Out of the Dark

An Orphan X Novel (Evan Smoak, Book 4)

By: Gregg Hurwitz

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's Summary

*AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*

"This novel will be remembered as one of the best thrillers of the year." --Associated Press

"A shocking stunner in every way. The perfect thriller." --Robert Crais

When darkness closes in - he's your last, best hope. Evan Smoak returns in Gregg Hurwitz’s #1 international bestselling Orphan X series in Out of the Dark.

Taken from a group home at age twelve, Evan Smoak was raised and trained as part of the Orphan Program, an off-the-books operation designed to create deniable intelligence assets - i.e. assassins. Evan was Orphan X. He broke with the Program, using everything he learned to disappear and reinvent himself as the Nowhere Man, a man who helps the truly desperate when no one else can. But now Evan's past is catching up to him.

Someone at the very highest level of government has been trying to eliminate every trace of the Orphan Program by killing all the remaining Orphans and their trainers. After Evan's mentor and the only father he ever knew was killed, he decided to strike back. His target is the man who started the Program and who is now the most heavily guarded person in the world: the President of the United States.

But President Bennett knows that Orphan X is after him and, using weapons of his own, he's decided to counter-attack. Bennett activates the one man who has the skills and experience to track down and take out Orphan X - the first recruit of the Program, Orphan A.

With Evan devoting all his skills, resources, and intelligence to find a way through the layers of security that surround the President, suddenly he also has to protect himself against the deadliest of opponents. It's Orphan vs. Orphan with the future of the country - even the world - on the line.

©2019 Gregg Hurwitz (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing Inc., all rights reserved.

I was expecting more light

The title led me to believe that Evan could begin to reach for a normal life, you know coming out of the dark into the light, but that does not happen. There's still a long way to go.

As usual, there are 2 cases going on here, Evan's private vendetta as well as someone who called his private line. Evan is torn with accomplishing both tasks which require him to be on opposite sides of the country at the same time. I do not see how he allowed the bad guy to get away; it seems his client would still be in danger with that guy on the loose.

Then taking on a short, easy third case creates a rift between him and his possible normal life. However, it is in this third case that Evan vocalizes his innermost conviction-- that laws do not always bring justice, and that justice is what he is about. This is the divide between law and vigilantism. Something to think about.

Nevertheless, you will enjoy the Smoak and daggar business.

SMOAKIN' HOT!!!!

As the forth book in the Orphan X series this book does not disappoint. Gregg Hurwitz has written another winner with a super storyline. Although each of the books in this series can be listened to as a stand alone, I would suggest listening to them in the order which they were written for continuity and background info. This book starts out with a glimpse into Evan Smoak's beginnings. At the age of 19 he's sent out into the world as a trained killing machine. He's well trained but his handler has given him one thing 25 other well trained killing machines do not have, a conscious.
Fast forward and Evan is long out of the agency formed by the US government. The creator of the Orphan program is now the POTUS and he's eliminating all members of his anonymous (even to each other) team. He's using them to kill each other. Evan sees clearly what is going on and realizes he must take out the head for any of them to be safe.
Meanwhile in what has become a formula for the Orphan X series, while Evan is battling his demons he continues to be a beacon for people with no one else to turn to but in more trouble than they can handle.
So Evan is being pursued when he receives a call from Trevon, a young autistic man who has gotten himself on the wrong side of a drug cartel. They've murdered almost his entire family and are setting him up to take the fall.
This is book is so far the best in this series. I believe Hurwitz has raised his own bar so high, I can't begin to imagine what his next book will be!

Scott Brick's narration is as always amazing.
This book has my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATIONS!
If you found this review helpful please indicate so.
Thank You.

A Time to Kill

Out of the Dark is the 4th fantastic book in the Evan Smoak series of page-turning adventures by The New York Times best-selling thriller writer Gregg Hurwitz. When I reviewd Orphan X a few years ago, I fell instantly in love with Gregg‘s work and I found myself backtracking through many of his previously released ”on the edge of your seat” thrillers, enjoying them very much and now I am glad to be able to say that I listened to all of the them.

Spoken about only in whispers, it is said that when the Nowhere Man is reached by the truly desperate, he can and will do anything to save them, but now, he is the one who puts the fear of God into his enemies.

The story follows Evan Smoak  a.k.a The Nowhere Man. He is a skilled assassin trained in the, now defunct, off the books, Orphan program. Usually, Evan uses his knowledge, resources and talents to help desperate people that have nowhere else to turn, to find solutions for their, seemingly, unsolvable problems, but now everything is personal. The most deadly assassin in the World is hunting the most unavailable and well protected man in the World, but, at the same time, this man is hunting Evan as well...

Filled with non stop, over the top action, Out of the Dark is unputdownable and you’ll find yourself holding your breath from time to time as you cheer Evan on his quest. Gregg Hurwitz did a great job preparing this book for first timers to the series, but I highly suggest that you treat yourself to all other previously released books, as there are great and you will understand the story arc better.

As always, Scott Brick is the narrator of choice for almost all Gregg Hurwitz’s thrillers and he delivers another amazing performance in Out of the Dark. The entire book is filled with anxiety, tension, urgency, drama and paranoia. Scott will make you feel and live all of them. I found myself holding my breath, feeling anxious and, at some points, scared. I felt sad and angry, I smiled and almost cried… Out of the Dark is definitely better experienced as an audiobook, in the detriment of its paperback or Kindle Edition.

Scott Brick is one of the best narrators in the Audiobook Industry and every book recorded by him is great! He gives life to all the characters and, at the same time, he paints a vivid picture of everything happening in the story. The immersion is total, while his narration is mesmerizing and unparalleled.

If you like thrillers, if you like The Bourne Identity, One Shot, Back Blast, The English Spy and American Assassin, you’ll love what Gregg Hurwitz has done with Out of the Dark. I listened to the entire audiobook in the last 24 hours because I could not stop! Now, I will await the next adventure. The good news is that Mr. Hurwitz has signed a deal for three more Orphan X novels!

... and Into the Smoak-y Twilight

You must read Hellbent, entry #3 in the Orphan X / Evan Smoak series, before Out of the Dark. You can read the first three in any order, and forthcoming #5 seems to be starting at a fresh new standalone point. But you need to have read Hellbent to understand why X and other Orphans have been targeted, by whom, and why X has in turn targeted him back. X plans one of the most dastardly deeds in modern American society, so you need to know in advance why you would root for him despite that. The details of the why are revealed in this entry, as you would expect.

The plot against the target is quite implausible, but that's the point of this type of book, isn't it, to see an implausible hero pull off an implausible stunt. I have two minor quibbles with it -- 1, the Nowhere Man side plot doesn't intersect with the main plot, as it has in previous Orphan X books, and 2. the final scene of the scheme kind of comes out of left field, and happens so quickly that I had already decided that with so little time left in the book that it was going to carry over into the next book.

Neither of these quibbles diminish the experience all that much -- from five stars to four or four and half stars. Ditto the lack of progress in Evan's interaction with the real world. After taking a couple of big leaps forward in Hellbent, Evan treads water at best, maybe even takes a step backwards -- another reason to have already read Hellbent, to understand that this is part of Evan's evolution, not a frustrating lack of character development. And interestingly, the Nowhere Man thread sheds some light on Evan's personality dysfunction.

Gregg Hurwitz has said that the initial idea of this series was to take a Bond or Bourne type of character and put him in real world social situations, where the expert covert operative becomes awkwardly inept. Of course, it has been done before, most notably in Dexter (socially awkward vigilante Dex -- rhymes with socially awkward vigilante Orphan X), as well as Alias, and I'm sure there are others. But it works nonetheless, though it must move forward in the next entry for it to mean something.

Seems like Scott Brick is revered by listeners as the voice of Evan Smoak, and he is contractually obligated to continue voicing this series. I may be in the minority, but I still have a hard time listening to him. At 1.5x speed, I'll concede that he is not bad in this series. Or maybe that's just me rationalizing the fact that I have to continue to listen to him if I want to continue reading this series in audio.

Just some comments

WOW! OUT OF THE DARK was released 2 and 1/2 days ago and there are already 10 reviews and 96 ratings. The fourth novel in the Orphan X/Evan Smoak series is a clear winner. With this series Gregg Hurwitz places himself among the best of the espionage series authors. Evan Smoak is a unique character among espionage novel protagonists. It was narrator Scott Brick who originally led me to Hurwitz's novels, but Evan Smoak will keep me following this author.

Good story, not a great book

I've been a fan of the series, so I was really looking forward to a culmination of sorts between a couple of that characters. That was delivered, and it was a good story, it just didn't have the sizzle or chemistry (or magic) of what made the others in the series so special. Scott Brick's nuanced delivery is outstanding, however. One of the best in the business.

Beyond implausible

The story is so implausible and the main character so over-the-top that is completely unbelievable and downright silly at times

Wow, Orphan X strikes again

The initial reviews of the pre-release was starting to scare me. I wondered if there could seriously be a bad OX book. They were dead wrong, this book is another incredible thrill ride of a story. Orphan X is my favorite and I listened so fast because I NEEDED to know. Now I am sad that I finished it. Buy this book, buy this series!! G. Hurwitz - thank you for your books, I enjoy them all and cannot wait to start another one. Scott Brick - Best freakin audio book narrator. Nobody, I mean absolutely nobody can touch you.

Not the best, but better than most

this wasn't the best book in the series. It's still a good addition. Will definitely pick up the next one.

A bit boring for me

I've read/listened to a lot of the orphan X stories and generally find them enjoyable. Maybe I'm just getting tired of the formula. I felt like this one meandered a bit and I found myself getting very bored. There were bits where the action was great and there were stretches and story lines where I simply didn't care. I could not get through it.