Gray Man by Mark Greaney

BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS:
-PRINT: COPYRIGHT: (2009) July 12, 2022; ISBN: 978-0593547595; PUBLISHER: Berkley; Media tie-in edition; PAGES: 464; UNABRIDGED (Paperback info from Amazon.com)
-DIGITAL: COPYRIGHT: August 29, 2009; PUBLISHER: Berkley; Original edition; PAGES: 417; UNABRIDGED
* (This version) AUDIO: COPYRIGHT: August 30, 2010; PUBLISHER: Audible Studios; DURATION: 11:11:00 (approx.); Unabridged; (info from Amazon/Audible)
-FEATURE FILM OR TV: Netflix 2022, Starring: Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas.

SERIES: Gray Man #1

MAIN CHARACTERS: (list not comprehensive)
Courtland (Court) Gentry – Protagonist. 36 year-old American, former CIA in a secret division of the Operations Directorate until a burn notice went out on him. Now doing similar work in the “private sector”, know as “the Gray Man”.
Mr. Lloyd – Lawyer for the LaurentGroup
Kurt Riegel – 52-year-old president of Security Risk Management Operations for the LaurentGroup
Donald Fitzroy – Gentry’s boss
Maurice – A known associate from Gentry’s CIA days
Claire Fitzroy – Don Fitzroy’s granddaughter
Kate Fitzroy – Claire’s twin
Phillip Fitzroy – Don’s son

SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
-SELECTED: Don (hubby) saw it advertised somewhere and thought it sounded like it could be good.
-ABOUT: A man who is very good at what he does, and having done it in one particular case, has prompted someone in a position to engage numerous assassins around the world to terminate him.
-LIKED: I was reminded of the first Bourne Identity story, where the protagonist initially knows he has enemies, but not who they are or why.
-DISLIKED: It’s probably too violent for me to follow the series. This first one was likely unique in that most of the time the action revolves around the protagonist trying to stay alive. Henceforth, I am guessing the Gray Man will be doing what he does best as the aggressor. I’m completely ignorant about weapons, military jargon, and the like, and got the impression the best audience for this is the folks who are familiar with it all.
-OVERALL: I would recommend it to those who like action themes and like, or at least, don't mind violence.

AUTHOR:
Mark Greaney
From “ABOUT THE AUTHOR” in the digital version of this book:
“Mark Greaney has a degree in international relations and political science. In his research for the Gray Man novels, including Mission Critical, Agent in Place, Gunmetal Gray, Back Blast, Dead Eye, Ballistic, On Target, and The Gray Man, he traveled to more than fifteen countries and trained alongside military and law enforcement in the use of firearms, battlefield medicine, and close-range combative tactics. He is also the author of the New York Times bestsellers Tom Clancy Support and Defend, Tom Clancy Full Force and Effect, Tom Clancy Commander in Chief, and Tom Clancy True Faith and Allegiance. With Tom Clancy, he coauthored Locked On, Threat Vector, and Command Authority.”

NARRATOR:
Jay Snyder
From Wikipedia:
“James Hadley Snyder, known professionally as Dan Green, is an American voice actor, voice director and screenwriter. He is best known for being the voice of Yugi Muto/Yami Yugi for Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, the anime series version of Yu-Gi-Oh!, as well as all of the character's U.S. series appearances.”

LOCATION(S)
Multiple

TIME(S)
Present day (2009)

GENRE
Fiction; Espionage Thrillers; Political Thrillers; Action; Suspense

SUBJECTS:
Assassinations; Military; Weapons; Arms; Emergency Medicine; Assassins; Hand-to-hand Combat

DEDICATION:
“For Edward F. Greaney Jr. and Kathleen Cleghorn Greaney
Mom and Dad, I miss you both”

SAMPLE QUOTATION:
From “Chapter 3”
““Why are you here?” Fitzroy’s voice held none of the paternal charm of their earlier conversation.
“I am here because you are his handler.”
“His what?”
“His handler You vet his contracts, supply his logistical needs, assist him with intelligence, collect from the payers, and forward compensation to his bank accounts.”
“Where did you hear this nonsense?”
“Sir Donald, had I the time, I would offer you every courtesy you deserve, we could verbally fence, and I would feint and you would parry and we’d both strut around the room until one of our swords scored a killing strike. Unfortunately, sir, I am under a tremendous pressure, which forces me to dispense with the customary pleasantries.” He sipped his coffee again and made a little face at the bitterness of the brew. “I know the assassin was the one called the Gray Man, and I know you run him. You can ask me how I know this, but I will just lie, and our relationship in the next few hours depends upon our ability to speak frankly.”
“Go on.”
“As I said, the Gray Man crossed into Iraq but missed his extraction, because he foolishly engaged a superior insurgent force in a firefight He killed or wounded ten men or more. Saved an American National Guardsman and recovered the body of another. And now he is on the run.”
“How do you know the Gray Man was the assassin of Dr. Abubaker?”
“There is no one else in the world who would be sent on that mission, because there is no one else in the world who could pull off that hit.”
“And yet, you say, he made a foolish mistake.”
“More evidence I am right. The Gray Man was once an operative for the U.S. government. Something went wrong, he was targeted by the CIA, and he went into hiding from his former masters. His soured relationship with Langley notwithstanding, the Gray Man is still very much an American patriot. He could not ignore a helicopter crash and eleven dead Americans without finding a measure of retribution.”
“That is your proof?”
Lloyd smoothed the drape of his suit coat. “It has been known by us for some time that the Gray Man had accepted a contract for the Abubaker hit. When the good doctor died as a result of foul play, there was no need to speculate as to the identity of his killer.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Lloyd. I am an old man; you will have to connect the dots for me. What are you doing in my office?”
“My company is prepared to offer you a threefold increase in contracts if you will only assist us in the neutralization of the Gray Man. Without going into unnecessary detail, the president of Nigeria is asking us to help him bring justice down on his brother’s killer.”
“Why LaurentGroup?”
“That would involve unnecessary detail.”
“You will find it to be quite necessary if this discussion is to continue.””

RATING:.
4

STARTED READING – FINISHED READING
8-20-2023 to 8-23-2023 ( )

What a ride.

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

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

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

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

Highly recommended. ( )

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

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

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