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    Hellbent: An Orphan X Novel
    Hellbent: An Orphan X Novel
    Hellbent: An Orphan X Novel
    Audiobook12 hours

    Hellbent: An Orphan X Novel

    Written by Gregg Hurwitz

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Evan Smoak—government assassin gone rogue—returns in Hellbent, an engrossing, unputdownable thriller from Gregg Hurwitz, the latest in his #1 international bestselling Orphan X series.

    Taken from a group home at age twelve, Evan Smoak was raised and trained as an off-the-books government assassin: Orphan X. After he broke with the Orphan Program, Evan disappeared and reinvented himself as the Nowhere Man, a man spoken about only in whispers and dedicated to helping the truly desperate.

    But this time, the voice on the other end is Jack Johns, the man who raised and trained him, the only father Evan has ever known. Secret government forces are busy trying to scrub the remaining assets and traces of the Orphan Program and they have finally tracked down Jack. With little time remaining, Jack gives Evan his last assignment: find and protect his last protégé and recruit for the program.

    But Evan isn’t the only one after this last Orphan—the new head of the Orphan Program, Van Sciver, is mustering all the assets at his disposal to take out both Evan (Orphan X) and the target he is trying to protect.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateJan 30, 2018
    ISBN9781522649618
    Author

    Gregg Hurwitz

    Gregg Hurwitz schreibt mit seinen Thrillern rund um Evan Smoak - ORPHAN X einen Bestseller nach dem anderen. Er ist derzeit Co-Präsident der International Thriller Writers (ITW). Als gefragter Comic-Autor arbeitet er für Marvel (»Wolverine«, »Punisher«) und DC (u.a. »Batman«), schreibt Drehbücher für die großen Hollywood-Studios und Artikel über Politik und Kultur für das Wall Street Journal, The Guardian und andere renommierte Zeitungen. Seine Bücher sind mit zahlreichen Literaturpreisen ausgezeichnet und regelmäßig auf der New York Times-Bestsellerliste. Die inzwischen 23 Thriller wurden bisher in 33 Sprachen übersetzt. Die Filmrechte am »Orphan X«- Universum wurden an Warner Bros. verkaufen. Mit seiner Familie und seinem Rhodesian Ridgeback lebt er in Los Angeles, wo er leidenschaftlich Fußball spielt und sich dabei häufig verletzt. Bei der Recherche für seine Thriller hat er sich mit Navy SEALs auf Schießstände geschlichen, ist auf den Galápagos-Inseln mit Haien geschwommen und hat verdeckt in Sekten zur Gedankenkontrolle ermittelt. Zuletzt erschien auf Deutsch „Dark Horses. Ein Orphan X Thriller“ im Ronin Verlag, wo auch die meisten seiner Hörbücher auf Deutsch veröffentlicht werden.

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    Reviews for Hellbent

    4.5/5

    535 ratings63 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I’m enjoying this series and getting to know Evan more- without any spoilers…..the access to the President is very far fetched.
    • 5/5
      Love this series. It just keeps getting better and better with each book. I love the characters and the narrator is awesome.
    • 5/5
      I LOVE this series! From start to finish, the story keeps you on your toes. And the narrator’s voice is awesome!
    • 5/5
      The action, the rush which comes with the final denouement is always intense. Well done again.
    • 5/5
      Hellbent by Gregg Hurwitz is a 2018 Minotaur publication. 1-855-2-NOWHEREThis special number will connect you to The Nowhere Man- a man who helps those who require specialized assistance and have no other recourse. However, the Nowhere Man also happens to be Orphan X- aka- Evan Smoak. At age twelve, Evan was plucked from the foster care system by Jack Jones and trained to be a government assassin. But Jack is the only person in the world who ever showed Evan the slightest bit of humanity, who loved Evan like he was his own son. Now, it is Jack who is calling The Nowhere Man… When Jack calls Evan he is in a dire situation. He orders Evan to collect a package- which turns out to be far more than Evan bargained for- a sixteen -year old girl named Joey. Going after his arch enemy, Van Scriver, with razor sharp focus and the intense need for retribution, Evan finds Joey both a help and a hindrance, someone who pricks his stoic heart, bringing out feelings he has no name for, but who is also a liability in his plans to take out Van Scriver. If this weren’t enough suspense to keep one on edge, Evan also gets a call from a father who is afraid of losing his son to the romanticized lure of gang membership. I have been dying to get back to this series. The second installment was very creative and entertaining, but, this third chapter in the series, settles in with some very poignant and tender moments and passages, amid some very intense action scenes and white- knuckle suspense. There is a lot going on here, so beware starting this one if have things you need to get done. The chapters are short, which only compounded the problem, because it was just too tempting to read ‘just one more chapter’. This is only the third book in the series, but I can see the advance planning, which is working out beautifully. The series has had some wobbly moments here and there, but I see it improving, getting stronger, with smarter, polished, and more complex plots. I can’t wait to unlock more Orphan X secrets, as the stakes are getting higher and higher, and maybe I’m looking forward to indulging my little crush on Evan Smoak!! This is an outstanding addition to the series- Can’t wait to read book four!!
    • 5/5
      Best one yet! I love the way this author dedicates a lot of his writing to developing the characters. The narrator is also excellent.
    • 4/5
      This is the second Orphan X novel that I have read and I really enjoyed this one. It was brutal at times but it was also a fast-paced, action-packed, pulse-pounding thriller. This time Orphan X had to protect sixteen-year-old Joey, an ex-orphan, from highly professional assassins.Joey was a great inclusion. She was a gifted computer hacker with a smart mouth but also with a vulnerable side to her. I loved how she interacted with Evan and made him feel out of his depth. She also brought out the softer side of Evan, giving him more emotional depth. I hope Joey appears in subsequent novels because I liked how the two balanced each other out."Hellbent" was an entertaining read and I look forward to finding the next Evan Smoak adventure.
    • 5/5
      The best of all the Orphan X books!!! Couldn’t quit listening.
    • 5/5
      There are those who … Then there’s Orphan X !
    • 5/5
      The story was very good! There was lots of suspense, however, the last minute or so of the story was cut off.
    • 4/5
      Green lighting the POTUS…hmm. Can’t wait to see how this will play out!
    • 5/5
      The Orphan X series by Gregg Hurwitz is one of the best action series of the last few years and the third book, Hellbent is the best one yet. Evan Smoak is the Nowhere Man. A man trained literally from childhood to be a deadly off-the-books government assassin in the Orphan program. He broke away from the program and dedicated his life to helping people who have nowhere else to turn. But now the Orphan program is being shut down and the head of the program, former Orphan Charles Van Sciver, is determined to erase all remnants of the program, including Evan Smoak.Van Sciver has finally tracked down Jack Johns, Evan’s mentor and father figure. Johns reaches out to Evan with one final request: find and protect his new protege/recruit for the orphan program. What follows is a race back and forth across the country as Van Sciver and Smoak try again and again to turn the tables on each other and end the threat that they represent to each other.There are a lot of great thriller series, but what sets Hurwitz’s books apart is the depth and humanity of the characters. Jack Johns trained Evan to be deadly, but he also attempted to leave his humanity intact. Evan’s constant struggle with his own humanity is front and center in Hellbent as Evan sees the lessons Johns tried to impart to him in the form of the protege left for him to protect. As he attempts to pass on these lessons he finds himself looking at Johns wisdom in a new light and finding deeper meaning in them for himself. Hellbent is also filled with action from beginning to end. Guns, bombs, knives and hand to hand combat leap off the page. Neither the heroes nor the villains are perfect but they are both exceptionally skilled. The cat and mouse games between them heightens the excitement and leads to an explosive climax where the fate of most of the major players is in doubt. Hurwitz tells a complete and exciting story, but the ending leaves no doubt as to where the next book is going and I can’t wait. Jump into this series if you haven’t already. It’s a good one. Highly recommended.One other note; This book contains chapter titles that each pertain to the chapter that follows. This is something that used to be commonplace but has practically disappeared. I loved it! I hope this starts a trend of bringing chapter titles back.I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of this book from the publisher.
    • 5/5
      The author weaves Evan through three main plots creating enough tension as he moves in time from one to the other to keep you wanting to return to each one as it unfolds. Although the ending might be considered predictable, it is done unpredictably. It may be my favorite...
    • 5/5
      Great story. I'm going to jump right into the next book right now!
    • 3/5
      I've been enjoying the Orphan X series; Hellbent really throws a monkey wrench into the mix! It had some slow, "really?" moments for me, but I burned through it, and was pleased with the ending, a 3.5, really. Great characters!Recommended for Bourne fans.
    • 4/5
      In this, the third book in the Orphan X series, Gregg Hurwitz delivers another fast-paced, action-packed story with his fascinating main character, Evan Smoak. Evan is evolving again as he tries to open the door to let others into his life a millimeter at a time. Unfortunately he's well-aware that his former life as Orphan X makes it dangerous to be part of his life. Add to that his current life as the Nowhere Man, using the skill set he learned as Orphan X to help people in extreme danger. This time though he's trying to help teen washed-out orphan, while he continues to be pursued by another orphan who's been tasked with eliminating him. At the same time, he's grieving the loss of his mentor/father figure, AND he's attempting to help his next Nowhere Man "client". As usual, there's a lot of action, and once again the ending of this one left me ready to move on to the next one - which sadly won't be released until January 2019. Well played, Mr. Hurwitz, well played. Just take my pre-order money now!
      Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for providing a copy for an unbiased review. I listened to parts on Scribd and Scott Brick's narration added another dimension to the story for me.
    • 3/5
      Another fluffy, easy read. As in the first book, I liked Raylene's OCDness and the way she was just so matter of fact about it. I liked her side kick. I liked her family-building, as well as the fact that romance is hinted at but never becomes part of the story. I also liked the writing and narrative style, which is surprising as it's first person and I generally don't like first person. I did think this one came across as a little juvenile. Mostly because Raylene was tasked with hunting down baculum, which requires 14 thousand references to penis bones and the likes. It because apparent that this was there for comic effect, but it also made me feel like a 15 year old would have appreciated it more. Despite that, if there were a 3rd book I'd pick it up.
    • 4/5
      Hellbent is an awful lot of fun. The pace picks up rather during the last half, which left me wanting more, really, and I hope to god there will be more. Soon.Basically, what I want is for Raylene to get up to more hijinks with the help and connivance of Elizabeth, Isabelle, Adrian, Ian, Domino, Pepper, Pita and possibly Horace. I'm not sure I want her to succeed in the goal of avenging/fixing Ian et al: disability erasure is no fun. I don't really look forward to this arc developing further because it'll probably mean danger to the status quo, and like Raylene, I can be all about the status quo.(I can also complain loudly about nothing happening. I know. Shut up.)I still love Adrian so much. He's kickass, sexually attractive both in drag and out of it, he's good for Raylene, he's just... Thoroughly capable. I want him and Ian and Raylene to mother-and-father their whole weird household, and preferably get together as a threesome (since Cherie Priest doesn't shy away from having a drag queen as a hero and lesbian relationships in the background, this looks more hopeful than I'd thought).I'm not feeling Ian, still. Not as a romantic partner for Raylene, anyway. But I could be convinced.My only problem with the two books is Raylene's narrative voice. Why is she telling this story, and to whom? I don't think there's ever an indication of that, a thing that has bugged me about first person narration ever since Lynn O'Connacht mentioned her pet peeves about it. And while her voice feels realistic with all her digressions and so on, sometimes it starts to feel like filler.Oh, and she never, ever, asks about what pronouns Adrian would like her to use and when. She seems generally well meaning, but not informed.
    • 4/5
      The sign of a good book is one entertains you and teaches you something. Hurwitz managed to both in spades with this latest Orphan X book. I found myself repeating searching Google images for things like "one wheeled motorcycles", "tattooing the whites of your eye", "floating beds", and "MS-13 tattoos". Which in itself were all very interesting and entertaining. I won't even get into what these books most do for high-end vodka sales. Evan Smoak, aka Orphan X, with each book is finding his human side. Not easy for a child orphan raised darker-than-black-ops assassin. But despite his best effort to not make any connections with members of the civilized world, he keeps finding himself caring more than a cold-blooded murder should. Joey by far was the star of this book though. I was a bit worried for awhile that Hurwitz was taking a page of Baldacci's Will Robie's series with her but I quickly got past that. This was much better. I won't say more about that though because to say more would spoil this read for others. Even the acknowledgements at the back of the book are highly recommended reading. This is without a doubt my favorite of the series so far. He just keeps getting better and better.
    • 5/5
      The best one yet!I love Evan Smoak. The Orphan X series is phenomenal and Hellbent may be the best one so far. The Nowhere Man ended on a cliffhanger that took my breath away and Hellbent had me in tears by chapter four. This is a taut, action-packed thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat, rip your heart out, and give you life again. The ending was perfect, but I really hope Hurwitz isn’t done writing Orphan X novels. I’m not ready to say goodbye to Evan!
    • 5/5
      Wow, amazing, keep these books coming! What can I say I love this series, definitely read it!
    • 3/5
      Third in a well written series, actually looking forward to more when available. Yes, the plot stretched the credible, but I am not able to think of a work that does not as well. Characters are well developed with understandable motives, desires, etc. It should be interesting to see what develops with the new villain as Evan polished off the old one. Also will the new girl in town steal the story or become one on her own. Lots to look forward to, completely enjoyable and surprisingly after three stories still not worn out.
    • 4/5
      3.5* rounded up for pace & tempo.

      The Nowhere Man, a Ramboesque, Jesus Christ-like figure with discernible OCD slashes, shots, hacks and hews his way from Vegas to LA and back again with a few detours here and there to do bad things to bad people who have it coming to them.

      Along the way he picks up a pretty 16 year old going on 30 side-kick who packs a mean punch,happens to be a genius computer hacker and breaks Evan’s nose.

      The narration is brilliant.
    • 5/5
      Jack Johns is the closest thing to family for Evan Smoak, the one person who cared for him. But Jack, one of the few with knowledge of the Orphans, stands in the way of someone determined to remove all traces of that program. That knowledge, it would seem, costs him his life.But Jack’s sent Evan on a mission and, despite his overwhelming sense of loss, the Nowhere Man is determined to fulfill the request. However, the package he’s sent to retrieve is not at all what he expects, and, while attempting to deal with that issue, Evan finds himself embroiled in the fallout from a request for help from a father desperate to rescue his son from a contemptible gang. All the expected players are on hand for this, Evan Smoak’s third outing as the Nowhere Man. As with previous stories, there’s plenty of action and sufficient backstory for readers new to the series [but there are nuances and insights gained from reading the series in order]. The plot is timely and compelling, the characters well-developed and multi-dimensional. Evan’s introspective contemplation in this tale gives the character added depth and is certain to endear him to readers. The complex, intriguing narrative keeps the suspense mounting and offers readers unexpected twists and turns to keep those pages turning in this unputdownable installment of the series. Highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      My third book in the series or Orphan X all I can say is wow! I’ll say it again backwards wow!
    • 5/5
      What an amazing series. If you like legitimately solid writing, this author can’t be beat. Excellent character development, introspective dialogue, and Scott Brick as the narrator makes this entire series a five star win.
    • 4/5
      Thanks to goodreads and the publisher for a free copy of Hellbent!

      I admittedly have not read any of the previous Orphan X books, so I was a little bit out of my depth. But this is nothing if not a gripping read with compelling, mysterious, revenge-driven characters. Definitely recommended, and I will be picking up the rest of the series.
    • 5/5
      I read. I gasped. I screamed "NO". I cried. Aaaaaahhhhhhh....and it was done. I am totally in love with this series!!! I feel Evan's intensity. The machine he was made into by his circumstances. He is a real-life superhero. I am rating it 5+++++.
    • 5/5
      Evan Smoak is part man, part machine, and 100% badass. This book gives you no breathing room. It's not a book you relax into or meander through. The content is intense and the pace quick. Evan doesn't tread lightly. His world is dark and dangerous, and Gregg Hurwitz doesn't spare details. We see the violence play out as Evan leaves destruction behind in his quest for vengeance. But this violence isn't at all gratuitous or needlessly graphic. We are placed in Evan's world, and it's not for the feint of heart. While this book could probably be read as a stand-alone, I highly suggest reading books 1 and 2 first. Evan's character has a unique and fascinating background. Hurwitz does weave some of the backstory into this book, so new readers wouldn't be totally lost, but you'd miss the intricacies of his character and his relationships. I love how Evan's character is evolving through this series. In this third book, we see him struggle with his newfound desire for what he views as a normal life. But someone always needs the unique kind of help only he can offer. And, this time, his mission is a lot more personal. This is definitely the kind of story that you live while reading, so you forget everything else and experience an adrenaline rush for a few hours.*The publisher provided me with a review copy, via Amazon Vine, in exchange for my honest review.*
    • 4/5
      Evan Smoak has gone through many transitions in his life. He was an orphan in a boys' home, he was taken from there at the age of 12 and trained to become a government assassin known as Orphan X. When he left the program, he became, The Nowhere Man, helping people who have nowhere else to turn. But now Smoak is out for revenge. When the last book ended, Evan gets a call from his mentor, Jack Johns, who he thought was dead. He was very much alive, but before the call ended, he was captured and ended up dead. The man responsible was Charles Van Sciver or Orphan Y. It is all a plot to get Evan and kill Orphan X once and for all.

      The same characters once again make an appearance, Mia and her son Peter, the locals in the apartment building, Tommy his go to guy for firearms and equipment as well as the addition of Joey, a sixteen year old girl who ran away from Van Scriver when he was training her to become an orphan operative. She is now on his radar and Evan has to protect her as well. The story grabbed me right from the beginning. The suspense and excitement keeps building throughout the story until you know Van Sciver and Evan Smoak will meet face to face. The story's plot is detailed and the characters are extremely interesting. I thought this was the end of the trilogy, but the ending leaves it open for another possible book in the series. Only time will tell. Once again there is a lot of violence in the story, so if that bothers you, then this book is not for you. The addition of Joey to this story makes it a little softer and we get to see another side of Evan. I recommend it to thriller/action/suspense lovers. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.