Prodigal Son is the 6th book in the Orphan X series and if you’re like me and haven’t read any of the previous installments, fear not! This could be a stand alone novel.
Evan Smoak is initially passed over as a member of the elite Orphan Program but sheer stubbornness and desperation to escape the foster home he is currently stranded in win him a spot. The result is he becomes an unrivaled government assassin until his retirement for what he hopes is a simpler life. An unexpected phone call from a woman claiming to be his mother lead Evan on a dangerous mission to save Andrew Duran who has lead a bad luck life most of which is self inflicted through his own poor life choices. Helping Evan is Joey, a teenage tech whiz who is almost too brilliant at what she does. 
One slight drawback to the book is all the high tech gadgets throughout the story. They are at times are the star of the show and tend to overwhelm the plot. Either the author has a very vivid imagination or the gadgets are real and mind boggling. After awhile you just go with the flow and accept that high tech is going to over take us.
Special thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for an early ebook of #ProdigalSon for an honest opinion.

This book is so so good!   Besides the usual baddassery, we get to find out more about Evan’s beginnings!   Probably my favorite Orphan X novel so far!  I recommend starting the series from the beginning if you’re new to the series, but definitely read the series!

I am one of the people who requested this book without realizing that it was part of a series with 5 previous books. That didn't stop me from getting total!y pulled into this story, and really enjoying this book. II connected to Evan, much to my surprise, and will now go back and start at the beginning of the series, as it was that good.. I received a an ARC of this book for my honest opinion.. 4-1/2 stars.

I am a huge fan of the Orphan X series by Gregg Hurwitz, so imagine my delight at having the opportunity to read an advance copy of Prodigal Son from NetGalley.  It certainly lives up to the high standards set by the previous 5 books in the series and goes one better.  For edge of your seat excitement and suspense, this is right there.  “What’s the worst that could happen?”, asks Andre Duran early on.  And he’s soon to find out thereby requiring help from The Nowhere Man.  Joey, his teenage protege, returns bringing her humor and attitude.  

Prodigal Son features much more emotion by filling in Evan Smoak’s background and introducing before-unknown characters including his mother.  He continues to opine on the possibility of a “normal” life that includes his neighbor Mia and her 9 year-old son Peter.  Summed up by his thoughts, “He’d certainly expended himself in the service of others, fo Andre and those he helped, but now all those missions lay revealed to him for what they were—proxies for actual intimacy, surrogates for real connections that could pierce through his defenses and touch him at the tender core.”  Couldn’t read it fast enough but, at the same time, didn’t want it to end.  Thanks again to NetGalley for this treat.

I am so glad there are still people in the world with imaginations and the talent to write about those imaginings like Gregg Hurwitz.  From the minute I picked up the first Orphan book, I was hooked and this one was no exception. Evan Smoak, aka Orphan X, comes alive in this book and the facade is exposed.  We watch as the street-wise kid who escaped from the orphanage to become a paid assassin, now in forced retirement, faces the collision of his past with the present. True to form, Hurwitz finds ways to get Evan out of the most harrowing situations with  plot twist and turns as equally surprising as the ending.  Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this book, one which I highly  recommend and enjoyed immensely.

Prodigal Son is the first book I've read in the Orphan X series. Even though there are multiple novels and short stories prior to this installment, Prodigal Son stands on its own with strategically placed backstory pieces and short flashbacks to provide sufficient information of Evan Smoak's progression from foster child, to Orphan X assassin, to The Nowhere Man, and his now retirement following a presidential pardon. Prodigal Son picks up with Evan trying to reintegrate himself into a normal life.

The story follows Andrew Duran, a man who has had bad turns of luck for the better part of his life. While working the night shift as an attendant at a vehicle impound, he witnesses a mysterious murder that forces him to flee for his life. In the meantime, Evan is attempting to acclimate to everyday life. Until he receives a phone call from Veronica, a friend of a friend who asks for the help of The Nowhere Man. The storylines cross when Evan accepts the assignment, but nothing could have prepared him for what he uncovers about his own life.

The story kept a steady pace, intermingling action-packed, high-tech, gadget-filled scenes with relationship building ones to show Evan's strength and skills as an assassin while also providing glimpses into his humanity and his desire to have emotional connections. Some of the scenes, mainly those with Joey and Peter, were especially memorable. At times, the writing became a bit much with so much brand dropping and detailed explanations, but once I found the author's rhythm and style, I just went with it and enjoyed the journey.

While this is a superb action story that will keep you turning the page, it is also a story about family—both those born from blood and those forged over time. 

/I received an advanced edition of this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my opinion of the book or content of my review./

I've been a big fan of the Orphan novels and this one was no exception. After the last novel I wondered if this series was getting long in the tooth. The answer is 'No!' Great pacing in this one, fleshing out the leads story really helped. If you are new to the Orphan series, this is a good starting point..you will want another book immediately after this one ends ... won't say any more!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Evan Smoak is one bad dude.  He was an assassin for many years until he retired.  Then he used those skills to help people who were in trouble and nowhere else to turn.  He had to retire from that when the President of the United States told he had a pardon as long as he never did it again.  He is trying to fit back into society as a regular person, but it isn't easy.  

Now he gets drawn back into that world again.  This time, it becomes personal.  

This book is well-written.  The story moves.  Be aware that there are some language issues.

An interesting, if unbelievable, yarn. Breaking into Creech North was way too easy for even a highly-skilled Orphan X. Well written overall, with the exception of the first few weak chapters. 

A note to Mr. Hurwitz's editors: First, get rid of all those adverbs in the first three chapters [e.g., painstakingly, conspiratorially, properly, probably, barely etc. etc]. And second, consider stopping the story when it is over [Chapter 69] rather than spending so much ink tying up loose ends. They could be just as easily tied in Chapter 68 or 69 as side-mentions, or inner thoughts. When Joey says, "You do okay," it's the perfect end line.

I like the genre, and I like Gregg Hurwitz [I've read others], but this needs some fixing before it hits the bookstores.

i did not finish.  i couldnt concentrate on this book   i will pick it up later and try again   sorry

I am going to be honest, I was unable to finish this book. There were many swear words in the first chapter, some I haven't really heard of before. Then on to other chapters, I felt the story just jumped around so much it was hard to follow. I would seriously have to flip back to previous chapters to look at characters names to see how they fit in to the book. It just confused me so much, I eventually gave up.

Hurwitz never fails to amaze with his contrast between cold-blooded violence and empathetic concern shown by  one of the all-time great actions figures ever created - Evan Smoak! Orphan X draws two other orphans into his Nowhere Man plan to save yet another poor soul, who turns out to have been raised in the same orphanage as Smoak. The antagonists are so diabolical that Orphan X needs assistance against man and machine (i.e., artificial intelligence), thus utilizing other orphans to escape what could be a death scene twisted out of The Terminator series.
I became inthralled with the writing of Gregg Hurwitz in The Tower, published over 20 years ago. He writes adventure like no other and keeps you guessing to the very end. I told myself that this was one author that I was going to read everything he ever wrote. When one finds an author like a Hurwitz, you almost pray that he has been around for a length of time sufficient to produce several more books than the one you are currently reading, just so you have more to read before he finishes his next novel. This is one of those writers that never fails to excite and yet leave you wanting and waiting for the next of his works.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, Minotaur, and the author, Gregg Hurwitz for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review.

This book is part of a series, and I wasn't aware of that when I first started reading the book. However I don't feel that you have to read the series in order, as you can just pick up one of the books, and start with that one and not feel as if you have missed anything. 

If you're into this type of thriller, this hit expertly on all points;  this type of book just isn't something I normally read.  I did make it through the book, and enjoyed the premise of the book, and felt like the author wrote brilliantly.

Definitely a page turner.  The author's in-depth descriptions (microdrones, tactical survival methods) and insights (personal relationships) drove the story.  Authors like Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451) convincingly used stories to foretell the future.  Will Hurwitz's microdrone depictions become the reality that Bradbury's wall-sized televisions did?  Or are we already there?

I wrote this unbiased review in exchange for access to an advance copy of the book thanks to NetGalley.

𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧

𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 @ https://www.instagram.com/ofdreamsandstories/
𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬@ https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/53189786-ofdreamsandstories 

💙~𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐨𝐧 (𝐎𝐫𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐗 #6) 𝐛𝐲 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐠 𝐇𝐮𝐫𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐳💙⠀⠀

Publisher St. Martin's Press⠀⠀
Genre: General Fiction (Adult) Mystery &Thriller
Pub date Jan 26, 2021⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀
Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for a  e-ARC copy of #ProdigalSon by @gregghurwitzbooks in exchange for my honest review!⠀⠀
⠀⠀
I am new to Net Galley and figuring out how and which books to request for review. Once I had this copy, soon I realized that this book is #6 in Orphan X series and I am not familiar with any of the previous 5 books. Secondly I am expanding my reading horizon and have just started venturing into mystery / thriller books. To be honest I was very skeptical getting into this book but once I started it, I am telling you guys, I was hooked- literally hooked to this fast paced thriller. ⠀⠀
⠀⠀
The story dives into deepest secrets of Evan Sloan's life, who is an orphan. He is picked out of the orphanage to be trained as an assassin and how he became the Orphan-X. He is retired and trying to live a normal life while he gets unexpected call from a mysterious lady who claims to be his mother. There is a lot of technology, action packed thriller and James Bond vibes to this book!!⠀⠀
⠀⠀
This was a very quick, gripping fast paced thriller read. Would I have picked it if not for Netgalley-No but boy how glad I am to come across this book! Rated 5 star by me, I highly recommend!! 💙📚
.

This book had such a different voice from my prior read that I was almost ready to toss it aside. I left it to rest for a bit and restarted, only to find myself engrossed in the story and compelled by the writing. Hurwitz is able to weave a fun tale with humor, action, and technical prowess. Some passages had me laughing out loud, while the beyond-cutting-edge science is just a hair's breadth past reality... There were a few near-stereotypes (teenaged prodigy, filthy rich Silicon Valley twenty-something), but honestly it was so well written that they never broke that fourth wall. Cliffhanger left me anticipating a sequel - something I'd already decided on well before reaching the end. Thanks to NetGalley for the proof, in exchange for my honest review.

Evan Smoak thought he’d retired from the hero business; or at least that was the deal he’d made to stay out of a federal prison. But when you get a phone call from someone claiming to be the mother you’d never met, you’re at least curious… maybe a little obsessed. The woman in question had a job for The Nowhere Man (Evan’s last “career” before retiring): find and protect Andrew Duran, a down-on-his-luck impound lot attendant who’d had the misfortune of witnessing the murder of a client. Perhaps out of boredom, Evan took up the hunt.

It’s a hunt that would lead him to a secret military base and the lair of a psychopathic inventor, a hunt in which the former Orphan X would himself become the hunted. The brother-sister team of contract killers on Duran’s trail was nothing compared to the high-tech assassins waiting in the wings. Lucky for Evan that he could assemble a team of his own: a fellow ex-orphan, his nine-fingered armorer, and a teenaged hacker who’d washed out of the Orphan program.

If that isn’t enough, check out that cliff-hanger…

The sixth in Gregg Hurwitz’s Orphan X series, Prodigal Son, rolls out big chunks of Evan’s backstory. That includes both the tale of his entry to the Orphan program as well as some reasons for the animosity of Charles van Sciver, the late Orphan Z.  As in previous installments, Evan cuts a swathe through phalanxes of bad guys, thrives on subterfuge, and not only outfights but outthinks his opposition. Is he slowing down at thirty-eight? You sure can’t tell…

All five previous installments in the series have been fun romps featuring a hero who is only a radiation accident short of being a Marvel superhero. Prodigal Son is no exception, and it has the added bonus of imbuing Evan Smoak with just a little more humanity. 

 Highly recommended.

This latest installment in the Orphan X series revealed much more about the characters without losing any of the action and pace that is the hallmark of the series.  Learning more about Evan’s childhood and how he found his way into the program built nicely on flashbacks from other books in the series.  Tying several characters from his past with his present life made the story more engaging.  Instead of just enjoying the clever and intense action, I found I cared more about the characters as they developed more and became more three dimensional.  

The cliffhanger at the end, which is actually multiple cliffhangers sets the series up nicely for a transition and follow on storylines.  I can’t wait until the next book is released!

Full disclaimer: this is #6 in the Orphan X series--of which I was unfamiliar, However, I thoroughly enjoyed this diverting, fast-paced read and will be seeking out other books in the series as well as Hurwitz's other novels.

The setting: "As a boy, Evan Smoak was pulled out of a foster home and trained in an off-the-books operation known as the Orphan Program. He was a government assassin, perhaps the best, known to a few insiders as Orphan X. He eventually broke with the Program and adopted a new name – The Nowhere Man―and a new mission, helping the most desperate in their times of trouble. But the highest power in the country [a female president!!] has made him a tempting offer - in exchange for an unofficial pardon, he must stop his clandestine activities as The Nowhere Man. Now Evan has to do the one thing he’s least equipped to do—live a normal life.

But then he gets a call for help from the one person he never expected. A woman claiming to have given him up for adoption, a woman he never knew—his mother. Her unlikely request: help Andrew Duran—a man whose life has gone off the rails..." 

And so it begins. 

This page-turner had me hooked from the start. An action-packed thriller, and a much appreciated distraction in the time of Covid.

Loved Joey, his female, teenage sidekick.  And his apartment! 

Though mostly it was the action that propelled me, there were a few humorous descriptions I quite enjoyed:

"She'd had a rib resected on either side and looked as though she were perennially wedged into a Victorian corset,"

"Her perfume had been applied with biblical intensity."

"...heavy makeup and looked--at least from this distance--to have been nipped and tucked with admirable subtlety."
[noticing these are all females described--hmmm]

BUT: "..."ceiling irised open in the center..."

I can totally see this as a movie. And all the high-tech equipment [both villanous and not so much] definitely resonated as a Mission Impossible/James Bond journey.

New words: 
xeriscaped
kenpo
ogive
lissajous

The end--no spoiler from me, but...

Recommend.

I was really happy to receive an advance copy of this book.  I love this author, and I truly enjoy the Orphan X books.  

This book was really enjoyable.   I loved how we got more back story of how he became Orphan X and we got to see a more human, more caring side to Evan.  

The only issue that I had was the ending.  It was cliffhanger, really and I dont usually expect that from these books.  I found it really disappointing.  Otherwise, it was a fun, engrossing read.  

Thank you to the author, the publisher and to #NetGalley for the advance copy.