The Nowhere Man: An Orphan X Novel (Orphan X, 2) Mass Market Paperback – October 31, 2017

If you enjoy high octane suspense thrillers, "The Nowhere Man: An Orphan X Novel" should not be missed, especially if you are a fan of the first book, "Orphan X", by Gregg Hurwitz. I read a lot of suspense and thriller offerings but this one stood out for the sheer white knuckle, "can't put it down" excitement it engenders in the reader. The suspense and sense of helplessness is heightened by a tight plot and a villain as evil as any you might find in today's thriller genre.Evan Smoak is Orphan X, now known as the "Nowhere Man" who helps the powerless and abused to escape their oppressors, if they are lucky enough to have been given the secret phone number of the Nowhere Man. Evan was taken from a group home at the age of twelve and trained to be an elite assassin as part of an off-the-books black ops program known as the "Orphan Program". Having had enough, Evan walked away from the program only to be mercilessly hunted by the remaining orphans who still work for a shadowy government figure. But Evan is always a step ahead due to his incredible survival skills in computers, killing, disappearing off the grid, etc.But unexpectedly, Smoak is captured by a well trained team, drugged, and taken to a secret location where he soon finds himself at the mercy of a greedy killer (Rene) and a pack of thugs that just seems endless. Not knowing who he really is and thinking Evan is helpless, Rene tries to coerce him into transferring his entire secret bank account to Rene. Thus, much of the book is a chronicle of Evan's attempts to stay alive, keep his money, and escape from Rene's clutches. The suspense and threats are magnified when the Orphan leaders discover where Evan is being held and agents are sent to terminate him. The suspense ratchets up almost page by page as Evan attempts various schemes to escape and/or kill his captors before the Orphans arrive. I was truly glued to the narrative for the continuing battle of wits between Evan and Rene."The Nowhere Man: An Orphan X Novel" is well plotted with great characterizations, and a sense of "being there" that is both foreboding and forbidding. There is incredible violence, to be sure, but that aspect is outweighed by the battle of wits between the protagonists and the self analyzing Evan encounters as he seeks to escape so he can continue to help others. If you read "Orphan X" and liked it or if you are a fan of the action/suspense thriller genre, be sure to grab this one. It is a quick, white knuckler that will satisfy most readers.

Orphan X jumped the shark in just the second outing. The story here was just nothing short of silly, and all the bad guys are castaways pieced from from the edited scraps on the floor of a Roger Moore James Bond movie. A modern-day vampiric hemo-enthusiast, a man who wears a faraday cloak, bad guys with tattoos borrowed from B movies, a story that was nothing short of preposterous. This is a major disappointment across the board. I felt like a joke is being played on me as a reader just to see what ridiculous junk the writer can get away with before I throw the book at someone.

I thoroughly enjoy ALL of Hurwitz's books - read one and you'll want to read them all and I spent an entire Saturday devouring his newest release.. This new series about Orphan X aka The Nowhere Man is one of my favorites. The action, twists and turns and mayhem never stops and Evan Smoak (The Nowhere Man) is better than Houdini at getting out of seemingly impossible situations. So many times I thought it was all over for him and yet he somehow pulls off another miraculous escape/evasion from all the people who want to put an end to the Nowhere Man. Although this book can stand alone I would highly recommend reading "Orphan X" first to better understand the orphan program and Evan's incredible abilities and amazing talents and then you'll be delighted to know the second book in the series is waiting for you! If you like the Jack Reacher, John Milton, Mitch Rapp genre with a little McIver thrown in you'll love Evan Smoak. Looking forward to any future books by Gregg Hurwitz (which I always pre-order) and hoping The Nowhere Man comes around again soon.

I enjoyed the first Orphan X book. I thought it was close to believable. However, Nowhere Man was pretty weird and not so believable. The villains became rather grotesque and creepier than needed and my suspension of belief became impossible. I am not likely to read more of this series. I haven't read other books by this author. Maybe he has a better track record with other books.

The Nowhere Man is the follow-up installment in Gregg Hurwitz' Orphan X series. The main character, Evan Smoak is a former blackest of the black special ops assassin trained for that purpose from childhood. With an emphasis on total deniability, his identity was supposedly known to only his handler. Evan has since "retired" and with his unending wealth, lives a double life as a below the radar vague businessman, while occasionally assisting a few individuals in need of his special skills. This time out, Evan runs into an equally shadowy figure who specializes in kidnapping people possessing illegal wealth, believing Evan to be some sort of arms dealer. While there's a bit of dues ex machina near the end, a cat and mouse theme pervades the story that is both creative and engaging.Evan's tradecraft are on full display as he battles wits with a worthy opponent who appears to be able to respond more than effectively to everything Evan can initiate. This time out, Evan must use less obvious means and comes up with some pretty creative solutions and sometimes satisfying means for retribution. At the same time, Evan is still within the bulls-eye of the remnant of the original orphan program as he slowly depletes their ranks. The reintroduction of a former lost comrade suggests some future possibilities. Perhaps the only ding to the tale was the telegraphed resolution of the persistent roamzone calls throughout his captivity.Hurwitz has fashioned a compelling and engaging character with plenty of fodder for future adventures. Hopefully he can avoid simply reverting to a formulaic rehashing of the same plot over and over again and running the alphabet on his old orphan buddies.

After reading Orphan X I was looking forward to Nowhere Man. It didn't disappoint. Well written in a easily read style. I read my review to this book and though "I haven't really given it credit" So here goes. The Orphan X Thrillers are in a class of their own. They are about a complex character who you always want to get behind. As you read the books you learn more and more about Evan. Gregg Hurwitz has a away of writing in great detail without getting bogged down making it boring.I worked as an undercover Officer although it is miles apart from what Evan did and does in these stories and Evan is fictional there are parts of this book that you will wonder could they really happen. The main character, Evan has been developed and you see that Greg Hurwitz has created and written about a personality to perfection. I suffer from PTSD and Evan reflects on his past and guilt in a way that will resonate with the reader, you don't need to have been through things in life that are clandestine to relate to Evan, his personality and his relationships....you just need to be human.Personally I hope this series runs and runs and would make an excellent movie or series or movies. There is also the fact that you will enjoy every page of this book and want to learn more about the characters. It is often said glibly, "I couldn't put it down" But in this case I couldn't.I read many books and never thought I would find a new series that caught my attention and imagination like the Orphan X Thriller.If you like action books, thrillers and want to read something that is fresh, invigorating and different to many of the stories that are the same old story in a different backdrop read the Orphan X Thrillers. Gregg Hurwitz has written something new which will appeal to a wide audience in a genre that has at time become a little repetitive.

It's a while since I read The Nowhere Man, but having just finished the follow-up, Hell Bent, I felt I should submit a short review of this second Orphan-X novel.I'm afraid that I fall into the camp that found Nowhere Man a rather disappointing affair. It wasn't a complete bust by any means, but it definitely failed to grip or entertain to the same degree as Orphan X.Whilst I commend Gregg Hurwitz for avoiding the easy option of simply producing a reheated version of the first book's plot, I felt that the route he decided to take really didn't come off. The main problem for me, as it seemed to be or other Amazon reviewers, was the rather repetitive nature of events. To me it felt like the plot stalled for too much of book's length, robbing the story of the expected & necessary dynamism. What should have been a page turner that you couldn't put down became just a little bit tedious after a while.This creates a two-fold problem for escapist, action-driven thrillers like Nowhere Man. Firstly, it means that the book isn't delivering what its supposed to; namely thrills and excitement. Secondly, it makes it harder for the reader to maintain the necessary suspension of disbelief that the story requires in order to work. When events are barreling along at a breakneck pace the reader doesn't have time to think how utterly implausible events on the page. However, when a story of this sort stalls, as The Nowhere Man does, its harder to ignore the more outlandish and ridiculous parts of the plot.As a result The Nowhere Man is a far less satisfying read than Orphan-X. Yes, it develops the character of Evan Smoak and the world he inhabits further, but it isn't gripping enough whilst it does it. And for all the sound and fury on offer, it doesn't really move any of the characters forward from where there were at the beginning of the book. All in all The Nowhere Man feels like a book that expends a lot of energy only to leave the wheels on the Orphan X Series spinning.

I quite enjoyed the original book, Orphan X, but this was a very poor sequel and should end any prospect of a series. It wasn't so much the preposterous plot that bothered me but the whole thing was just so dull, repetitive and predictable. I still admire the author's writing style but it needs to be applied to more substantial work than this.

What a good read, didn't see the the story line coming. I thought this may end up being a sort of formula for the character in a new situation each time (sort of like Jack Reacher novels), but oh no! Took me on a journey that I had no clue as to which way it would go, everytime I thought I had the plot sussed it went in a different direction.

This is ok if you like lots of boys toys, bits of bleeding body flying about and hard, lonely men, trying to stay alive and keep a little humanity amidst a plethora of Bond like baddies Even though they've been beaten up, drugged, shot at, sliced and battered with unusual weapons and generally all but killed, they can still plan and execute quite remarkable feats of semi armed combat against enormous, intelligent and super fit goons. And I suppose it's quite well written, of its kind. There's a plot. There's a Deus ex machina rescue. I don't know why I finished it really.