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)

Can't catch your breath.

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

The gray man explodes onto the genre in a hail of bullets and explosions. If some of the escapes from dire situations seem a little too fantastical keep in mind it is fiction and it is a well done around the world action-packed listen.

Pretty good, but not great

If you're into these types of action novels, as I am, this is worth a listen. It was entertaining while driving and doing things around the house. However, it was somewhat generic. Tough guy gets chased by bad guys. Tough guy gets hurt bad and should be dead. Tough guy kills bad guys. There's even the "have to save the innocent little girls!" thrown in. Again, entertaining, but just not what I expected given the other projects the author has been involved with. Certainly sets up a series, and I'll likely listen to at least one more to see where it goes.

I really loved this book

What did you love best about The Gray Man?

Court Gentry, the Gray Man, has depth and the story is interesting. Jay Snyder has mastered a voice that is perfect for this man.

Non-stop energy!

Would you listen to The Gray Man again? Why?

Loved the book as it was non-stop action. A man driven to do the right thing and will stop at nothing. Just the person we need in these times with men like Donald Trump leading the U.S. A righteous man who sees evil and will nor hesitate to go after it. Mark Greaney drives the story. He is the new Tom Clancy!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Gray Man?

His time with Claire on the phone.

Which character – as performed by Jay Snyder – was your favorite?

Regal

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

The fight in the alleyway with the South Korean. So much for allies!

Any additional comments?

Going on to the next books in the series. I am just sorry that I waited so long to start reading the works of Mark Greaney. I think I saw him so much in the shadow of Tom Clancy that I missed the real talent that lies in Mark. He is now well ahead of his peers Vince Flynn an Brad Thor.

Entertaining read.

I read book 3 in the series first unbeknownst to me. Liked it so much that I decided to research the series and then started on this book.
Great plot. Moves very well with a lot of suspense. LOVE the narrator.

super

loved it they all are great I well listen to the rest of the books

a very enjoyable fast-moving story!

I enjoyed this book very much. The narration is first-rate also. However at the end of chapter 24 the last sentence contains the word amount where the word should be number , a small error in grammar or usage. one error for a copy editor I believe can be overlooked and really does not detract from the overall high quality of the production. Only grammer and usage hounds will even notice.

Unbelievable

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The book was fairly entertaining but totally ridiculous. One man on his own against dozens of highly trained killers and he won. This despite a bullet wound in his thigh, broken ribs, a knife would in his stomach and myriad other injuries. Why can't authors give these guys a support team?

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

Probably not.

Was The Gray Man worth the listening time?

I struggled to finish it.

Fun enough that I'm in for book two

So, having just finished the entire Victor the Assassin series, I was in the mood for more assassin goodness and came upon The Gray Man series. Court Gentry (whose full name we're reminded of many multiple times throughout) is very different from Victor, who is a secretive, intellectual, ice-cold killing machine. Court imagines himself to be a good guy killing bad guys, which is fine, I can get into that. As the story progressed, I really got to like Court, and even enjoyed the bad guy, Lloyd, who had some amusing dialogue. The author clearly loves his characters and writes with gusto. However, I can understand why some readers thought the book was over-the-top. Court's final battle brings to mind Monty Python's Black Knight with his limbs lopped off but he's still up for a brawl. You'll have to suspend your disbelief here. Other reviewers also dinged Mr. Greaney's writing style, and for that, I have to ding the editor, who should have fixed Mr. Greaney's point of view wobbles and pointed out that more than halfway through the book, we don't need to be reminded that it's "Court Gentry," first name and last, falling off the bridge. But again, it's an action book, not some literary tome, so I can live with it. The one hurdle I had to work to get over was the narrator. He reads the entire book with the dire emphasis of a movie preview, so nothing sounds natural, not even the dialogue. He does accents acceptably well, but Court often speaks in the growly breathlessness used to proclaim, "I am the Batman." Basically, I thought the narration style got in the way of the story. I would advise the narrator to take it down a notch or two. All in all, though, I ended up really enjoyed The Gray Man. I've already started book two and will probably listen to the whole series.

Fast and Entertaining

John Mclain meets Jason Bourne, not bad for his first book in series. Definitely will buy another in series