The Gray Man

By: Mark Greaney

Narrated by: Jay Snyder

Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's Summary

Get ready for white-knuckled listening. Greaney's debut novel - and future feature film - 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.

Fast-paced, well-researched, and fun, The Gray Man is already being adapted for a movie by the company behind Tom Cruise's Knight & Day.

Check out the latest Gray Man novel, On Target, now.

©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)

The gray man talks about gentry in the 3rd person on the court

This is a book I really wanted to like. I've run through reacher, allon, rapp and multiple other name drop genre books. I just could not stop rolling my eyes at the poor writing and honest to god stupidity of the characters.

His handler is head of a private security firm but unable to provide security for his own family? Seriously?

And I swear to god the first time the writer referred to the protagonist as the gray man, gentry and court in the same sentence. I thought I was going bat sh*t crazy. Unfortunately I wasn't. It was just poor writing. The kind of writing reserved for Amazon reviews. AND IT KEPT HAPPENING

The gray man may be a badass. But in this book he's also completely inept when it comes to figuring out he's burned.

This book makes me miss Jason Bourne (the original trilogy not after the hack took over).

Run people. Run away from this book. Unless you have nothing else to read. But beware the gray man doesn't need bullets or guns to kill you. He might just use your book.

Move Over Jack Reacher

Stumbling across The Gray Man by Mark Greaney could not have come at a better time. I was beginning to become disenchanted with my favorite "take-no-prisoners" character, Jack Reacher in the series written by Lee Child. Along comes Court Gentry, aka the Gray Man, aka Jim. He gets stalked. He gets shot. He gets stabbed. He bleeds. He fights against insurmountable odds. He wins. Mostly he goes after bad guys, just like Paladin did 150 years earlier in Have Gun Will Travel. And best of all Greaney keeps the action going pretty much non-stop while Child has Reacher spending nearly a quarter of one of his recent books riding in the back seat of a car. I thought I was going to have to reread some of the earlier Reacher novels to rekindle the excitement that the series used to generate. Instead I'm going to jump into The Gray Man series. I like my chances.

Fun Thriller

Although I agree with some of the other reviewers about a few "jump the shark" moments, I really enjoyed the first book in this series.
Granted the main character is a bit one-dimensional, but the story moved along at a good pace and with some excellent villains (especially that American guy, how refreshing it wasn't just some nasty foreigner) and some characters we actually care about (like the eight year old Claire), there was a lot to like in this thriller.
I didn't mind all the wounds and mayhem heaped upon our hero because how many times have you read in books or seen in movies of this genre where the person crashes through a plate glass window and emerges unscathed and you accept that?
I just wish there had been a little less of all the weapons detail with lots of Guns 101 where I got to know more about guns than I care.
I also wish there had been a smidge (yes, just a smidge) of romance with someone along the way. Maybe the next book.
And I first heard Jay Snyder with the Ex series and except for the eight year old's voice, he does a terrific job.

Action packed, edge of your seat "page-turner"

I finished this book (over 10 hours long) in one day; you will too if you are a fan of the modern espionage or action genre. The book is well-written and well-researched. The characters, setting and pace are perfectly balanced. More so, the action sequences are fast-paced and believable. Mark Greaney has a new fan in me. I haven't found an author I like this much since I discovered Vince Flynn's books. I'll be downloading Mr. Greaney's new book "On Target" the first day it is available.

High Energy Ride!

This story is for fans of characters like Jack Reacher, John Rain, Mitch Rapp, Ben Treven and others who prevail due to skills derrived from a history of disciplined practice and training, as well as inclination and talent. Modern supermen, although not invulnerable. Early on, I was afraid the story was going to get overheated, and exceed even my considerable willingness to suspend disbelief, but I was drawn in and was satisfied by the finish. I'll listen to the sequel. I like the reader Jay Snyder as well and will look for his name in the future.

A real life superhero

I completely enjoyed this book and promptly went on to read the others in the series. Yes it is very improbable that 1 person could survive even the first attack let alone all the others and then go on to best the villains and rescue the victims but the character that Mark Greaney weaves and the narration by Jay Snyder makes it a "can't put down book" or in this case "can't remove my headphones book".

I really enjoyed the parts when he knows he needs to get out of "Dodge" so he can save his own life but after some entertaining inner consternation turns around and helps out those in need.

Since my parents are 90 & 89 and not used to audio books (I have tried) I bought them the paperback and they both tore through it. Dad's statement was "improbably but very entertaining & enjoyable" - he finished in the book in under 2 days. It would have been 1 but we dragged him away from it to do a few real life things. Mom loved it.

Perils of Pauline

The "Gray Man" of the title is an uber-assassin, moving like a ghost, striking unstoppably. That is what everyone in this book says, anyway. It turns out, this is no Day of the Jackal" and our hero is no "Bob Lee Swagger". In reality, as presented, he bumbles his way through Europe escaping the massive efforts of an evil (French, of course) corporation through a combination of extreme marksmanship and fighting skill while wounded, and dumb luck; he is often saved by the missteps of his enemies or, I kid you not, things like umbrellas. At one point he defeats an enemy who, as presented, he should lose to.
Speaking of wounds, this begins to seem like a Road Runner cartoon and the massive injuries our hero keeps bouncing back from become laughable. The dialog is sometimes very good indeed, and then, next paragraph, wincingly bad: chest-thumping macho stuff instead of the cold communication of professionals.

To give credit to the author,he presents us with an individual representing the corporation whom you really, really hate; good job there. Our assassin is a "good guy", trying to knock off only those who are evil. That may be unrealistic or impractical, but it is refreshing. He also makes an effort to respect the reader's intelligence by providing practical motivations for the corporations egregious allowance of general mayhem and emotional motivations for the hunter and the hunted. I cannot buy the corporations ultimate, unsatisfying reasons.

The ending is illogical and unsatisfying, but obviously designed to set up a sequel.

Simplistic action book

The story is fast paced and keeps up the suspense, but the characters are one dimensional and boring. If you like action books with some more depth, try John Rain.

They Run, They Fight, They Run Some More

This book is one loooooooooong chase.

He's running...and is being set up again and again by some mysterious force. Repetitive and tiresome -- relentless in the running and/or chasing. Poorly developed characters doing exactly what you expect...a villain that will make you go "ho hum" and a hero the author has not taken the time to develop or make you care about even a little (which is kind of important in novels like this.)

A predictable cliche filled thriller ISN'T a thriller.

This isn't a thriller.

Couldn't turn it off!

Any additional comments?

What a spectacular book! Finished it at 2 am and bought the next one at 2:01. It's exciting, action-packed, wonderfully descriptive of the place and people, and not at all preachy. I'd write more but I'm going to buy book 3 now.

Escapism

The narrator really does make a hash of some place names and his accents are hilarious, one Scottish character had several dialects, none of which i would describe as Scottish! The plot is ridiculous but, I actually enjoyed it, I listen to audio books after a hard day at the office whilst walking my dogs, 75% of books i listen to are background noise and i end up calling work colleagues rather than relaxing. The Gray man actually fell into the ultra rare 10% that made me look forward to my walk and actually the last 1/3 of the book made me add extra miles to my walk! Why? I really dont know, as i have said it is ludicrous, but it is a very easy listen and bizarrely you do want to know how it is all pulled together. If you are stressed or have a big project and want to switch off.....dive in, I dont think you will regret it.

Not for me.

For years I've enjoyed the Tom Clancy novels - having learned to bypass the politics and enjoy the main characters' romps. Given the collaboration between this author and Clancy I anticipated enjoying this book. Not the case. It's written as a series of film scenes, designed for some über-action man to show how tough he is. I love fiction, be it thrillers, adventures, science fiction, fantasy, so I have no expectation of "real life"; I live real-life , thank you! The exploits depicted here, however, beggar even suspended dis-belief. I don't like dissing writers, who are at least putting pen to paper, their money where their mouths are, etc, unlike me, an untalented non-writer, but reviews are requested and these are my honest opinions. Obviously a talented writer, this author should write either a screenplay or a novel and not try to combine both under one heading; concentrate on story rather than merely linking overly contrived events, thus ensuring the reader's involvement rather than seeming determined only to catch the eye of the movie-makers. (W's Missus.)

So bad that it's funny

Snyder needs to learn about accents, dialects, and English spoken by mainland European foreigners. He's even worse when not reading conversation

The story breaches the rule regarding the willing suspension of disbelief. The too-many fight scenes are ridiculously funny.

Enjoyable read

Great depth of characters. The inclusion of international hit squads meant lots of accents for the narrator to master. I think many of them are difficult enough (let alone the seldom heard Botswana and South African accents) and many of them tripped him up. Still, it wasn't enough to detract from the entire book.

I love this genre of books for the fast thinking, fast paced action, and general adrenaline rush. To this end I wished the narrator also increased the pace and intensity of his voice during fight sequences.

Otherwise a good read. looking forward to the series.

worst book i've ever had

Would you try another book written by Mark Greaney or narrated by Jay Snyder?

he only seems to be able to co-write books .Having just read support and defend (Tom Clancy) I was shocked and disappointed with this rubbish .Even Jack Reacher would not have survived this .It was so unbelievable.

What was most disappointing about Mark Greaney’s story?

starting it

Would you be willing to try another one of Jay Snyder’s performances?

doubtful

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

anger

Any additional comments?

How someone who co-wrote Tom Clancy books could write such utter drivel .

My first listen by this author

And it's plain but OK. Good listen and hero is typical of this genre. If you like this tale there's a worthwhile bonus at the end, I intend to buy the next listen in the series.

Poor story made worse by awful narration.

Read the blurb and you'll know what you're in for with a book like this. A super tough soldier killing the baddies and saving the hostages with some soul searching and brooding tossed in between gunfights. It's been done before and done way better but it's tolerable background noise nonetheless. What you won't be prepared for is the god-awful narration by Jay Snyder. His accent work is atrocious. It's as if he hasn't ever heard a non-american accent and rather than do a little research he decided his guess would be close enough. If you pair that with the cringe inducing characterisations and the regular mispronounciations of place and weapon names you'll find a sub-par action book made even worse by the narrator.

changed review

In hindsight a bit harsh although i stand by some of the comments below, however the books definitely get better and ummm iv'e now read them all LOL


My first ever bad review, i know how hard ppl work on these projects so i don't do this lightly. Too many cliche' e moments,. Northern Irishman with red hair? The majority of NI don't have red hair. Tremendous amount of body damage but still he keeps going? The posh military man...the German lead opposition with a concience and so on. In the end i was willing on the bad guys. The narration in itself was okay but the pronunciation of european words was outstandingly bad for example Citroen pronounced cit ro en and the cliche interpretation of the posh colonel or clipped upper class German accent was laughable. How on earth this is being considered for TV is beyond me. In old money......its going straight to DVD.....Sorry.

Awful.

I am not familiar with Mark Greaney, but the fact that he has worked with Tom Clancy suggested that he should be good. This book was awful and so far removed from the likes of Frederick Forsyth, Andy McNab, Gerald Seymour etc that this was probably made for TV, such is the pointless puns. I hated this book and had it refunded. The narrator made a bad book worse.

Disappointing fare overall

I listened to the whole book. Implausible story line. Dodgy accents eg Scotsmen! But it made me smile in the end as an utterly over the top and spoof like unrealistic action man story. Decent narration. I have just finished the Red Sparrow trilogy, which by comparison was really excellent and provided a very good frame of reference to assess this book against.