hostage situation developed. After all, the Gray Man has mad skills to take out bad guys and Sir Donald Fitzroy (supposedly a brilliant spymaster loyal to his assets) has a support organization to help him. Why deceive and burn the Gray Man? Why not burn the lawyer? Why not simply fake going along with the blackmail threat, including a faked death on the plane--keeping the lawyer in the dark for the first 24-48 hours until the Gray Man is back from Iraq and in position to take out bad guys--including the ex-CIA lawyer traitor and the person demanding the Gray Man's head? The second meeting between the lawyer and Fitzroy could have began by ending the lawyer and his threats. Then the vengeful dictator could be gone within a couple of days more--and even the CEO of the troubled company, if the threat continued. Bang-bang-bang, done deal--before hostages are even snatched.

The entire book would have been a smart short story--maybe 3 chapters--instead of a dumb beginning with a long but somewhat smarter recovery from initial mistakes.. Of course, the dumb part is short and mostly at the beginning so I didn't spoil the real story.If stupid decisions by supposedly smart supporting cast members who by their temporary lapse into idiocy and moral weakness create all of the ensuing problems ruin a book for you, then this book may not be for you.

But, ignoring the stupidity of Fitzroy's handling of the blackmail at the beginning--as I did--the rest of the story moved along fairly well. The Gray Man didn't make any real stupid moves, Fitzroy smartened up a bit, and, since you usually expect the bad guys to be a bit stupid, they didn't disappoint.

Love this author!

Even with Q's cool toys, 007 has SERIOUS COMPETITION!!! Court Gentry is a real badass!!

Shoot em up

I feel like "The gray man" sustained to many injuries through out the book and had to many encounters that were just lucky... I would like to have seen him get a few injuries but not to the point of no return... it makes the story to unbelievable. other than that I felt like the story flowed well and the narrator did an excellent job... fun book but just a little to farfetched on the injury side...

Promising Beginning, BUT ...

Promising Beginning

I bought this novel several years ago, and it's been sitting in my 'to be listened to' pile for ages. I recently read the first two of Gregg Hurwitz's *Evan Smoak* series - Orphan X and The Nowhere Man - and absolutely loved them! A friend told me *The Gray Man* series was similar, so I listened to the first one yesterday, after having picked up #3 and #4 in Audible's recent 2-for-1 sale. I listened almost in one sitting, going about my daily life on automatic pilot with headphones plugged in.

I love the 'assassin with a conscience' trope and Greaney carries that off really well with Court Gentry. For me, Court began as a flat, two-dimensional character, but he developed depth and interest as the book progressed, enough so that I was willing to pop out the extra credit for Book #2 (which may well have been Audible's evil plan by not offering it in their sale - MWAHAHAHA!), and I plan to listen to #s 2, 3, and 4 at my earliest opportunity. The book wasn't perfect - there were about half a dozen moments that were so over-the-top I literally had to stop listening long enough to roll my eyes (and curb my 'yeah, riiiiight' reaction) - but the story held my interest enough so I was able to return from those breaks and dive back in.

My one complaint is a bit spoiler-ish, so stop here if you'd rather not read a spoiler.

**

**

**

I must have a sadistic side to my personality. One of the most common irritants to me while reading an amazing action/adventure book is the lack of a climactic, satisfying finish for the 'bad guy.' Inevitably, book after book will create these contemptible, horrible antagonists who will torture or kill others at will. The book will build and build upon the theme of retribution, with the good guy (in this case, literally) threatening a slow, painful death for the antagonist if he doesn't release his hostages / give up the MacGuffin / become a nice guy, etc. Then at the climax, the bad guy is killed off with one or two gunshots in one short paragraph or less, never even realizing he's been defeated. Again, I must be a sadist, because that ANNOYS the spit out of me. I do NOT want to read or listen to page after page of brutal torture - seriously, I am not *that* much a sadist. I do, however, want at least the realization of pending defeat to enter the bad guy's mind.

I don't mean to steer this review away from Greaney, but I have to say that, in this regard, at least, Gregg Hurwitz's 'Evan Smoak' novels ABSOLUTELY deliver a 100% more satisfactory ending, the second Smoak novel especially so. Additionally, I found the character of Evan Smoak to be almost immediately relatable and multi-faceted, almost immediately 'real' to me. It took almost half the novel for me to feel the same about Court Gentry.

Bottom line: the first *Gray Man* novel shows a lot of potential, enough so that I'm willing to give the other books in the series a try. At this point, though, it can go either way for me, largely depending on whether Court Gentry develops as a 'real-to-me' character.

Exquisitely enjoyable thriller

This is not a complicated book. It's a relatively straight-forward thriller, and is simply loads of fun. The action sequences feel cinematic, are well written and very exciting. Unlike in some novels, our hero, I was glad to hear, is not invincible, and he hurts, bleeds, and needs help from time to time. Not everything is completely realistic, but who cares?

I usually listen to audio-books while doing chores around the house, and I seriously looked forward to doing them, just to hear what happens to our hero next.

I don't have much more to say - it's a fun adventure, and I highly recommend it.