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 one should land on my 10 Best List for 2017

This was a well-paced, well-plotted story told to perfection by Scott Brick. (Brick excels at this kind of action-thriller.) Gregg Hurwitz creates 3-dimensional characters, keeps the good one at risk, throws in enough plot twists to keep you guessing and wraps it up in great satisfaction, though a little bittersweet. Well worth the credit.

Our hero, Nate Overbay, is certainly flawed. His life was robbed of its goodness by PTSD and then he was diagnosed with ALS. His life is all but over and we find him standing on a ledge ready to jump when he is sucked into being a good guy. He witnesses a crime and stops it in its tracks while managing to hide the fact that he was about to take a flying 12-story leap. One of the bad guys gets away with the chilling words, "He will make you pay in ways you can't imagine." Then the action picks up :). Seriously. Nate is forced to commit a crime to try to save his family. The bad guys here are Ukrainians (nice to read a good action-thriller where the soulless killers aren't Muslims).

I liked it and tore through the 13 hours quickly. It was a nice change of pace from my previous book, A Gentleman in Moscow, which I loved enough to read a second after I finished The Survivor.

Decent action novel with good characterization

This was a very pleasant surprise - it's an action-packed action novel with a very human main character who has very human problems. He is not a superman out there to save the world (his world); he isn't even sure he can save himself... but he does it anyway. He is scarred and troubled, and haunted by his past. PTSD is in full flight here. And it's a destructive flight.

The main character is well developed and his relationships and motivations all make sense. The villain is a bit extreme, of course, but this is fundamentally a fast paced action novel and deserving of a super-bad guy for our hero to overcome. Would a normal guy in the same circumstances be as competent? No, but still... it isn't meant to be non-fiction.

I had stopped listening to Scott Brick awhile ago because he tends to "overact" in his narration. This book was actually pretty well-done. His characters are distinct, and there is just enough "excitement" in Brick's voice to enhance the story, not overwhelm it. It is not gory and there is no descriptive sex. I don't think there was much swearing either.

Loved it - almost stopped it - loved it

Any additional comments?

So I thought the book started out strong and that the main character's illness was an interesting twist. I was really enjoying it. Somewhere in the middle, it would be on and I wouldn't even be paying attention. It was dragging for me. All of a sudden it picked up in a whirlwind and I found myself eager to listen. All in all, a really good listen. It is hard to go wrong with Scott Brick as a narrator. He always delivers a solid performance.

I’m the survivor for finishing it.

Predictable nonsensical elementary dialogue and action. I really wanted the daughter to just stop talking. So unrealistic on so many levels.

well written but...

Too unbelievable - coincidence riddled. Enjoyed it for a while but I couldn't get past the coincidences and on and on back story and subplots.

At Death's Door

Being a huge fan of Mr. Hurwitz series featuring Orphan X, I decided to give one of his solo novels a listen. Seeing that The Survivor was highly rated and narrated by one of my favorites, Scott Brick, I made the purchase.

The story centers around Nate Overby, a returning Gulf War veteran who carries the mental fatigue of being in combat coupled with having his best friend die in his arms. Nate returns home to what was a storybook marriage only to have it completely unravel as his war time experiences take center stage in his mind. So, much so that he cannot shake the image of his fallen comrade who keeps showing up in Nate's mind. Compound this with just learning he has ALS, he decides to jump off a building ending it all.

Fortunately, or unfortunately as the listener will learn moving forward, Nate is just outside a window where a robbery is taking place inside. With his combat training, he jumps inside and literally saves the day. While becoming an instant hero for his actions, Nate is still the same troubled individual inside. Once he discovers the robbery was a cover up for activity from an international Ukrainian mob gang, Nate's life become an ongoing horror story of fear and death even pulling his former family into the mix.

Overall, this was an edge of your seat potboiler and kept my interest to it's conclusion. As a work of fiction, there were some unbelievable gun play moments like you would see in an action movie where the good guy does all the killing and the bad guys keep missing. But, that is to be expected, isn't it? Anyway, this was a solid listen thanks greatly in part to the voice of Scott Brick as the narrator. As a result, I am sure to be looking for other Hurwitz fiction works beyond Orphan X.

Another Excellent and Enthralling Book by Hurwitz

Tragically triumphant is how I describe this book. The story is a thriller for sure. The fast pacing left kept me on the edge of my seat while listening while the narration gave me a meaningful and serious experience. Brick and Hurwitz are an awesome combination. Together they leave me simultaneously satisfied, yet hopefully wanting more.

Unsung Hero

Refreshing to get to know a hero who may very well be the man walking down the street next to you. One who has their own set of real life problems to complicate the intricacies of plot twists and surprises. PTSD and ALS are horrible and this protagonist was portrayed expertly by Scott Brick. Well done in both writing and performance.

Good but a bit depressing

I first found out about this after listening to Orphan X, which I absolutely loved! However, after starting this book, I wasn't sure how well I was going to like it, as the first hour or two were really add and somewhat depressing. However, I stuck with it and the story turned out to be pretty solid, so I'm glad I did. Scott did a fantastic job narrating, as always.

Enjoyed

A action packed book. The story has twist and turns which for me weren't easily predictable. i would definitely recommend this book