Prodigal Son

An Orphan X Novel

By: Gregg Hurwitz

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's Summary

"The winning combination of Gregg Hurwitz and Scott Brick returns for another action-packed listen featuring Evan Smoak...Brick is so convincing at embodying Smoak that listeners will be forgiven for thinking they too could take on four bad guys to protect a good guy in need of help." (AudioFile Magazine)

This program contains a deep dive into the character and history of Tommy Stojack, featuring Gregg Hurwitz and fans of the Orphan X series.

Forced into retirement, Evan Smoak gets an urgent request for help from someone he didn't even suspect existed - in Prodigal Son, the next New York Times best-selling Orphan X audiobook from Gregg Hurwitz.

As a boy, Evan Smoak was pulled out of a foster home and trained in an off-the-books operation known as the Orphan Program. He was a government assassin, perhaps the best, known to a few insiders as Orphan X. He eventually broke with the Program and adopted a new name - The Nowhere Man - and a new mission, helping the most desperate in their times of trouble. But the highest power in the country has made him a tempting offer - in exchange for an unofficial pardon, he must stop his clandestine activities as The Nowhere Man. Now Evan has to do the one thing he’s least equipped to do - live a normal life.

But then he gets a call for help from the one person he never expected. A woman claiming to have given him up for adoption, a woman he never knew - his mother. Her unlikely request: Help Andrew Duran - a man whose life has gone off the rails, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, bringing him to the deadly attention of very powerful figures. Now a brutal brother and sister assassination team are after him and with no one to turn to, and no safe place to hide, Evan is Duran’s only option. But when the hidden cabal catches on to what Evan is doing, everything he’s fought for is on the line - including his own life.  

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books

©2021 Gregg Hurwitz (P)2021 Macmillan Audio

Critic Reviews

Thriller Awards - Nominee, 2022

WOW!!Absolutely fantastic!!!!

This book is the 6th in the Orphan X series. I had such a great time listening to this book. Once I turned it on I couldn’t stop and I so sorry to say I’m finished. Hurwitz does a great job filling in history without sounding repetitive for anyone who has not read the previous books. I would suggest listening to the series in order. It’s worth your time. Scott Brick narrates all and does a superb job. His talent increases the level of drama and suspense.

At the end of the last book Evan’s mother called. He never knew her. The revelations are plenty and Evan learns much about her and why he was given up as an infant. But there’s more history that is filled in.
Candy, a character from previous books and fellow orphan also makes an appearance. Evan is involved in an extremely dangerous operation and calls her for assistance. Kind of ironic if you’re familiar with how they met.

The publisher’s summary gives more than enough accurate information so I won’t add to that as I don’t want to give any spoilers.

The story ends with a cliffhanger and I wish I didn’t have to wait so long for the next in the series.

This book has my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION.

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Thank You.

Oldest of old school Scott Brick

Not far into this much anticipated book. Love Orphan X. Scott Brick tho. Breathy. Syncopated. Over-arch. It’s like listening to early career Brick, whose purple delivery put me off Harlan Coban for quite a few years. Fingers crossed he calms down or I won’t last 13 more minutes much less 13 hours.

Book Equivalent of a Jar of Cheez Whiz

If you’re expecting an exciting action novel, look elsewhere. There are a few action scenes, but they are scattered among sappy, cheesy family dynamics, navel-gazing and the self-actualization of Evan Smoak as he takes on his most difficult mission——finding his inner child. It’s as if Gregg Hurwitz wrote a Lifetime movie and Scott Brick provides the overwrought narration. Skip if you love this series.

Unbearable

Like usual from Greg a great story, but it seems like Greg and other authors get a successful franchise, then get together in groups and ruin each others writing by telling each other they need to be more extreme in describing every detail of every moment and item in their books. Its a pattern I see over and over. This book was unbearably over done. Every single paragraph was an exercise in over explanation of every single detail as if the author took extacy before writing. Several other writers have done this and ruined their books for me, (Mark Dawson is one of these)
I noticed this with Greg in the Recent short story about Joey, but hoped it was just because he felt he needed to because he was writing about a teenage girl, sadly it got worse with this book.

To make it even worse (much worse) I bought the audiobook this time and the Narrator over emphasizes every single word to the extreme. as if there is no thought or action that isnt some extreme emotion for the characters.

I have read all the Orphan X books and love the stories, but unless I'm convinced this pattern was a fluke and wont continue, I wont read another. I definitely wont buy the audiobook with the same narrator.

It is a pattern that repeats itself with many authors especially in this genre, the first 4-8 books are great then they think they have to turn their books and characters into touchy feely romance novels but without the romance.

A few that didnt fall into this trap were Tom Clancy, Vince Flynn and Mark Greaney, I wish I knew who was stearing these writers in this direction, it is sad that great stories get destroyed by this method.

First bad narration by Scott Brick

Every other paragraph was a hyperbolic screech. Numbingly overacted. Tortuous to listen to through ending.

Narration is over the top

Story was fine. Perhaps not the best in the Orphan X series, but still engaging. Biggest problem was the performance by Scott Brick. Dramatics taken to the extreme. Felt like I was listening to a 13 hour high speed chase scene in a B movie. Longer passages of even tones would have gone a long way to enhance my enjoyment.

Almost Perfect

I'd really like to give this a 4.5 for both story and narration. The story gets docked a point (well, half point) because the ending is terrible. I don't know what message we're to glean but it leaves the reader hanging way, way too much. The narration loses a point because he's just SO dramatic ALL the time. He's a wonderful narrator, but needs to dial it back a notch for all but the truly dramatic scenes (of which, as always with Orphan X, there are plenty).

disappointing

The story seems padded with long excursions into psychological analysis. The technical bits about self aware insect sized drones are simply preposterous.

So amazing

This book is just fantastic. The action is thrilling and the personal moments made me laugh out loud and hit me right in the heart. I unfortunately blew through this book in 2 sittings so now I'm a bit sad.

Not quite Evan Smoak...

I’m not sure how I feel about this book. Evan just didn’t seem himself throughout. A little too whiny (not sure if that’s just the way it was read), a little too emotional and surprisingly a few times incapable of handling himself one on one with an enemy. The Joey character is good and bad but I wouldn’t miss her if she wasn’t in the book. Just kind of a letdown for me overall. And the ending is completely frustrating. Not a sermon just a thought...