Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Nemesis by Gregg Hurwitz Narrator: Scott Brick
Series: Orphan X #10
Published by MacMillan Audio, Minotaur Books on February 11, 2025
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Pages: 400
Length: 16 hours, 19 minutes
Format: Audiobook, eARC
Source: NetGalley, Publisher
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At one time Evan Smoak was a highly successful black ops assassin known as Orphan X, dedicated to a rigid set of operational rules. Now, even after breaking with the government program, going deep underground, and remaking his life, Smoak is dedicated to his assassin's Ten Commandments. But for the first time in his life, those principles have put him on a collision course with the man who might be his best friend in the world, Tommy Stojack.
Stojack, a gifted gunsmith who has created much of Evan's own weapons and combat gear, has apparently crossed one of Evan's sharply delineated lines. When Evan decides to go to his workshop and have it out with Tommy, Evan finds himself under attack by a group attempting to ambush and kill him. But, with all his training and skills, Evan is extremely hard to kill―and the dispute explodes into open warfare between him and Tommy. Now Evan has no choice, in his mind, than to track down and face down his only friend.
In the meantime, Tommy is honoring an old promise to an Army friend and goes to help his dead friend's son. In a depressed rural area, with conflicts flaring up, that son is partially responsible for the death of an innocent. And while Tommy is trying to keep him, and his friends, alive, Evan arrives, with vengeance in mind.
I LOVE the Orphan X series. I recommend reading from the beginning, in order, for the character and world developments. Evan has grown and become more personable throughout the series. He grapples with his Orphan rules and the feelings for people. I worry for him in every book.
Evan has some real issues with probably the two most important people in his life. One is Joey; the other is Tommy. He found out Tommy supplied the bad guys in the previous adventure. Evan feels betrayed and Nemesis is about that struggle with someone who is the closest to friend he has. He goes to talk to Tommy and it doesn’t go well. He tries again and runs into a bunch of assassins. Evan and Tommy are horrible with communication and are at odds a lot in this adventure.
Tommy ends up out of town to try to help the son of an old military buddy. The son has done some horrible things, not meaning to do them but people died. Evan follows him there and is not thrilled with the racist good old boys covering up white boy’s crimes. Tommy tries to educate the white boys with some success.
Joey has tried to get in with a girl’s group at college. They do a meme to support women and Joey uses her skills to make it go viral. But Evan points out to her that she didn’t fully research the issue and when it goes south Joey struggles. Luckily, she has Candy and Evan to help her to better options.
I really appreciated the emotional journeys Evan, Tommy and Joey took here. They are strong people who mostly are alone and follow their own codes. When things go wrong, they question themselves and their codes. They try to fit things into their morality and learn.
Narration:
Scott Brick is a narrator is the voice of this series. I am completely settled into his voices for the characters and loved his performance. He does a nice differentiation with all the ages and locations. I enjoyed his performance so much. I listened at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Scott Brick
Actor, writer and award-winning audiobook narrator Scott Brick certainly knows how to tell a story, in a way that keeps publishers, best-selling and award-winning authors, critics and the public at large begging for more. Hailed by Audible in 2012 as their most prolific narrator, Brick has narrated almost 900 audiobooks including titles such as: Jurassic Park, the Jack Reacher series, Alexander Hamilton, the Hunt For Red October, The Passage trilogy, In Cold Blood, the Bourne trilogy, Atlas Shrugged, Helter Skelter, Fahrenheit 451 and the Dune series.
Born on January 30, 1966 in Santa Barbara, California, Brick studied both acting and writing at UCLA, and joined the ranks of working professionals upon leaving school in 1989. Lauded by critics for his stage work, Brick spent ten years with the LA-based traveling Shakespeare troupe, Will & Company, appearing in productions of Cyrano, Hamlet, Macbeth and many others, and went on to appear in films such as Hit Parade, written and directed by comic book writer and co-Ben 10 creator, Joe Casey.
During this time, Brick continued writing. Having written hundreds of articles in a variety of genre publications such as WIZARD MAGAZINE, TOYFARE, COMICS BUYER’S GUIDE and CREATIVE SCREENWRITING, Brick was then hired by Morgan Freeman and Revelations Entertainment in 2000 to write the screen adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama, with David Fincher attached to direct. In 2005, he collaborated with author Orsen Scott Card to adapt a collection of the author’s short stories for the stage in a production titled (and printed in hardcover as) Posing as People.
Having just celebrated his 20th Audioversary, Brick’s venture into audiobooks is now considered legendary. To date he’s won over 60 Earphones Awards for his narrating skills, as well as five Audie Awards, five SOVAS Awards for voiceover, and a Grammy nomination for the multi-cast recording of The Mark of Zorro (2011). After recording 250 titles in his first five years, AUDIOFILE MAGAZINE named Brick “one of the fastest-rising stars in the audiobook galaxy,” and proclaimed him a Golden Voice, but it was the WALL STREET JOURNAL that sealed the moniker with a front-page article in November, 2004. PUBLISHERS WEEKLY then honored Brick as Narrator of the Year in both 2007 and 2011. That honor was followed up with another feature in the WSJ in 2019 and a recent appearance on the CBS Sunday Morning news show. And the ultimate distinction – being inducted into the Audible Narrator’s Hall of Fame in 2018. Having now recorded over 900 audiobooks, Brick has no intention of slowing down. He obviously won’t be happy until he’s recorded every book ever published.
Born to make a killer first impression, Brick’s newly completed debut novel, INSIGHT, is bound to leave people gasping for more from this innovative writer who is finally telling his own story. No news on who will narrate the audiobook.
About Gregg Hurwitz
GREGG HURWITZ is the New York Times #1 internationally bestselling author of twenty thrillers including OUT OF THE DARK (January 2019). His novels have won numerous literary awards and have been published in thirty languages. Additionally, he’s written screenplays and television scripts for many of the major studios and networks. Gregg lives with his two Rhodesian ridgebacks in Los Angeles, where he continues to play soccer, frequently injuring himself.
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 25-Audio
- 25-COYER
Ooh this one sounds so good. I’m sure I’d love this series too😁
Thanks Tammy. There’s such emotional, political and morality considerations woven into the action.
I have got to get current in this series. I’m a couple of books behind. Wonderful review, Anne💜
Thanks Jonetta. Every one is a gift really of thoughtful reflections
We are review twins again! You know I love this series as much as you do! I was happy and sad at the end! Wow! I wonder if this would be a good read-along candidate at some point. Have a lot of our reading buddies read it?
It might be a good RA candidate but I’d wait 2-3 years because I’ve read it so recently. I don’t think it’s widely read in our group.
I have no idea when I’ll squeeze this series in, but I am definitely going to and hopefully on audio since I enjoy this narrator already. A solid, riveting plot this far along in the series is great.
yes the amazing plot and character development along with the fast pacing of lots of action really makes this series a real favorite and easy winner.
This sounds like a good series, glad you’re enjoying it. It’s great when the narrator can do all the voices effectively.
Thank you. It’s a favorite thriller. It reminds me a bit of the Equalizer in that he helps people who have bad situations and few options. Plus there is the development of Evan’s character and moral integrity. The action is so fun and rather scary.
This sounds intense but good. 😀
yes I would say the action / fights can be intense but it is excellent and fun.
The plot to this sounds a little like it is similar to The Bourne Identity? Or maybe a little Black Widow? But that sounds good though! Glad you are really enjoying this series. Great review!
I don’t know about those 2 but this one is a thriller thriller.