Tag: The Gray Man

Midnight Black by Mark Greaney

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Five-Star Books, Thriller3 Comments

Publisher: Sphere/Audible (Audiobook – 18 February 2025)

Series: Gray Man – Book 14

Length: 15 hours and 51 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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The always outstanding Mark Greaney provides another addictive and heart-pounding addition to his iconic Gray Man series with the incredible 2025 spy thriller, Midnight Black.

Ever since I started getting fully into the thriller genre, one of the main authors I check out each year is Mark Greaney, a veteran master of thriller fiction who has produced some incredible reads.  Some of his more entertaining books include his Josh Duffy series (Armored and Sentinel), as well as the fun military thriller Red Metal (cowritten with Hunter Ripley Rawlings IV).  However, his best-known body of work is the long-running Gray Man series, which was adapted into a Netflix movie of the same name.

The Gray Man series is an outstanding collection of spy thriller novels that follows elite assassin and black ops operative Court Gentry, better known by the titular moniker of the Gray Man, as he faces off against an array of deadly enemies while occasionally working for the CIA.  I have become a pretty major fan of the Gray Man series thanks to the author’s complex stories, gritty action sequences and damaged characters, and I have had a blast with books like The Gray Man, Mission Critical, One Minute Out (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2020), Relentless (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2021), Sierra Six (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2022), Burner (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2023) and The Chaos Agent (one of my favourite books of 2024).  Due to how epic all these previous Gray Man entries have been, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the next entry in the series, Midnight Black.  Providing an intense follow-up to a fantastic cliffhanger from the last book, Midnight Black was one of my most anticipated releases of 2025, and it really did not disappoint.

In the icy wilds of Mordovia, lies the brutal woman’s penal colony IK-2 Yavas.  A harsh work camp for the many political enemies of the current Russian regime, IK-2 Yavas is hell on earth for any women who have defied the state.  However, despite the prison holding many prominent criminals and politicians, their most valuable prisoner is former spy Zoya Zakharova.

Once a prominent Russian foreign intelligence agent, Zoya was forced to flee her position and eventually found herself working covertly for the CIA as a deniable asset.  However, after being captured by the Chinese and traded to the Russians, Zoya’s future is bleak as she is slowly worked to death.  Worse, a ruthless FSB operative is using Zoya as bait for the person most important left in her life, her lover Court Gentry, the Gray Man.  But, unknown to Zoya, the Gray Man is far closer than she realises.

Having spent months prowling the Eastern European countries, Gentry seeks a way to steal across the Russian border and save the woman he loves, no matter the cost.  Embarking on a risky entry plan with only minimal help from his old CIA contacts, Gentry is determined to find Zoya and kill anybody who gets in his way.  But with the entire Russian state security apparatus turned against him, can Gentry once again do the impossible and save Zoya, or will this be the final mission for the legendary Gray Man?

Mark Greaney continues to impress with his epic Gray Man series, as the 14th brilliant entry in the series, Midnight Black, was absolute fire.  Providing an intense and deeply addictive spy thriller narrative, Midnight Black hooked me from the very beginning and refused to let go until the final explosive confrontation.  Slick, emotionally charged and very clever, Midnight Black gets an easy five-star rating from me, and I had such an amazing time listening to it.

This proved to be an outstanding book to get through, as Midnight Black featured a compelling and cinematic narrative that had me hooked the entire way through.  Expertly following on from the emotional cliffhanger from the end of the previous book in the series, The Chaos Agent, Midnight Black starts several months later and sees a desperate Court Gentry doing anything he can to try to enter Russia, only to encounter setbacks he has to take care of in his usual destructive manner.  This works as an excellent introduction to Midnight Black’s plot, especially as it helps you appreciate the emotional stakes of the book, and you quickly become invested in the protagonist’s quest.  Greaney quickly expands the plot through several additional character perspectives, including recuring characters Zack Hightower and Zoya Zakharova, who have their own missions/problems, an intriguing new Russian rebel protagonist, and the perspective of some sinister Russian operatives, including the FSB agent pulling all the strings around Zoya’s imprisonment.  This serves as a great base for the rest of the story, and the author soon starts to feature some of the more complex and action-packed sequences in Midnight Black.

Starting with a well-layered extended shootout sequence in Europe, the second half of Midnight Black hits hard and keeps the reader deeply engaged.  Greaney continues to set out quite an impressive story, as Gentry enters Russia and proceeds to cause all manner of havoc, while his allies in Europe and the US throw together an audacious plan that really amps up the narrative.  Greaney keeps the plot constantly moving, taking the protagonists from one dangerous situation to the next, with compelling character moments and well-featured exposition that keeps everything going forward.  The author also throws in a ton of high-octane and memorable sequences, including a fun extended chase in Moscow involving a stolen train, which was so entertaining to behold.  Everything leads up to the big finale in the last third of the story, where the protagonist makes his play to free Zoya in very cinematic fashion.  There is a lot of intense anticipation involved in the leadup to this final part of Midnight Black, and it proves to be particularly captivating and exciting.  The conflict, high stakes and constant worry you have for the characters ensures you won’t be able to put this part of the book down, and I was so keen to see how everything came together.  Greaney wraps things up perfectly, and I liked the hopeful conclusion to Midnight Black, especially after some of the dark preceding books, and you come away satisfied, as well as excited to see where the series goes next.

I am always greatly impressed with how Greaney sets out his outstanding novels, and Midnight Black is a particularly strong example of this.  A fast-paced book with several interesting layers to it, Midnight Black drags you in with its powerful narrative and keeps you there with the well-set-out action, complex characters, and gritty realism.  Thanks to the blend of character arcs and alternating storylines, there is a lot going on in Midnight Black, and you are given a great mixture of ultra-exciting sequences of action and spy craft, intense personal moments of despair and hope, as well as a cool dive into real-world issues, such as the current war in Ukraine, that enhance the overall plot.  I particularly enjoyed the gritty realism loaded in the story, especially when it comes to looking at the current politics of Russia, and there was a particular dire tone to much of the plot that was well mirrored by several protagonist’s circumstances.

One of the writing techniques I always enjoy with the Gray Man novels is the author’s excellent use of alternating character perspectives, as the reader gets to see the narrative through a variety of different viewpoints.  While primary characters like Gentry, Hightower and Zakharova naturally get most of the focus, you also see events through the eyes of more minor protagonists, such as Gentry’s former CIA handler in the US, or a Russian rebel fighter launching attacks in Moscow, as well as from several of the book’s antagonists.  This provides a much more expansive narrative for readers, especially as you soon understand the compelling motivations of all the significant characters, as well as their often conflict plans and schemes.  I particularly enjoyed how well some of Midnight Black’s many action sequences become even more impressive when you get to see events through the eyes of all the participants in the event.  Seeing all the alternate sides of conflicts really helps to make the fight sequences stand out, and it is captivating to see the various moves and countermoves of all the characters involved.  I felt this worked particularly well in some of the book’s big firefights, such as one sequence out in the woods where Gentry and Hightower’s camp gets raided by a squad of hitters, and you really get drawn into the books brutal action thanks to this.

While Midnight Black can probably be read as a standalone novel, especially as Greaney does a good job recapping key events, I feel that this latest Gray Man novel is probably best enjoyed by those who have read the previous books in the series, especially the preceding entry, The Chaos Agent.  This is mainly because Greaney is following up on a major cliffhanger from the previous book, and a lot of the emotional weight of the plot is based around the protagonist trying to right this wrong and save the woman he loves.  Being invested in the relationship between Gentry and Zakharova, as well as appreciating the protagonist’s other character relationships, really helps to amp up the stakes of Midnight Black, and I know I was personally hooked on seeing how events played out.  While having this background does enhance the experience, I do think that new readers can easily come into the series here and still have an amazing time, especially once they get caught up in the intense plot.

I also need to once again compliment the compelling characters found within Midnight Black, as Greaney really went out of his way to create some intense character moments in this latest Gray Man novel.  A lot of this revolves around the protagonist, Court Gentry, who finds himself in emotional turmoil following the Russians imprisoning the woman he loves.  Unsure about her fate and desperate to enter Russia to rescue her, Gentry is a ghost of his former self, recklessly engaging in deadly actions without his former skill and tradecraft.  This uncharacteristic lack of planning from the main protagonist and the way he lets his emotions overwhelm him adds a compelling edge to the story, especially as it results in more carnage and close calls.

The rest of the cast are also well featured in Midnight Black, especially as Greaney brings back several old favourites in dire circumstances.  For example, Court’s love interest, Zoya Zakharova, ends up having a particularly powerful arc in Midnight Black, as she is imprisoned in a Russian work camp.  Slowly losing hope due to her surroundings, her imminent execution, and her worry for Court, Zoya’s scenes are often hard to read and really help to hammer home the dark stakes of the book.  Greaney also brings back fun recurring character Zack Hightower, who serves as a lighter point of view protagonist compared to Court and Zoya.  A veteran operator with a lot of history with the other protagonists, Zack was a great foil for Court’s moodier persona in Midnight Black, and I loved seeing them work together in this way.  Other characters of note include Court’s former CIA handler, Matthew Hanley, who works to provide outside help despite his own downward career trajectory, and Major Colonel Eriks Baronov, an FSB operative trying to use Zoya as bait for the Gray Man.  I really enjoyed how Hanley and Baronov provided interesting alternating tactical insights into the events of Midnight Black, which gave the novel a great global conflict feel at times.  All these characters and more helped to turn Midnight Black into something special, and I really enjoyed how complex and exciting the various character-driven storylines turned out to be.

As has become my habit with the Gray Man series in recent years, I ended up listening to Midnight Black on audiobook rather than reading a physical copy.  I find that the audiobook version of the Gray Man books, narrated by the always reliable Jay Snyder, are an excellent way to absorb Greaney’s fantastic stories, especially as the various action sequences and compelling showcases of spycraft are highlighted particularly well in this format.  For Midnight Black, I listened to this audiobook while on a holiday with a lot of flying/driving time, which not only kept me from getting bored on the bus/plane but which ensured that I absolutely powered through its near 16-hour run time.  It helped that many of the best sequences in the book, such as the epic firefight at the halfway point and the big chase through Moscow, were particularly impactful in this format, and Snyder did an excellent job voicing all the characters.  I particularly appreciated all the eastern European and Russian accents that Snyder attributed to the various characters, and he also did a good job capturing key parts of the protagonist’s personalities, especially Gentry’s weariness and desperation that were a key part of this book.  Due to this brilliant voice work, as well as my general love for the format, I would strongly recommend Midnight Black on audiobook, and I can guarantee it makes for great entertainment on long road trips.

Overall, Midnight Black was another outstanding and captivating new entry in the always impressive Gray Man series.  Author Mark Greaney did an amazing job continuing one of the very best spy thriller series out there, and I deeply enjoyed Midnight Black’s particularly intense and personal story.  Featuring some fantastic action, complex character arcs and some compelling insights into major contemporary events, Midnight Black was extremely addictive, and I cannot wait to see how Greaney continues the series in the future.

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Top Ten Tuesday – Ten Favourite Books From Ten Series

On By The Unseen LibraryIn List3 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  For this week, Top Ten Tuesday participants are tasked with choosing ten separate series and then listing their favourite book from that series.  This was a rather interesting topic that really got me thinking.  No matter how outstanding a series is, there is always at least one book that stands just that little bit above the rest, and I was curious to see how a list along those lines would turn out.

To come up with this list, I ran through some of my top novel and comic book series to try and work out what the most glaring examples of my favourite entries were.  I tried to limit my choices to longer series rather than trilogies, and I also went for series that I’m mostly up to date with, rather than those I’ve only made a little bit of progress on.  Despite these limitations, I ended up with a huge range of potential entries and I had to spend a bit of time culling down my initial list.  I’m pretty happy with how the final version of this post came out, as there are some excellent books featured within.  I do note that some of the series I mention below are recurring features in my other Top Ten Tuesday lists, but as they’re my favourites, that’s hardly too surprising.  So let us see what made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

The Gray Man – Gray Man series by Mark Greaney

An impressive debut that still stands up as the best book in this top spy thriller series.

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Necropolis – Warhammer 40,000: Gaunt’s Ghosts series by Dan Abnett

Featuring an epic siege and deadly action, Necropolis is a particularly bright spot in an exceptional Warhammer series.

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The Grove of the Caesars – Flavia Albia series by Lindsey Davis

There are so many great mysteries contained in this Roman historical fiction series, however, my favourite is The Grove of the Caesars, which contains a particularly dark story.

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Thrawn – Star Wars: Thrawn series by Timothy Zahn

An amazing read reintroducing one of the best characters in the Star Wars canon.  Thrawn is so much fun, and it serves as the best book in the new Thrawn trilogy, as well as Zahn’s other Thrawn related novels in the new Star Wars extended universe.

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Top Ten Tuesday:

Guards! Guards! – Discworld series by Terry Pratchett

Unsurprisingly considering the name of this blog, I’m starting this list off with a Discworld novel.  Written by the late great Terry Pratchett, the Discworld books remain one of my top series, and I cannot emphasise how outstanding these novels are.  While there are many, many great books in this series, if I had to pick an absolute favourite it will probably be Guards! Guards!.  Not only is this Pratchett at his very best, expertly combining a compelling mystery with hilarious fantasy elements, but it also sets up my favourite Discworld sub-series and introduces so many popular characters.  A truly exceptional read and the best book to check out if you want to become addicted to the Discworld.

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The Third Day, The Frost – Tomorrow series by John Marsden

Another formative book series for me is the Tomorrow series by John Marsden.  An iconic Australian young adult series, the Tomorrow books follow a group of teenagers attempting to survive a brutal invasion of Australia.  I honestly love every novel in this series, as Marsden produces an intense narrative that is well spaced out amongst all seven books.  However, I always felt that the best Tomorrow entry was the third book, The Third Day, The Frost.  Following the characters as they embark on their most ambitious mission yet, The Third Day, The Frost, is the darkest entry in the series, and it forces the protagonists to fully grasp the horrors of war.  A masterpiece of emotion, sacrifice and heartbreak, The Third Day, The Frost, lives eternal in my mind for very good reason.

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The Archer’s Quest – Green Arrow (2001) by Brad Meltzer

I have a lot of love for DC comics released around the turn of the century, but to my mind one of the best series that came out around then was the 2001 Green Arrow series.  Bringing back the original Green Arrow after his explosive death, this new series contains some amazing comics focussed on the Emerald Archer, with several outstanding creative leads exploring him in a new light.  While I personally think every arc of this series is exceptional, my favourite is the third volume, The Archer’s Quest.  Written by Brad Meltzer, The Archer’s Quest sees Green Arrow go back to his road-trip roots to recover multiple artifacts from his past.  While on the surface this sounds like a simple narrative, Meltzer turns it into a deep personal journey, that really captures the complex history of Green Arrow in comics.  I love how moving this comic gets at times, and Meltzer layers in the feels to keep the reader emotionally invested in the story.  One of the best comics I have ever read.

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Code Zero – Joe Ledger series by Jonathan Maberry

Fans of this blog will know that I have a lot of love for Jonathan Maberry’s Joe Ledger series, which are some of the best science fiction thrillers out there.  Following a damaged agent charged with protecting the world from unusual and technologically impossible threats, all the Joe Ledger books are addictive, and I love the complex stories, intriguing antagonists, and over-the-top action.  There were several entries I could have mentioned here, but to my mind the best was probably the sixth book, Code Zero.  Not only does it have a great story on its own, but it features one of the more intriguing villains who brings back multiple prior cases to mess with the protagonists.  An amazing thriller that really showcased just how intense and intricate a Joe Ledger novel could be.

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Magician – The Riftwar Cycle by Raymond E. Feist

I have mentioned many times how awesome Raymond E. Feist’s epic Riftwar Cycle is, and I have literally just started reading the next book in this series, A Darkness Returns.  There were several books I considered featuring as my favourite, including the Empire trilogy, but in the end, I went with the original book Magician.  A classic piece of fantasy fiction that perfectly sets up Feist’s iconic worlds, Magician is so damn amazing, and it still stands up to this day.

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The Eagle’s Conquest – Eagles of the Empire series by Simon Scarrow

Few series have impacted me over the years as much as Simon Scarrow’s exciting Eagles of the Empire series.  One of the very best Roman historical fiction series, the Eagles of the Empire books feature some great stories and classic action as the protagonists journey across multiple Roman battlefields.  While there are multiple outstanding books in this series, my favourite is the second book, The Eagle’s Conquest.  Not only does it perfectly continue some of the great storylines set up in the first novel, but it also takes some dark turns that shake the protagonist and make sure the reader knows that tragedy is always ready to strike.  Without The Eagle’s Conquest, I’m not sure I would have become a life-long fan of Scarrow, and it proved to be an exceptional second entry in this series.

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Changes – Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher

I doubt anyone who has followed my blog in recent years will be surprised that I am featuring the Dresden Files series on this list.  As one of the very best urban fantasy series, the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher feature some elaborate and complex storylines, all following Butcher’s rebellious, but heroic, wizard protagonist, and I have deeply enjoyed binge reading all 17 books in the series.  Choosing a favourite Dresden Files book proved to be particularly hard, as there were several epic entries I could have gone with, including Skin Game and Battle Ground.  However, in the end I had to go with the 12th book in the series, Changes.  Not only is Changes a particularly groundbreaking entry that fundamentally alters the trajectory of the series, but it also contains several dark twists that will shock you to your core.  An exceptional read that shows author Jim Butcher at his very best.

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Seasons – Usagi Yojimbo series by Stan Sakai

Another series that I had to feature here were the Usagi Yojimbo comics by Stan Sakai.  I have long loved the adventures of the rabbit samurai, and every volume is a masterpiece in its own way.  While I honestly would rate all the Usagi Yojimbo volumes a full five-stars, if I had to choose a favourite it would probably be Seasons.  Loaded with a ton of memorable adventures, Seasons shows how diverse the Usagi Yojimbo stories can be, while also setting up several impressive future adventures and characters.  I also have a lot of nostalgic love for Seasons, as a chance encounter with one of its stories introduced the Usagi Yojimbo world to me.  As such, Seasons is a very worthy addition to this list, and one that showcases Sakai’s skill as both an artist and a writer.

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Homeland – The Legend of Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore

It proved very easy to put forth Homeland as my favourite book in R. A. Salvatore’s The Legend of Drizzt extended series.  Homeland starts off a prequel sub-trilogy that seeks to provide valuable background to the life of Salvatore’s most iconic protagonist Drizzt Do’urden.  Set in the underground city of the drow, Homeland expertly explores the early life of Drizzt and shows the events that led to him turning his back on his evil race.  Easily one of the best things Salvatore ever wrote, Homeland is an amazing book I have re-read multiple times.

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The Last Devil to Die – Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman

The final book in this list is part of the amazing new Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman.  A clever, funny and sweet crime fiction series that follows four retirees who solve murders in their spare time, the Thursday Murder Club books are quite exceptional, and I have loved every single one of them so far.  While both The Thursday Murder Club and The Bullet That Missed are outstanding entries, if I had to choose a favourite it would be the latest entry, The Last Devil to Die.  The fourth book in the series, The Last Devil to Die has one of the most emotionally charged stories behind it, especially as Osman chooses to end several tragic plot points in incredible fashion.  I cannot emphasise just how good this book is, and it remains my favourite in the series so far.

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Well that’s the end of this latest list.  As you can see, I have had an awesome time diving into some of my favourite series and choosing the best entry, and it produced a pretty cool collection of books.  I hope you find the above entries interesting, and I would strongly recommend them, and the series they are associated with, to anyone looking for a new obsession.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Debut Books – July 2024

On By The Unseen LibraryIn List3 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, participants are challenged to list their favourite debut novels.  I actually have listed my favourite debuts in the past, both at the end of the last few years, and in a 2020 list, where I looked at some of the very best debut novels I have ever read.

Over the years I have had the great pleasure of reading a number of impressive and captivating debut novels, many of which formed the start of an amazing series, or which helped launch the writing career of some of the best authors of a variety of different genres.  Some of these debuts have been so good that they have stuck with me for life, and I look forward to once again listing my absolute favourites.  I am taking a rather broad stroke approach with this list, and I am going to make any debut that I have read eligible to be included.  It does not matter if I read this book out of order, whether I enjoyed later entries from the author first, or whether I have gone back and read this book years after it came out; as long as it is the first full-length novel from an author, it can appear on this list.

This proved to be a rather intriguing list to pull together, as I had a rather large collection of debut novels to sort through, and I ended up discarding several great books from the previous version of this list.  I think that my new Top Ten list (with a generous Honourable Mentions section), has a much better selection of debut books, and I quite like how it turned out.  Unsurprisingly, as many of these books are written by my favourite authors, I have mentioned some of these entries and their authors before in prior lists, and for many of these authors, I am still reading a number of their current novels. So let us see what I was able to come up with.

Honourable Mentions:

Under the Eagle by Simon Scarrow

The very first book in Simon Scarrow’s Eagles of the Empire series, Under the Eagle was a fantastic and exciting debut, and one that made me a huge fan of the historical fiction genre.

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Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J. K. Rowling

While the author may have shown her true colours, you still have to respect this classic debut that spawned an iconic world.

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Fire In the East by Harry Sidebottom

Another iconic historical fiction debut from a great author, Fire in the East is an amazing book that features one of my very favourite sieges.

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Planetside by Michael Mammay

A particularly epic science fiction thriller guaranteed to keep you on your toes.  Planetside was an amazing read with an exceedingly epic ending that served as the perfect introduction to talented author Michael Mammay.

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Top Ten List:

Magician by Raymond E. Feist

Right off the bat we have Magician by Raymond E. Feist, which may be one of my favourite fantasy novels of all time.  I first read this book years ago, and its clever story and substantial universe building has helped make me a lifelong fan of both the author and the fantasy genre.  This was the first book in the epic and long-running Riftwar Cycle, which included the fantastic spinoff series, The Empire trilogy.  I am still enjoying Feist’s books to this day, and I am planning to read his newest novel, A Darkness Returns, in the next couple of weeks.

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Storm Front by Jim Butcher

A massive debut I finally got around to reading after my first version of this list was Storm Front by Jim Butcher.  The first book in his iconic Dresden Files urban fantasy series, Storm Front was an outstanding novel that I decided to check out after reading the explosive 17th novel in the series, Battle Ground.  Going back to Storm Front after that was an interesting experience, but it proved to be an amazing first novel that expertly set up the rest of the series.  I have so much love for everything that followed Storm Front, and the Dresden Files wouldn’t be what it is today without this excellent first novel.

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Legend by David Gemmell

Back in 1984, fantasy readers were gifted with an outstanding debut in the form of Legend by the late, great David Gemmell.  A debut that is epic in every sense of the word, Legend saw an unstoppable army attempt to take the world’s greatest fortress, defended by a legendary hero.  A simple, but highly effective premise, that produced an exceptional and highly addictive read, Legend ended up being an incredible read, and one that all fans of fantasy fiction, especially awesome sieges, need to check out.

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The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

A more recent debut that I need to feature on this list is The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman.  A highly entertaining crime fiction novel, The Thursday Murder Club followed four residents of a retirement village who decide to solve murders in their spare time, including the deaths of several people around their community.  Osman did a very impressive job with The Thursday Murder Club, blending a complex mystery with some intriguing characters and his trademark subtle, but highly effective humour.  I cannot emphasise just how enjoyable this debut proved to be, and Osman showed himself to be an immensely skilled author with this outstanding read, and the following books, The Man Who Died Twice, The Bullet That Missed and The Last Devil to Die, all of which were exceptional five-star reads.  A highly recommended debut, I look forward to seeing how the film adaptation currently in production turns out.

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Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan

Another particularly epic fantasy debut is Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan.  A compelling and intense flintlock fantasy story, Promise of Blood sets up McClellan’s The Powder Mage trilogy, which follows a compelling group of protagonists, including several mages whose magic is derived from gunpowder, as they attempt to save a nation from revolution, war, and their own vengeful god.  It is frankly impossible not to love this amazing debut, and McClellan produced an outstanding story in Promise of Blood that was impossible to put down.  I really need to read the rest of The Powder Mage books, although McClellan’s most recent novel, In the Shadow of Lightning, proved to be extremely impressive.

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The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

This was an exceedingly entertaining and wildly impressive fantasy novel which followed a group of conmen in a dangerous, magical city. The Lies of Locke Lamora was a really good book, and I think it would be impossible for someone to read it and not instantly fall in love with it. This book also served as the first entry in the outstanding Gentleman Bastards series, which currently contains three amazing books, with the fourth novel, The Thorn of Emberlain, hopefully coming out at some point in the future.

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The Gray Man by Mark Greaney

A great spy thriller debut I had to feature here was The Gray Man.  The first novel from one of the world’s current premiere thriller authors, The Gray Man was an action-packed extravaganza that pitted a legendary assassin against a raft of hit-teams and contract killers.  Fast-paced, fun and featuring some truly exceptional action sequences, The Gray Man was extremely awesome, and I honestly could not stop listening to this outstanding book.  Greaney has since parlayed this debut into an iconic thriller series of the same name, and the Gray Man books are routinely my favourite thrillers of the year (such as the latest Gray Man book, The Chaos Agent).

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The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

One of the best fantasy debuts of all time has to be The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie.  An outstanding and epic dark fantasy novel that follows several complex and highly flawed protagonists through a brutal journey, The Blade Itself is an exceptional debut that perfectly sets up the rest of Abercrombie’s The First Law series.  I have been a massive fan of the author ever since I read The Blade Itself, and I cannot wait to read his next novel, The Devils, in 2025.

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The Kingdom of Liars by Nick Martell

Another recently released debut I had to feature here was The Kingdom of Liars by Nick Martell.  The first book in the author’s Legacy of the Mercenary Kings series, The Kingdom of Liars was an amazing 2020 release, that proved to be a particularly complex and impressive read.  Following the scion of a disgraced noble house who attempts to clear his father’s name and find out who is trying to destroy his city, The Kingdom of Liars was a particularly complex and captivating novel that I could not get enough of.  One of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2020, The Kingdom of Liars was so much fun when I first read it, and my appreciation for it has only grown in hindsight after seeing where all the outstanding storylines Martell set up here ended up going.  An epic debut that starts something truly wonderful.

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The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

The final book I want to feature here is The Name of the Wind, which might be one of the best fantasy novels of all time.  The debut novel of Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind is a particularly impressive, character-driven story that follows the early days of a man destined to become an infamous legend.  I cannot emphasise how much I loved this book, and it is pretty much the epitome of the chronicle narrative.  While many have started to fall out of love with this series due to lack of progress on the final entry, The Name of the Wind is still an exceptional novel, made even more impressive with-it being Rothfuss’ very first book.

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Well, that’s my Top Ten List for this week.  I rather liked the new version list that I came up with here, and there are some incredible novels here, although it is still very fantasy heavy.  Each of these books comes very highly recommended, and they all proved to be exceptional first outings from some very talented authors. This is probably a list that I will come back to again in the future, as there are always impressive new debuts coming out, and I cannot wait to see what new author is on the horizon.

The Chaos Agent by Mark Greaney

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Five-Star Books, Thriller13 Comments

The Chaos Agent Cover

Publisher: Sphere/Audible (Audiobook – 20 February 2024)

Series: Gray Man – Book 13

Length: 17 hours and 34 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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One of the leading authors of the spy thriller genre, Mark Greaney, returns with another epic entry in his iconic Gray Man series, The Chaos Agent.

Readers of this blog will know that I am a massive fan of thriller author Mark Greaney, who has been wowing the world with his elaborate and exciting stories for years.  Ever since I started reading thrillers, Greaney has been a major figure in my yearly reading schedule, with books like Armored and Red Metal (cowritten with Hunter Ripley Rawlings IV), ensuring that he became a must-read author for me.  However, his most iconic body of work is his Gray Man series, which follows legendary former CIA agent and assassin Court Gentry, known as the Gray Man, as he engages in carnage across the world.  This series, which people may be familiar with thanks to the Netflix adaptation, is so damn good, and I really love the elaborate and intense stories that emerge.  This includes the impressive first novel The Gray Man, as well as later books like Mission Critical, One Minute Out (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2020), Relentless (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2021) and Sierra Six (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2022) and Burner (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2023).  Naturally, I grabbed Greaney’s latest novel, The Chaos Agent, the first chance I could, and it proved to be another amazing read.

Across the world, elite scientists are being murdered in a series of elaborate and well-coordinated assassinations.  The killers are well equipped, well prepared, and seem capable of striking across multiple countries.  The only connection between the killings is the area of expertise the victims are known for, as someone is targeting the world’s leading experts in artificial intelligence and robotics.

As the killings continue, it appears that only two major assassins aren’t involved in the plot, the Gray Man, Court Gentry, and his lover Zoya Zakharova.  Hiding out in Central America after their last mission once again forced them to become fugitives, Court and Zoya are seeking the quiet life together after all their years apart.  But an assassin’s work is never done, and soon an old family friend of Zoya’s seeks them out, hoping that they can help identify the individuals behind the attack.  Initially reluctant to get involved, Court and Zoya soon find themselves targeted by association, and must flee an army of dangerous killers and mysterious advanced combat drones.

Forced to find out who is hunting them, Court and Zoya soon discover that the killings are linked to a deadly proposed artificial intelligence weapon that could change everything about modern warfare.  To discover what’s truly going on, the two former agents and their allies need to investigate the one survivor of the ongoing assassinations.  But with their target now protected by an old friend of theirs, Zack Hightower, in an isolated fortress, Court and Zoya will need to use all their connections and luck to find the truth before it’s too late?

The Chaos Agent was another excellent novel from Greaney, who continues to highlight why he is one of the world’s leading spy thriller writers.  This latest Gray Man novel ended up being a lot of fun, especially as Greaney goes a little overboard with the plot, and I deeply enjoyed the resulting adventure.

Greaney came out of the bag with something very exciting in The Chaos Agent, which is mainly down to how over-the-top and crazy the main narrative ended up being.  This story starts off relatively low-key, with a couple of random killings, and an update on the lives of the protagonist, Court Gentry, and his partner Zoya Zakharova.  Naturally, it doesn’t take long for Gentry and Zakharova to get dragged into the action, and this starts an intense fugitive arc for them, as they find themselves being hunted by various killers across central America.  At the same time, the other supporting characters of the book are investigating the worldwide plot around the assassination of various AI experts.  This results in a compelling investigation angle that continues for a large portion of The Chaos Agent, and it was fun to not completely know the identity of the book’s antagonist until towards the end.  This first half of The Chaos Agent definitely got my attention, and the compelling action, intense mystery, and intriguing characters help to draw the reader in.

The second half of The Chaos Agent is where things start to get particularly interesting, as Greaney amps up the story and throws it into overdrive.  In particular, the antagonists get even more crazy, which is well shown in an intense action sequence involving Gentry and Zakharova in contact’s house in Central America.  These additional opponents give The Chaos Agent a real science fiction edge to them, and it was a gloriously over-the-top inclusion that I really loved.  The various character storylines soon come together after that, as all the characters end up in Cuba investigating who is truly behind everything and why.  There are some cool sequences here, including complex and intricate multi-perspective operations as various players manoeuvre around each other to achieve their goals.  This all leads up nicely to the big extended finale, where all hell breaks loose as Greaney sets up a massive firefight with various sides thrown into the mix.  The action here is intense, with the carnage flying thick and fast, and with so many perils coming for the protagonists.  It all ends on a pretty big cliffhanger that will play nicely into the next book in the series, especially as two major supporting characters find their situation drastically changed due to their decisions.

I deeply enjoyed how this cool novel unfolded, and Greaney utilises his trademark writing style to great effect with this excellent story.  The high-intensity action, fast-paced plot, and intriguing overarching storyline came together wonderfully, and it proves very hard not to get drawn into The Chaos Agent as a result.  I particularly love how Greaney so effortlessly jumps between different character perspectives throughout the course of the book, which allows for a more complex and enhanced story.  These quickfire changes in perspective also work extremely well in some of the book’s more intense sequences, especially as seeing the various participants continuously react to other character’s actions, allows for some outstanding scenes.  Good examples of this include a sequence in the Cuban docks where Gentry and a rival assassin move around each other trying to simultaneously protect or kill their target.  These scenes, and more, are true highlights of this book, and I love how well they were able to incorporate the particularly eccentric inclusions that Greaney featured within The Chaos Agent.

As with most of the books in the Gray Man series, The Chaos Agent can easily be read as a standalone novel.  Greaney does a good job of recapping any the relevant key events from the prior novels where needed so new readers can enjoy this book without knowing anything about the rest of the series.  That being said, established Gray Man readers will probably get a little more out of The Chaos Agent, especially when it comes to seeing how the various character relationships unfold.  It also helps that this proved to be a particularly memorable entry in the series.  Not only does Greaney go all out with his very inventive and exciting story, but there is a great combination of story elements there that everyone can enjoy.  The intense action pairs well with a deep dive into modern technology elements, and Greaney pulls together an intriguing mystery about who is behind everything, rather than showing the antagonist from the get-go.  While some of the twists around the true antagonist are a little predictable, Greaney played them out well, and they worked into the massive status quo changes at the end of the book.  I will admit that I did find some of Greaney’s writing, including the dialogue, to be a little robotic at times in The Chaos Agent, which is kind of ironic when you consider the story focus.  The way some parts of the writing or dialogue came together just didn’t feel right to me at times, and that slightly decreased my enjoyment of the book.  Still, the awesome story more than made up for it, and I felt this was an awesome addition to the overall series, especially as the epic ending has got me extremely excited for the next book.

One of the things that I really enjoyed about The Chaos Agent was Greaney’s intriguing look at the future of AI and how it could be utilised in the military and intelligence fields.  Greaney clearly did some research on the subject, and several characters spend significant time lecturing about the potential advantages and dangers of AI weaponry.  I found this to be utterly fascinating, and this ends up being quite a key part of the book, especially once the protagonists find themselves beset by advanced drones and other distinctive weaponry.  As I mentioned above, Greaney uses this AI concept to make The Chaos Agent a little more science fiction than his previous novels.  While I won’t go into too much detail here, as frankly it is best experienced in the context of the story, some of these elements were very outrageous, and it made the story quite fun with some unique action.  While it was very over-the-top, Greaney did paint everything with a film of realism, and I came away from The Chaos Agent with a healthy respect and fear for the potential future of AI in the military, especially as Greaney is probably right and someone will use it to kill the rest of us.

Aside from the complex writing and cool AI elements, The Chaos Agent’s story is also enhanced by a great cast of characters who are cleverly showcased throughout the plot.  This includes protagonist Court Gentry and his partner Zoya Zakharova, who were reunited in the last book.  Gentry and Zakharova form an effective team as the main protagonists of The Chaos Agent, and it was fun to see them in action again.  However, Greaney also adds in an element of dissention, especially as neither really has the ability to trust other people, and they are both concerned about their potential future.  Their combined storyline goes in some interesting directions, and the final twist of the book ensures that their relationship will be a big part of the next entry in the series.  Greaney also brings back fun recurring character Zack Hightower, who worked with Gentry and Zakharova in the past.  Hightower is always great value for money, and he had an interesting run in The Chaos Agent as he’s hired as security for a tech billionaire being targeted.  Hightower ends up being an integral part of the book, and it was great to see him working with Gentry and Zakharova again, especially as his new job leads to some dark moments for him.  Throw in an excellent supporting cast, which includes some recurring faces and some new intriguing antagonists, and this ended up being an excellent book that makes fantastic use of its characters.

I have always found that the best way to enjoy one of the Gray Man novels is to listen to it in its audiobook format, which really enhances the story.  This is once again true for The Chaos Agent, which turned out to be such an epic listen.  The audiobook format, which has a substantial runtime of 17 and a half hours, proved to be a lot of fun, and I deeply appreciated how well it enhanced Greaney’s already fun story and writing style.  The constant movement between perspective characters, especially in the action sequences, comes across really well, and the intense fights feel so much more real and impactful when they are read out.  It helps that The Chaos Agent was once again narrated by Jay Snyder, who has voiced all the other Gray Man novels.  Snyder has a great vocal range that really lends itself to a spy thriller novel like The Chaos Agent, and all the over-the-top tough characters are captured extremely well in this audiobook, with Snyder expertly bringing back recurring voices from the previous Gray Man audiobooks.  The rest of the extended cast also get appropriate and fitting tones, and you can see Snyder is really trying to get the voices to match the characters.  This includes accents, as Snyder tries to capture many of the ethnicities captured within The Chaos Agent’s story, including a pretty good attempt at the New Zealand accent.  As such, I really found myself getting drawn into The Chaos Agent’s story while listening to it, and while Snyder can also be a tad robotic at times, this audiobook format was a pretty exceptional way to enjoy this amazing book.

Overall, The Chaos Agent was another excellent addition to one of the very best spy thriller series currently running.  Mark Greaney always goes all out with his amazing Gray Man novels, and The Chaos Agent is one of his most intense and gripping reads yet.  Clever, compelling, and featuring some particularly fun story features, The Chaos Agent is an excellent read that gets another five-star rating from me.

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Waiting on Wednesday – The Chaos Agent by Mark Greaney

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Thriller, Waiting on Wednesday6 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  In my latest Waiting on Wednesday, I jump ahead to 2024 by checking out one of the top thrillers of next year with The Chaos Agent by legendary author Mark Greaney.

The Chaos Agent Cover

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Ever since I started getting into online book reviewing, one of the best authors I have been getting into was acclaimed thriller author Mark Greaney.  Greaney, a veteran of the genre with a great range of books under his belt, has been producing awesome reads since 2009, and has been finding even more prominence recently thanks to the movie adaptations of his work.  While I have had an amazing time with some of his standalone books, such as Armored or Red Metal (co-written with H. Ripley Rawlings IV, and one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2019), I know him best thanks to his epic Gray Man thriller series.

The Gray Man novels are a brilliant spy thriller series that follows fugitive government agent, Court Gentry, known in intelligence circles as the Gray Man, a legendary and unstoppable killer.  This series is so much fun as Greaney combines great characters, elaborate and clever storylines, and his addictive and well-crafted writing style, to produce some amazing read.  I have deeply enjoyed every book in this series that I have so far read, including the first book, The Gray Man, and some of the more recent entries such as Mission Critical, One Minute Out (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2020), Relentless (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2021), Sierra Six (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2022) and Burner (one of my favourite books and audiobooks from the first half of 2023).  The Gray Man books are now a firm part of my yearly reading schedule, and I was incredibly excited to find out some details about the next entry, The Chaos Agent.

The Chaos Agent, which is currently set for release in February 2024, will be the 13th book in the Gray Man series and will pit Gentry, and some of his recurring companions, against a dangerous new enemy.

Plot Synopsis:

Artificial intelligence leads to shockingly real devastation in this new novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Gray Man series.

Someone is killing the world’s leading experts on robotics and computers. A desperate Russian scientist approaches Court Gentry and Zoya Zakharova to ask for their protection, but before they can help, they are attacked by a team of professional assassins.

They escape, but wherever they turn, it’s clear that whoever’s tracking them is always going to be one step ahead. With a danger of this level, there’s no choice but to attack into the threat.

There is one man who may hold the answers to all their questions. But he’s gone to ground in a fortress surrounded by a veritable army. If that’s not bad enough, he has a new chief of security – Court’s old comrade, Zack Hightower.

Unsurprisingly, I love the sound of this upcoming Gray Man novel and I think the story sounds very interesting.  Greaney has an excellent habit of bringing in relevant contemporary issues to his stories (for example, his most recent novel, Burner, made great use of the Russian invasion of Ukraine), and I look forward to seeing the author’s examination of the artificial intelligence.  No doubt this will greatly impact the lives of the protagonists, both of whom are wanted fugitives and notorious government assassins, and I look forward to seeing the established, old-school spies of Gentry and Zahkarova, deal with the shifting technology of a moving world.  I also love the sound of an impregnable and well defended fortress as the end goal of the protagonists, and I am sure that will result in one of Greaney’s impressive and unmissable extended action sequences.

In addition to the cool sounding plot synopsis above, I am also keen to see how Greaney will continue some of the ongoing storylines of the larger Gray Man series in The Chaos Agent.  The last novel in the series really shook up some key elements of the Gray Man universe, including in the relationship between the two main characters, and I am intrigued to see what happens there.  It will also be fun to see more of Zack Hightower, Gentry and Zahkarova’s former comrade, who always plays off the other two spies perfectly.  Having Hightower as a potential antagonist will be fun, especially as he knows the protagonists so damn well, and it should make for a very entertaining battle of the spies.

Honestly, there was no way that I was going to miss the new Gray Man novel when it came out in 2024, the series is that damn good.  However, I am now even more excited for the next Mark Greaney book as The Chaos Agent sounds like an awesome read.  With all the promised thriller antics above, as well as Greaney’s proven track record for high intensity action scenes and brilliant characters, The Chaos Agent is going to be an exceptional novel, and I already know it is going to be one of my favourites books of 2024.

Burner by Mark Greaney

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Five-Star Books, Thriller18 Comments

Burner Cover

Publisher: Sphere/Audible (Audiobook – 21 February 2023)

Series: Gray Man – Book 12

Length: 16 hours and 37 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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The epic and captivating Gray Man series by legendary thriller author Mark Greaney returns with another exciting spy thriller entry, Burner, which thrusts the protagonists into the middle of some major real-world events.

Nothing starts off the thriller field of 2023 quite like the latest Gray Man novel from leading author Mark Greaney.  Greaney is a very impressive author who has been killing it throughout the genre for years.  Not only has he produced some cool standalone books, such as last year’s exciting action romp Armored, or the cool military thriller he co-wrote with Hunter Rawlings IV, Red Metal (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2019), but he has also written the exceptional Gray Man spy thriller books.  Following legendary assassin Court Gentry, better known as the Gray Man, as he gets involved in several deadly situations, the Gray Man books are one of the leading spy thriller series and I have deeply enjoyed the epic and powerful adventures that Greaney has so far released.  I personally have had an exceptional time with several of the Gray Man books, including Greaney’s debut novel, The Gray Man (which got a film adaptation last year), as well as the later entries such as Mission Critical, One Minute Out (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2020), Relentless (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2021) and Sierra Six (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2022).  His latest release is the outstanding Burner, which was one of my most anticipated novels of 2023.  The 12th book in the Gray Man series, Burner was a particularly intense read with a fantastic story behind it.

Alex Velesky is a Ukrainian expat living in Switzerland, whose comfy life as a notorious mover of immoral money has been hollow ever since the death of his family back in Ukraine at the start of the invasion.  Going through the motions, Velesky is suddenly given an opportunity to strike back at Russia when a disenfranchised Russian intelligence agent provides him with a trove of secret financial data.  This data, when combined with information from his own bank, reveals all the Russian bribes paid out to the West, and could damage not only Russia’s foreign intelligence apparatus but also the delicate negotiations to re-open the Russian economy to the wider world.

Immediately targeted by Russians determined to kill him and reclaim the data before it can leak out, Velesky finds himself hunted throughout Switzerland.  His only chance of survival seems to lie in rogue intelligence officer Zoya Zakharova, a woman hunted by her former employers in both Russia and the CIA, who is determined to get him and his information to New York, where it can be deciphered and released.  But Velesky and Zoya soon find themselves being stalked by an elite unit of Russian military operators who have no qualms about killing anyone in their way.

However, the Russians aren’t the only people interested in the data, as the CIA wants to claim it for themselves.  Determined to keep their interest in it quiet, the CIA reach out to Court Gentry, the Gray Man, to capture Velesky before the Russians do.  However, Court is unaware of the full significance of the data he is reclaiming, and that he will have to compete against the love of his life, Zoya.  Soon caught between the competing interests of the CIA and Russian intelligence, Court and Zoya decide to work together to keep Velesky alive.  But with the dangerous data revealing dark dealings in the highest levels of government, can even these two legendary spies survive?

Wow, Greaney really can’t miss when it comes to the Gray Man books.  Burner was another exceptional novel that had me hooked from the very beginning all the way to the final, devastating encounter.  The blend of exceptionally written action scenes, spy thriller elements, complex characters and the utilisation of contemporary issues makes Burner really stand out, even alongside the other epic Gray Man books.  This was another easy five-star rating from me as Greaney once again shows why he is currently leading the spy thriller genre.

Burner’s story is a pretty impressive and intense thrill ride that takes the reader across multiple continents in a blaze of glory and excitement.  The book starts whilst the Russian invasion of Ukraine is ongoing and introduces the reader to interesting new character, Alex Velesky, who receives information about all of Russia’s illegal financial transactions from a disaffected Russian operative.  If he can take this information, as well as data stolen from his bank, to a certain forensic accountant in New York, he will be able to disrupt Russia’s international intelligence efforts while also weakening their position against Ukraine.  However, he soon finds a deadly Russian kill team on his tail, and is only saved by reluctant operative Zoya Zakharova, who eventually believes his story and attempts to get him to New York.  However, the Russians and the CIA both want the data, and this drags in Court Gentry.  On the run from the CIA and unsatisfied with his current job sinking Russian mega-yachts, Court is given a chance to get back into the agency’s good books by helping them recover the data.  This sees him engage in a massive fight in Caribbean, before flying to Europe to find and capture Velesky and begin searching for him and the Russians.  This results in a brilliant collection of scenes as the various sides engage in elaborate tradecraft to try and outsmart the others, resulting in a particularly epic extended sequence on a train.  The resulting carnage and revelations make for some exceedingly gripping content and sets the final third of the book up extremely well.  I protagonists are forced into a series of deadly battles on a tight timeline to achieve their goals.  There are surprises, shocking deaths, elaborate fights and the resolution of several character arcs, all of which wraps up with a particularly epic, split-scene sequence that ends everything on a high note.  I was engrossed in this exceptional narrative the entire way through, and it will be very interesting to see where Greaney takes this series next.

Greaney brings all his impressive writing skills to the table with Burner, and his ability to set a dramatic and powerful scene honestly turns the already outstanding narrative into something truly special.  While I did find a few pieces of dialogue to be a bit weak and robotic, and Greaney did decide to fit in the annoying trope that two women working together must be bitchy to each other, this was mostly a very strongly written spy thriller book.  Like all the previous Gray Man books, Burner has an outstanding pacing to it that quickly draws the readers in and ensures that they stick around for the entire ride.  The action scenes are brutal and have a great veneer of realism that ensures that you can easily imagine every punch, shot or stab.  The focus on tradecraft is a particularly fascinating element to the entire story, and you must love the multiple scenes that show the characters utilising their training to outmanoeuvre their opponents.  Greaney also brings in the perfect blend of intense action focused scenes and story building, real-world issues, and character moments throughout the course of Burner and there honestly wasn’t a single moment that I wasn’t hooked on everything that was going on.  Burner also proves to be a rather interesting and significant entry in the wider Gray Man series, which long-running fans are going to appreciate.  While Burner can easily be read as a standalone novel thanks to the author’s concise and effective description of prior events, this book does continue several interesting storylines from the previous books, including Court’s fugitive status, his relationship with Zoya, and the examination of both main characters’ places in the world.  Several recurring characters from the series also make their return here, including some entertaining antagonists, and I loved how Greaney worked them into the plot.  I had a lot of fun seeing some of these call-backs to previous stories and plotlines, and Greaney leaves this book in an interesting place for the future.

I really need to mention Greaney’s exceptional use of multiple character perspectives throughout Burner.  Greaney casts a very wide net when it comes to the perspectives being followed and while primary characters, such as Court Gentry and Zoya Zakharova, do get a lot more focus, you also see a lot of events occurring through the eyes of other characters, including several antagonists.  This gives the reader a much more expansive narrative that not only lets you understand the motivations of every significant character but also allows you to see how the antagonists are responding to the actions of the protagonists, which adds intensity to the plot.  However, the best advantage is the way that Greaney utilises these perspectives to make some of his biggest sequences really pop.  In these key sequences, the point of view constantly moves around the various characters as the story unfolds and this helps to produce a particularly intricate and powerful viewpoint of how events are going down.  This is particularly evident in the book’s best extended sequence where multiple point-of-view characters, including Court, Zoya, Alex, the antagonistic Russian hit team, a lone CIA agent and more find themselves converging on a train to Switzerland.  As the scene continues, Greaney keeps quickly moving the point-of-view around from one of the characters to the next, including a couple of minor characters who are mostly there as witnesses.  Watching every character’s reactions, moves and countermoves really enhances the power of the scene as Greaney first uses it to build up tension before the inevitable firefight begins, and then switches it up to ensure that the resulting battle is even more epic as you see every shot both sides make.  Greaney uses this excellent balance of perspectives through several of Burner’s key scenes, including the big finale, and each sequence comes off much better as a result.  I cannot emphasise how effectively Greaney utilised this throughout Burner, and it was a major highlight for me.

One of the most distinctive things about Burner was the excellent and memorable use of contemporary events to enhance the already enjoyable spy thriller narrative.  Greaney has never shied away from referring to current conflicts, politics and events, and in Burner he goes for the most infamous current conflict in a big way by strongly featuring the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  Greaney pulls no punches when describing the conflict and he artfully and powerfully paints the entire invasion as the act of barbarism and greed that it is.  While no political leaders are names, multiple Ukrainian and Russian characters are featured throughout the plot and through them Greaney examines multiple sides of the conflict, ensuring that readers are fully aware of what is happening, who is responsible, and just how bad things are.  The Russian government are shown to be extremely corrupt, starting the war and then poorly preparing their own troops, all in the name of obtaining more money for the Russian elites to exploit.  This focus on corrupt money is a major part of the plot as the characters spend the entire book trying to identify funds being syphoned out of Russia to the West, either to escape sanctions or to be used for bribes or operation money by Russian intelligence.  The discussion about bribes to influential westerners is pretty interesting, especially as it seems to be a dig at certain politicians and news reporters, and it ended up being a very fascinating plot focus.  While it might seem a little insensitive to use a current conflict in a thriller novel, I personally felt that this was a master touch by Greaney.  Having the book focused on something that is such a big part of current world events ensured that I was even more invested in the story while rooting for the protagonists to succeed.  I really must compliment Greaney for using his book to shine a light on this conflict, and I feel that his warnings about how the war could end are very important.

I also need to highlight the great characters contained within Burner as Greaney brings back several of his best recurring protagonists, while also introducing some cool new figures.  This includes series protagonist Court Gentry, who has another outstanding adventure in Burner.  Court is his usual fun and effective self in this latest book, and it was great to see him utilise his skills and over-the-top abilities to achieve the mission.  Despite this, there isn’t an awful lot of character development around Court in this one, except for updating his status with the CIA.  Instead, most of the character development in this book was reserved for major recurring character and Court’s love interest, Zoya Zakharova.  Zoya last appeared in the 10th book, Relentless, which saw Court abandon her to keep her alive after he became wanted by the CIA again.  This had a major impact on Zoya’s psyche due to her previous abandonment issues and this, combined with the guilt she feels for being a former Russian spy, sends her into a massive spiral, and at the start of Burner she is an alcoholic, cocaine addicted mess.  A lot of her storyline deals with her attempts to move forward from her guilt, and she takes the mission with Alex Velesky to redeem herself.  Greaney does an outstanding job of showcasing Zoya as a woman in crisis, and I felt that this was an interesting and realistic jump in her character arc, especially after everything she’s been through in the series.  Naturally her life gets even more complicated once she is reunited with Court, which forces her to deal with some major feelings.  Greaney smartly keeps these two characters apart for a substantial part of the book and they are unaware of each other’s presence even while working the same case.  This means that when they finally do meet, the emotional pay-off is even more rewarding, and there are some great sequences with them as the story continues.  This ended up being a very substantial story for both characters and it was great to finally get some closure on the open relationship threads.

Aside from Court and Zoya, most of the other major characters are new additions to the Gray Man series, and Greaney does an outstanding job of building these characters up quickly during their initial appearances in Burner.  The most prominent of these is Alex Velesky, a Ukrainian banker working in Switzerland who ends up with the incriminating Russian data and is motivated to expose it after the death of his family.  Greaney frames an exceptionally good redemption arc around Alex in Burner as the character, who is feeling guilty for the years he’s spent illegally moving Russian money, attempts to finally reveal all the crimes he’s been apart of.  Alex’s entire arc is masterfully written by Greaney, and he proves to be an outstanding part of this book.  The other major new character was Angela Lacey, a rookie CIA operative who is sent to work with Court.  Shown to be a bit naïve, yet highly capable, Angela proves to be an interesting inclusion to Court’s mission, and he ends up become a bit of a mentor to her.  Angela is forced to grow up a lot in this book, especially when manipulated by her superiors, and it looks like Greaney has some interesting plans for her in the future.  Other great characters include a deadly new Russian assassin Luka Rudenko, slippery recurring antagonist Sebastian Drexler, and even Court’s old CIA handler Suzanne Brewer, who is up to her old diabolical tricks.  All these impressive characters add a lot to the plot of Burner, especially as Greaney takes the time to explore all their motivations and deeper secrets, and their inclusion results in some amazing sequences and confrontations.

While I did receive a paperback copy of Burner, I ended up listening to this awesome book on audiobook, mainly because I have had some great experiences with the Gray Man audiobooks in the past.  The Burner audiobook ended up being another excellent production that I managed to knock off quickly, even with a run time of over 16 and a half hours.  In my opinion, this audiobook format greatly enhanced the already epic story contained within Burner in several notable ways.  Not only does the action sequences really pop as you have them read out to you, by the format also works well to enhance the tension of some of the extended sequences involving multiple characters.  Just listening to all the players making their moves at the same time really drags you into the intense and explosive scenes and I was riveted through the scene on the train, or the final massive battle.  It also helped that Burner once again featured the exceptional vocal talents of Jay Snyder, who has lent his voice to all the previous Gray Man audiobooks.  Snyder, who was already one of my favourite audiobook narrators, has an outstanding voice that really fits the spy thriller genre.  His performances always capture the intensity, chaos, and destruction of any scene he narrates, while at the same time he manages to move the book along at a quick pace that really keeps the audience drawn in.  Snyder also has an excellent and fitting range of voices that he deploys throughout the audiobook, and I loved hearing the voices he assigns to some of the returning favourites.  His tone for Court Gentry fits perfectly, and all the other major player get some great voices with well performed accents.  All this ensures that the audiobook is an incredible way to enjoy the latest Gray Man novel and I cannot recommend the Burner audiobook enough.

I could go on more about Burner (trust me, I really could), but I think it is fair to say that I deeply enjoyed this latest Gray Man novel from Mark Greaney.  Greaney has been on a roll with his last few Gray Man books, and I honestly think that Burner is one of the better novels he has released recently.  The impactful story, great characters, compelling content and impressive writing ensured that I was enthralled throughout the entirety of Burner, and I honestly couldn’t put it down at times, especially during some of the big action sequences.  This was such an epic book, and I can already guarantee Burner is going to end up as one of my top books and audiobooks of 2023.  Highly recommended!

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Waiting on Wednesday – Burner by Mark Greaney

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Thriller, Waiting on Wednesday6 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For my latest Waiting on Wednesday, I check out the spy thriller novel that I am most excited for in 2023 with Burner by Mark Greaney.

Burner Cover

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Mark Greaney is a very talented thriller author who has been on a major role lately.  Not only has he produced some impressive standalone reads such as Armored and Red Metal (co-written by Hunter Ripley Rawlings IV), but his Gray Man series has just had its first adaptation on Netflix.  I am a big fan of the Gray Man novels, having been blown away by his first book, The Gray Man, while also deeply enjoying his great recent entries in the series, including Mission Critical, One Minute Out (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2020), Relentless (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2021), and Sierra Six (one of my favourite books and audiobooks from the first half of 2022).  Needless to say, after how exceptional all his recent novels have been, I am exceedingly eager to try another Greaney read, and it looks like I don’t have too much longer to wait for the next one.

Greaney’s next book, Burner, is coming out in February 2023 and it looks set to be quite an intense and action packed read.  The 12th book in the Gray Man series, Burner will follow series protagonist, Court Gentry, as he continues to get in all manner of trouble while trying to avoid his former masters at the CIA.  This time, Gentry will team up with his love interest to keep a very wanted man alive as everyone in the intelligence game and criminal underworld tries to kill him.

Plot Synopsis:

Court Gentry is caught between the Russian mafia and the CIA in this latest electrifying thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling Gray Man series.

When you kick over a rock, you never know what’s going to crawl out.

Alex Velesky is about to discover that the hard way. He’s stolen records from the Swiss bank that employs him, thinking that he’ll uncover a criminal conspiracy. But he soon finds that he’s tapped into the mother lode of corruption. Before he knows it, he’s being hunted by everyone from the Russian mafia to the CIA.

Court Gentry and his erstwhile lover, Zoya Zakharova, find themselves on opposites poles when it comes to Velesky. They both want him but for different reasons.

That’s a problem for tomorrow. Today they need to keep him and themselves alive. Right now, it’s not looking good.

Unsurprisingly, I am pretty damn excited for Burner, especially with the cool plot synopsis above.  Greaney always delivers on fun and compelling spy thriller storylines and this one sounds particularly good.  I love the idea of Court Gentry having to keep a civilian alive from the various forces coming after him, especially when it puts Gentry back on the radar of the CIA who are always looking for him.  I am envisioning the protagonists going up against multiple groups of over-the-top killers in this new book, which is going to be so damn epic, especially as Greaney is very good at portraying action, tradecraft, and fights in impressive detail.  No doubt these actions will set Gentry against his CIA nemesis, Suzzane Brewer, who has been trying to kill him for years, and who makes for such an entertaining antagonist.  At the same time, seeing Gentry once again interact with Zoya Zakharova should be a lot of fun.  The two have a very unique relationship, in that they are deadly assassins that every government want dead, and it will be awesome to see them go up against each other for this mission.

Honestly, based on how epic the last few Gray Man novels have been, there is no way in hell that I am going to miss out on Burner, especially as it has quite an exceptional sounding story to it.  I always deep enjoy Greaney’s amazing books, and I have got extremely wrapped up in the long-running Gray Man plot that he has been pulling together for the last few books.  I have very little doubt that Burner is going to end up being one of my absolute favourite books of next year, and it is one of my most anticipated reads for early 2023.  I cannot wait to get my hands on this new book, and it is going to be so damn epic.

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Books Written Over Ten Years Ago

On By The Unseen LibraryIn List6 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  For this latest Top Ten Tuesday, participants had to list their top books that were written over ten years ago. 

This is a very intriguing, if difficult, topic to look at, as there are an absolute ton of amazing books released over 10 years ago (written before 2012) that I can think about for this list.  I kind of did a similar list on this subject a few years ago, with my list that looked at books written before I was born, however, there are a lot more intriguing entries that could be featured here, so I am going to have to think long and hard about what to include.

To limit my potential choices down (or make the decision harder), I chose to limit my entries to one book from each series or author, which will save me listing multiple Discworld novels for a start.  I also chose to exclude any comic book series from this list, mainly because pretty much every entry on my previous favourite comic series list ran or started more than 10 years ago.  Even with some of these restrictions, there were still an amazing number of books that I wanted to feature on this list, and I had to make some very hard decisions and cuts to figure it out.  However, I am very happy with how the final list turned out and I think it represents the absolute best books written over ten years ago that I have read.  So let us see what made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling – 2003

The Order of the Phoenix Cover

A classic from childhood and my favourite book in the series.

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World War Z by Max Brooks – 2006

World War Z Cover 2

I only recently read this, but it is pretty damn epic, especially in the full-cast audio adaption with some amazing actors behind it.

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Fire in the East by Harry Sidebottom – 2008

Fire in the East Cover

Still one of the best historical fiction books I have ever read with an awesome siege premise behind it.

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The Gray Man by Mark Greaney – 2009

The Gray Man Cover

The debut book from Mark Greaney, this was a very cool novel which the movie adaption honestly didn’t do justice to.

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Top Ten List:

Magician by Raymond E. Feist – 1982

Magician Cover

There were multiple books from Feist written more than 10 years ago that I could have featured on this list, including The Empire trilogy he cowrote with Janny Wurst.  However, I had to feature the book that started it all, Magician.  Magician sets the entire universe up perfectly and has one of the strongest stories in the series.  A truly iconic fantasy read, Magician has inspired generations of fantasy fans and is well worth checking out.

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Legend by David Gemmell – 1984

Legend

Another fantasy classic I had to include, Legend was a brilliant and iconic debut from the legendary David Gemmell that I checked out a few years ago.  Easily one of the best siege novels of all time, Legend sees an impossibly large army besiege the world’s best fortress, defended by a small number of heroes.  Powerful, action-packed, and wildly addictive, this was an outstanding read that you will fly through.

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Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett – 1989

Guards! Guards! Cover

Since pretty much the entirety of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series was written before 2012 (only Raising Steam and The Shepherd’s Crown were released after), I could have filled this list with Discworld novels and left happy.  Instead, I had to feature just one book from the series, which was pretty impossible, as nearly all of them rank amongst my favourite books.  I decided in the end to feature Guards! Guards!, not only because it is one of the strongest books in the series, but because it introduced the City Watch sub-series, which feature many of my favourites.  Guards! Guards! has a brilliant story to it that perfectly combines comedy, fantasy and crime fiction elements into one epic read, when the maligned Night Watch of Ankh-Morpork have to solve a series of murders caused by dragon.  Hilarious, clever, and impossible to put down, this is an incredible read that will make you a Pratchett fan for life.

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Homeland by R. A. Salvatore – 1990

Homeland Cover

Another author who I could have featured multiple books from, R. A. Salvatore is one of the best fantasy authors in the world for a reason and he has a ton of great reads released more than 10 years ago.  However, I limited it to my favourite book of his, Homeland, which expands on the early life of his standout character Drizzt Do’Urden.  Taking place in the Drow city of Menzoberranzan, this book shows the character’s complex youth in the treacherous Dark Elf society and helps to established Drizzt as one of fantasy’s most distinctive and likeable protagonists.  This was a truly impressive novel I have read multiple times, and its impacts can still be felt in Salvatore’s more recent books, such as Timeless, Boundless and Relentless, which show alternate perspectives to events of Homeland through other character’s eyes.

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The Third Day, The Frost by John Marsden – 1995

The Third Day, the Frost Cover

I have long talked up the epic Tomorrow series by Australian author John Marsden, and it remains some of the best books I have ever read.  Following a group of teenagers as they attempt to survive a foreign invasion of Australia, the Tomorrow series is a powerful and deeply addictive young adult series that should be compulsory reading for all Australian kids.  I have so much love for this series that I had to feature one of the books from it here.  I ended up choosing the third (and probably the best) book, The Third Day, The Frost, which sees the protagonists attempt their biggest attack yet, only to suffer from some major consequences.  Not only is this one of the most actions packed and intense novels in the series, but it is also one of the most emotional damaging as the characters you have grown to love, go through some major events that leave them deeply traumatised.  An epic read that I cannot recommend enough.

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The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch – 2006

The Lies of Locke Lamora Cover

Few books have ever caught my imagination and attention than the brilliant fantasy heist book, The Lies of Locke Lamora.  The first book in Scott Lynch’s The Gentleman Bastards series, The Lies of Locke Lamora is an insanely good read that sees a group of conmen get dragged into a battle for a corrupt and dangerous city’s soul and must try to survive while also getting their score.  Perfectly balancing great characters with cool fantasy and impressive thriller elements, The Lies of Locke Lamora is so much fun to read and I would strongly recommend it to any fantasy fan.  I could have also featured the second book Red Seas Under Red Skies (released in 2007) here, as it was also extremely good, but I do think the first book was the best.  Highly recommended!

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The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss – 2007

The Name of the Wind Cover

I had to include The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss on this list as it is honestly one of my favourite fantasy books of all time.  Following a legendary figure as he recounts the early days of his life, you find yourself getting dragged into the tale of Kvothe, a man destined to kill a king and become infamous.  The Name of the Wind perfectly introduces the character and sets you deep into his intense and massive life story, which features tragedy, triumph, music, and an epic amount of time spent in a cool magic school.  I love this book so much, and I really need to read it again and give it a proper review.  The sequel, The Wise Man’s Fear is just as good, but I think the first book is a better one to include here.

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Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie – 2009

Best Served Cold Cover

I honestly could have featured any of the three books from Joe Abercrombie’s First Law trilogy on this list, as all three are a masterclass in dark fantasy fiction.  However, I decided to go with the third and final book in the trilogy, Best Served Cold, as I think it was the best book.  Not only did it bring together all the epic storylines from the first two novels perfectly, but all the main characters who you have been getting extremely close to, have their defining moments here.  There is so much awesomeness crammed into this book, and its impacts will be felt from years to come, as the sequel Age of Madness trilogy (made up of A Little Hatred, The Trouble With Peace and The Wisdom of Crowds), follows on from it perfectly.

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The Dragon Factory by Jonathan Maberry – 2010

The Dragon Factory

I had to feature an entry from the epic Joe Ledger series here on this list, and luckily a couple of fun entries were released more than 10 years ago.  While I could have gone with the first book, Patient Zero (modern zombies) or the fantastic third release, The King of Plagues (a world-ending cabal in action), I went with the second book, The Dragon Factory, which I think was one of Maberry’s best.  The Dragon Factory takes damaged protagonist Joe Ledger on a deadly mission to save the world from two warring teams of advanced genetic engineers who have their own insidious plans.  Intense, action-packed, and featuring some heart-rending tragedy, The Dragon Factory was an instant favourite of mine, and I cannot talk it up enough.

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The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson – 2010

WAY OF KINGS MM REV FINAL.indd

The final book I want to highlight on this list is the massive and deeply impressive The Way of the Kings by impossibly talented Brandon Sanderson.  This was the first book in Sanderson’s iconic The Stormlight Archive and follows several impressive and highly developed characters on an epic journey throughout a bold new fantasy world.  This novel has everything you could possibly want, and I cannot emphasise the sheer level of creativity and universe building it contains.  There is so much to love about this book, especially the complex and highly damaged characters, and I would recommend this to all fantasy fans.

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That’s the end of this latest Top Ten Tuesday.  As you can see, I have had the great pleasure of reading several outstanding novels that were published more than ten years ago, and some of them are counted amongst my favourite all-time books.  All the novels featured above are extremely epic and I would recommend all of them to readers looking for their next obsession.  I had a lot of fun pulling this list together, and this might be one I revisit in the future, especially after I go back and read some more older novels.

Top Ten Tuesday – Audiobook for a Road Trip (June 2022)

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, List4 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  The official topic for this week’s Top Tuesday revolved around Bookish Wishes, however, I am going to do something a little different and instead head back to my favourite format, audiobooks, with a list revolving around suggested books to listen to on road trips.

A couple of years ago I did a fun list where I presented my top ten suggestions for audiobooks that would be awesome for a road trip.  Road trips are always a great time to listen to some fantastic books, and I have personally had a great time listening to audiobooks while driving.  I actually just got back from a big road trip a few weeks ago where my wife and I listened to several impressive audiobooks as we made our way around Australia.  These cool audiobooks, several of which made the list below, proved to be incredibly entertaining, and the long hours of driving just flew by as a result.  So, I thought that this would be a great time to update this list, especially as I have listened to some more epic audiobooks since the last time, I wrote this list.

People familiar with my blog will know that I am a big fan of audiobooks; in many ways, they are some of the best way to enjoy a book from a talented author.  However, not all good audiobooks make for great entertainment on a road trip.  With that in mind, I have scrolled through some of my favourite audiobooks to find the ones I think would be the best for anyone taking a long trip.  To make this list, the audiobooks I chose had to not only be amazing novels but also had to have an excellent narration and the ability to keep a driver or passengers’ attention on a long trip.  While I know that some people are going to be experiencing particularly long trips, I tried to feature audiobooks with shorter runtimes so that those who are taking shorter excursions (say a roundtrip of eight or nine hours) can get through an entire book without trying to make time at home to finish it off.  That being said a few longer novels did end up making the cut, but all of these are great for longer trips.  I also tried to avoid any novels that would require a great deal of prior knowledge or hard-to-obtain background information so that everyone in the car could enjoy the book without any need for explanation or lectures from those people more familiar with the series. To that end, I have tried to avoid any novels that are later entries in a series or which require some form of assumed knowledge about a franchise.  I also tried to avoid anything that was a particularly extreme example of a genre (like fantasy or science fiction), and instead looked to include novels that would appeal to a wider group of readers.  While I have included a couple of tie-in novels, I tried to use those books that require only a smidge of familiarity with their respective franchise to enjoy, and I am confident anyone can easily enjoy any book I ended up featuring.

While I did have quite a few criteria to meet, I was eventually able to come up with a good list for this topic, including several honourable mentions.  I am pretty happy with how this list turned out and I have personally really enjoyed each of the below audiobooks.  I honestly believe that all of them would make for a great listen during an extended bit of travel or a road trip and each of them comes highly recommended.

Honourable Mentions:

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, written by Sarah Kuhn and performed by a full cast – 5 hours and 35 minutes

Doctor Aphra Audio Cover

One of the most purely entertaining and impressive Star Wars audio production, Doctor Aphra is a wonderful listen that covers the storyline of a particularly fun character from the comics.  A great story combined with an awesome cast, including Emily Woo Zeller perfectly capturing the fantastic main character.

 

Tomorrow, When the War Began, written by John Marsden and narrated by Suzi Dougherty – 7 hours and 20 minutes

Tomorrow, When the War Began Cover

An old favourite of mine, Tomorrow, When the War Began is the exceptional introduction to the brilliant Australian young adult Tomorrow series by John Marsden.  This audiobook is very easy to get into and you will swiftly fall in love with this amazing series.

 

The Salvage Crew, written by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne and narrated by Nathan Fillion – 8 hours and 21 minutes

The Salvage Crew Cover

Come for the Fillion and stay for the unique science fiction story.

 

Planetside, written by Michael Mammay and narrated by R. C. Bray – 8 hours and 38 minutes

Planetside Cover 2

An insanely addictive science fiction thriller, Planetside is a particular favourite of mine and the audiobook, featuring the voice of the excessively talented R. C. Bray, is a great listen that will appeal to everyone.

Top Ten List:

World War Z, written by Max Brooks and performed by a full cast – 12 hours and 9 minutes

World War Z Cover 2

It is appropriate that the first entry on this list be the book that inspired me to go back and revisit this topic with the impressive World War Z by Max Brooks.  I had been meaning to read World War Z for ages and finally got a chance with my recent road trip when we listened to the massive, full-cast audiobook version of this iconic zombie novel.  I instantly fell in love with the complex story and elaborate take on a zombie apocalypse, especially as the entire novel was enhanced by an incredible cast of narrators.  Fantastic actors like Mark Hamill, Alan Alda, Alfred Molina and more, did an incredible job telling this brilliant and powerful story, and the entire production is just perfect.  A truly awesome audiobook that made a massive drive go by extremely quickly.  Highly recommended!

 

Redshirts, written by John Scalzi and narrated by Wil Wheaton – 7 hours and 41 minutes

Redshirts Cover

If you want to laugh your way through a quick road trip, then you should think about listening to quirky science fiction author John Scalzi’s Redshirts.  A comedic and meta homage to classic Star Trek, Redshirts imagines a fictional, Enterprise-esque spaceship that faces episodic danger that always leads to the death of its lower ranked crew members.  When the crew start to notice just how deadly their job has become, they go to extraordinary lengths to avoid it, even if that means escaping to the strangest of places.  Incredibly funny, but with some real heart to it, Redshirts is a great book to listen to, especially with its narration from Wil Wheaton himself.

 

The Thursday Murder Club, written by Richard Osman and narrated by Lesley Manville – 12 hours and 25 minutes

The Thursday Murder Club Cover

One amazing mystery novel that would keep me very entertained on a long trip is British comedian Richard Osman’s debut novel, The Thursday Murder Club.  Following four senior citizens as they attempt to solve complex murders around their retirement village, The Thursday Murder Club has an excellent mixture of mystery, humour and likeable characters, and proves to be quite the addictive read.  Throw in the perfect narration from actress Lesley Manville, and you have an exquisite listen that is guaranteed to keep you alert and happy all the way to your destination.

 

Any Discworld novel, by Terry Pratchett

Moving Pictures Cover

It is no secret that we at The Unseen Library love the incredible Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, with every novel in this impressive series being extremely compelling, clever and hilarious, all at once.  Thanks to the series’ great audiobook adaptations, I honestly could have filled every single entry on this list with Discworld books and called it a day.  However, as I am limiting this to a single entry, I will instead recommend either a standalone novel, such as Moving Pictures, Pyramids or Small Gods, or one of the cool City Watch novels like Guards! Guards!  All of these would be exceedingly high on my list of potential books to listen to on a road trip, and I know I would be very entertained the entire way through.

 

The Dark and Mind Bullet, written by Jeremy Robinson and narrated by R. C. Bray – 10 hours and 25 minutes (The Dark) and 11 hours and 42 minutes (Mind Bullet)

The Dark and Mind Bullet Cover

Just like with my Favourite Books of 2021 list last year, I couldn’t decide on which Jeremy Robinson novel to feature over the other.  Both of Robinson’s 2021 releases, The Dark and Mind Bullet, would be perfect for a road trip as they have some very intense and exciting stories to them.  While Mind Bullet probably has the narrative that would appeal to the most passengers, its connections to Robinson’s other may confuse new readers.  The Dark on the other hand is a much more standalone read, although its darker, horror tones may have less of a fanbase.  Both novels however are very, very good reads and their audiobook versions, which feature the incredible voice of R. C. Bray (one of my favourite audiobook narrators), would serve as outstanding entertainment for any long drive.

 

Legend, written by David Gemell and narrated by Sean Barrett – 13 hours and 13 minutes

Legend

Anyone interested in a fantasy epic for their road trip experience would be extremely smart to check out the classic novel, Legend, by the late, great David Gemell.  Legend, Gemell’s iconic debut, imagines the ultimate fantasy siege with a massive, unbeatable army besieging an impregnable stronghold garrisoned by a small force of heroes.  This outstanding fantasy battle plays out perfectly as an audiobook and you will be enthralled throughout your entire road trip.

 

Star Wars: Scoundrels, written by Timothy Zahn and narrated by Marc Thompson – 13 hours and 57 minutes

Star Wars Scoundrels Cover

If you wanted to try out a Star Wars story for a long drive than your best bet is probably going to be the Star Wars Legends novel Scoundrels by the superbly talented Timothy Zahn.  Despite no longer being canon, Scoundrels has one of the most appealing, fun, and compelling stories out there as it follows several of our favourite scoundrels, including Han, Chewie and Lando, as they embark on an elaborate heist.  Containing one of the best Star Wars stories out there, as well as the amazing talents of narrator Marc Thompson, Scoundrels will ensure a very entertained car.

 

The Gray Man, written by Mark Greaney and narrated by Jay Snyder – 11 hours and 11 minutes

The Gray Man Cover

If you’re the sort of person who wants non-stop action for their road trip than you really should load up Mark Greaney’s impressive first thriller, The Gray Man.  Following a legendary spy/assassin as he runs a gauntlet of bad guys throughout Europe, this slick novel never slows down and you will love all the thrills, twists and elaborate situations.  Set to be a major film in the next few months, an upcoming road trip would be the perfect opportunity to read ahead and the fantastic narration from Jay Snyder really brings the story to life.

 

Storm Front, written by Jim Butcher and narrated by James Marsters – 8 hours and 1 minute

Storm Front Cover

I had to recommend the Harry Dresden series somewhere on this list and the best option to listen to is probably the first novel Storm Front.  Serving as the perfect introduction to Jim Butcher’s urban fantasy series, Storm Front has a great story to it and you have to love the narration from outstanding actor James Marsters.  It won’t take long for you to become addicted to this series on your road trip and before you know if you’ll have listened to every single magical adventure.

 

The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman, adapted by Dirk Maggs and performed by a full cast – 11 hours and 2 minutes

Sandman Act 1 Cover

The final entry for this list is another production we listened to on our recent road trip, the audio adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s iconic The Sandman comic.  Performed by an extremely awesome team of actors, including James McAvoy, Taron Egerton, Kat Dennings, Michael Sheen and more, this is a perfect way to enjoy this complex comic and you will have a brilliant time with its elaborate and insanely inventive narrative.  We powered through this on our road trip and have already started the second act of it, which would also be a great bit listen for a drive.  A fantastic and epic comic turned into an even better audiobook.

 

 

Well, that is the end of this latest list.  I think it turned out pretty well and if you have some upcoming travel planned you would do well to try out any of the above books.  Other outstanding audiobook suggestions can be found in my best audiobooks lists of 2020 and 2021, so you’ll have plenty of ideas for your next drive.  Let me know which of the featured audiobooks you enjoyed the most, as well as what productions you would recommend for a car trip in the comments below.

Sierra Six by Mark Greaney

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Five-Star Books, Thriller22 Comments

Sierra Six Cover

Publisher: Sphere/Audible Audio (Audiobook – 15 February 2022)

Series: Gray Man – Book 11

Length: 15 hours and 58 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Epic thriller author Mark Greaney returns with the latest entry in his incredible Gray Man series with Sierra Six, an intense and captivating spy thriller that will grab your attention and refuse to let go until the final explosion.

Over the last few years, I have been absolutely hooked on the incredible thrillers of Mark Greaney, who is easily one of the best authors of spy fiction in the world today.  Not only did he cowrite a very cool military thriller, Red Metal (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2019), but he has continued his exceptional Gray Man series.  The Gray Man books follow Court Gentry, the titular Gray Man, an elite assassin and undercover operator who has worked both for and against the CIA.  This series has been so very cool, from the first novel The Gray Man (set to become a Netflix movie later this year), to the last three awesome entries, Mission Critical, One Minute Out (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2020) and Relentless (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2021).  Due to how impressive this series has been, I have been really excited to read the next book, Sierra Six, and it was one of my most anticipated releases of 2022, especially as it had a very cool plot to it.

Court Gentry, the Gray Man, is once again the world’s most wanted spy, hunted by his former employers, the CIA, and every other intelligence agency on the planet.  Looking for work, Gentry accepts an easy infiltration mission in Algeria to spy on a delegation from Pakistan.  However, the mission goes sideways when Gentry recognises one of the Pakistanis and his rookie technical officer is captured.  Chasing after the kidnappers, Gentry follows their trail to India and must relive one of the darkest moments from his past.

12 years ago, long before he became the Gray Man, Court Gentry was a talented young agent for the CIA.  Specialising in solo operations, Gentry is suddenly reassigned to Ground Branch and must work as the junior member of veteran CIA action team, Golf Sierra.  Given a new designation, Sierra Six, Gentry is forced to adapt to a new way of fighting as he and his team attempt to hunt down a dangerous terrorist leader in Pakistan.  However, their mission resulted in a high body count and a great personal loss that has haunted Gentry ever since.

Now, as Gentry works his way through Mumbai, he must face the realisation that the target of his original Sierra Six mission is still alive and active after all these years.  Determined to finish the job once and for all, Gentry works with a small team of rogue operators to find his target.  However, his old foe has initiated a bold new plan that could have devastating consequences for all of India.  Can Gentry get his revenge before it is too late, or will the ghosts of his past finally finish him off?

Greaney is in fine form with Sierra Six as he has written another excellent and intense spy thriller that I deeply enjoyed.  Containing an action-packed and multilayered narrative loaded with major set pieces, exciting spy elements and some complex characters, this was another awesome Gray Man novel from Greaney.

Sierra Six was an absolutely thrilling read and I had an outstanding time getting through the impressive and addictive narrative.  Greaney does something a little different for this book and features an excellent and intricate split timeline narrative, with the book divided between the events of the past when Gentry was part of Golf Sierra, and the current events in Mumbai which see Gentry again contending with the target of this original mission.  The narrative switches between the two timelines every chapter or two and you get a great sense of what is happening in both well-established storylines.  These two plot lines advance at a great pace throughout the entire novel and feature their own range of distinctive and fun supporting characters, some of whom appear in both the contemporary and past storylines.  I had a lot of fun with the two separate periods, and I loved how they both made excellent use of interesting characters, fantastic developments and a ton of high-octane action sequences.

The timelines support each other extremely well, with certain hints about the events of the past contained in the contemporary storyline increasing anticipation for the historical storyline, while revealed details about the villain and the young Court Gentry from 12 years ago enhance the protagonist’s current adventure.  In both cases, Gentry and his allies embark on a methodical hunt for their quarry, with a high body count accumulating as they follow various leads and respond to their opponent’s counter plays.  While primarily told from Gentry’s perspective, both timelines utilise distinctive side characters to great effect, and you see intriguing supporting perspectives, including from the antagonist, that help to widen the picture and enhance the richness of the story.  Both timelines eventually lead up to an awesome final sequence, comprised of two near-suicidal missions that the protagonist is engaged in.  This final section of the novel is extremely fast paced, especially as Greaney shortens the chapters and introduces more frequent jumps between the timelines to make everything seem even more frenetic.  Both timelines end with some incredible and awesome major set pieces, and I loved how Greaney used the end of the past storyline to set up the antagonist’s eventual return.  The novel ends on a great note, with the two separate storylines coming together perfectly, and the reader is left very satisfied, if a little moved, at the tragic ending of the events from 12 years ago.  I was extremely impressed with how this fantastic story came together, and this ended up being an addictive read with so many awesome moments in it.

Sierra Six was a particularly good entry in this already awesome series, and I loved how Greaney was able to create a book that both stands on its own as a thriller, while also serving as an amazing entry in the wider series.  This novel is structured to be very accessible to new readers, and anyone can easily pick up this book and start reading it without any knowledge of the prior entries in the series, especially as certain key elements are carefully explained when necessary.  There is also a lot for established Gray Man fans to enjoy here, as Greaney provides a bit of an origin story for his long-running protagonist.  Not only do we get to see Court Gentry do some of his earliest work for the CIA, but you also get to see his first interactions with key supporting characters, including Matthew Hanley and Zack Hightower.  I also loved a couple of fun little cameo appearances and throwaway lines that reference some of the earlier books, including the quick but enjoyable inclusion of the antagonist from the original novel.  While there is are no major continuations of some of the established storylines this is still a key and intriguing Gray Man novel, and it is one that people familiar with this series will deeply enjoy.

I was very impressed with some of the unique elements of this book, particularly those involving tradecraft, espionage work and covert combat teams.  There is a real focus on tradecraft throughout Sierra Six, and the author ensures that everything feels exceedingly realistic and gritty as the characters play their spy games.  Not only do you get to see some of the usual undercover work that Gentry excels in but you also get a great look at paramilitary combat, as the protagonist learns from scratch the rules of fighting as part of a combat team.  All this tradecraft really adds to the authenticity of the story, although it did make parts of the book a little clunky in places, especially when the narrator or the characters explain certain espionage or military elements multiple times in overly descriptive ways.

I also rather enjoyed the exciting settings of the various timelines, as Greaney takes the reader to wartime Afghanistan, Pakistan and modern-day India.  This is an interesting change of pace from most of the Gray Man novels I have read, which have been primarily set in Europe, and I liked seeing the various descriptive landscapes and unique people.  Mumbai proved to be a great setting for most of the contemporary storyline, and it was very fun to see Gentry manoeuvre his way through the crowded districts and locals.  I also really enjoyed the focus on Pakistani intelligence and the Indian underworld, which proved to be very fascinating.  For example, the fiction criminal group B-Company are clearly based on the infamous real-life D-Company, and it was quite intriguing to see them worked into the story, while also examining their origin and goals of their leadership.  All these cool tradecraft elements and intriguing settings deeply enhanced the overall story, and it made for quite a fascinating and distinctive read.

There was some rather interesting character work going on in Sierra Six as Greaney takes his fantastic protagonist to some very dark places at various points in his timeline.  I really appreciated the dive back into the period before Court Gentry became the Gray Man, and Greaney paints a compelling figure of a habitual loner with no personal attachments only at the beginning of his espionage career.  Watching Gentry join a team and try to play nice with others was a captivating part of the book, and it was fascinating to see the rookie Gentry get rattled by stuff he’ll become much more used to in the future.  Greaney also enhances Gentry’s development by including a curious, but touching, relationship in the earlier timeline, which helped to humanise Gentry a lot.  However, certain tragic elements from this help mould him into the killer we all know and love, and Greaney subtly introduced the ripples from this into the contemporary storyline.  The reader leaves Sierra Six with a much better understanding of this cool character, and I had a great time seeing more of the Gray Man’s past.

Both timelines are filled with an excellent and comprehensive cast of side characters, each of whom add a great deal to the narrative and Gentry’s development in their own way.  While there are a few recurring characters from the previous Gray Man novels, most of the focus are on newer figures, who Greaney provides with compelling and interesting backstories.  I liked how the past and modern-day storylines both featured great female side characters who helped move the story along in their own distinctive ways.  This includes the socially awkward intelligence officer Julie Marquez, from the original Golf Sierra mission, and Indian tech guru Priyanka Bandari, who Gentry is forced to work with after saving her from kidnappers.  Both female characters add to the plot a great deal, and it is fascinating to see events unfold from their eyes, especially as they have diverse life experiences and are also seeing very different versions of the protagonist.  The storylines around both women are written extremely well, and I really appreciated where both went, especially as they both included tragedy, regret and definitive action.  I also must really highlight the use of long-running supporting character Zack Hightower, who was an excellent inclusion in the historical storyline.  Zack is always a great foil to Gentry, and I really enjoyed seeing him interact with the younger, cockier version here, especially as it shows some of the earlier dynamics between them.  Watching Gentry meet his mentor and friend for the first time was great, and I really enjoyed the cool storyline that developed between them and the other members of the Golf Sierra kill team.  All these characters were extremely impressive and I had a brilliant time getting to know them throughout the course of Sierra Six.

While I did receive a paperback version of Sierra Six, I went out of my way to also get this novel on audiobook as I have had some awesome experiences with the Gray Man books in this format before.  This proved to be an excellent decision as the Sierra Six audiobook was amazing, perfectly telling the cool story while enhancing the intriguing tradecraft and action elements.  The Sierra Six audiobook has a run time just short of 16 hours and so requires a bit of a time investment to get through it, although I think this was more than worth it and dedicated listeners should be able to get through rather quickly.  I was also very happy to see that this audiobook once again featured the vocal talents of Jay Snyder, who is one of my favourite audiobook narrators at the moment.  Snyder has a gruff and distinctive voice that fits the harder spy thriller feel of this novel perfectly and drags the listener into the intense tale.  Snyder does a brilliant voice with all the characters featured within, and you get a good sense of their various emotions and feelings, especially during some of the more action-packed sequences.  I had an outstanding time listening to this audiobook and it is an excellent format for anyone interested in trying out this latest Gray Man novel.

The always impressive Mark Greaney has done it again, producing an incredible and exciting new Gray Man novel.  Sierra Six, features a bold and captivating story that cleverly utilises two distinctive timelines to tell its intense and moving tale.  Loaded with fun character, brutal action sequences, and some intriguing espionage moments, this was another outstanding book I had a brilliant time reading.  Sierra Six comes highly recommended from me and I cannot wait to get my hands on the next Greaney book.

Sierra Six Cover 2

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