What a ride.

First thing first, this story is as close as possible to John Wick as I could find. Even the physicality of the story is on the same level - our protagonist needs to go through such an ordeal that I could see stuntmen doing their magic. I haven't seen someone get beaten this much from Willie Garvin storming Gabriel's mansion to save Modesty, and of course John Wick fighting his way to the High Table.

Our hero, Sigma Six (Sigma Lean :D), aka Gray Man, is even on notoriety level of John Wick (I had to giggle every time when they ask him about his mission in East Europe - was it him?), Baba Yaga to the bone. What I especially like is that actions of our hero and his enemies are logical (Gentry's attempts to get to the weapons and documents will get you to the point of despair). Hero finds a way through but not without losses (when that doctor told him she just needs to forget what happened, and leaves him, it stung, truly did).

This was excellent, highly enjoyable action ride, from start to finish. From dialogue to action scenes I have nothing but words of praise.

If you are into cynical heroes that have seen the good and (lots of) bad in the world but still have some morals to guide their lives and actions, and you in general love great action stories, look no further, this book is for you.

Highly recommended. ( )

This is an absolute fantasy about a free lance assassin who is on his former superiors hit last. They gather teams of assassins from all over the world to kill this troublemaker. To lure him in they kidnap a family with two young daughters as bait that he needs to rescue. His journey starts in Eastern Europe to where they are held hostages thousands of miles away, Why a fantasy? He kills off roughly three dozen crack assassins all by himself along the way. ( )

2.5 stars. Despite some terrible writing, I found this surprisingly gripping. The interior dialogue of the main character was appallingly bad but the action was good (even when improbable). I will just add that I think the idea of an assassin with a heart of gold even more unlikely than that of the prostitute with one! ( )

Greaney, Mark. The Gray Man. Jove, 2009. The Gray Man 1.
I picked up Mark Greaney’s The Gray Man after watching Ryan Gosling bounce all over Europe, shooting every paramilitary type in sight in the eponymous Netflix film directed by the Russo Brothers. The story is a spy thriller in the tradition of the Jack Ryan novels by Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum’s Bourne series. That should be no surprise since Greaney has written Jack Ryan novels. Greaney keeps the focus on protagonist Court Gentry and his tradecraft. The poor man keeps going, suffering wound after wound, without slowing down. He drives a Mercedes through France at top speed while having a knife wound stitched up and getting a blood transfusion by an incredulous veterinary assistant. The story proves that realism is not always credible. 4 stars. ( )

Great example of the hired assassin/undercover mercenary thriller; if you want a book's focus to be on action: assignment launches, escapes, & killings, including details on gun hardware, etc...look no further. Not much on character development or nuanced insights but it delivers on hard driving, tense plot development. ( )