{"id":40718,"date":"2025-12-21T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=40718"},"modified":"2025-12-21T11:00:46","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T16:00:46","slug":"orphan-x","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=40718","title":{"rendered":"ORPHAN X by Gregg Hurwitz \/ Z-View"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

ORPHAN X<\/a> by Gregg Hurwitz<\/p>\n

First sentence…<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

\n

After picking up a set of pistol suppressors froma nine-fingered armorer in Las Vegas, Evan Smoak headed for home in his Ford pickup, doing his best to not let the knife wound distract him.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Overview:\u00a0 Beware of Spoilers\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Evan Smoak was chosen as a child.\u00a0 He was a perfect candidate.\u00a0 A child with no family.\u00a0 Raised in a secret government off-the-books program, Evan and other children like him became known as Orphans.\u00a0 Evan was Orphan X.<\/p>\n

The Orphans were trained to become the ultimate assassins.\u00a0 As adults, these killers were perfect for black box assignments.\u00a0 Able to kill with their hands, or any weapon, the Orphans possessed every strategy to covertly and alone complete a mission.\u00a0 The added bonus was if caught or killed, because they had no family, the government had plausible deniability.<\/p>\n

Orphan X excelled in all aspects of his training.\u00a0 His abilities and mission success became legendary among the Orphans and their handlers.\u00a0 Outside of the program, Orphan X was someone spoken about in whispers.<\/p>\n

Finally, Evan Smoak had enough of the killing.\u00a0 He used his training to escape the program and disappear.\u00a0 Smoak set up a new life.\u00a0 One that he controlled.\u00a0 He still lived by stict rules – but these rules were self-imposed.\u00a0 And now instead of taking lives, he was saving them.\u00a0 Smoak found people in desperate situations, with nowhere to turn and rescued them. Smoak was careful.\u00a0 Often the beneficiary didn’t know how they were selected or who helped them.<\/p>\n

But now, someone with the same skills as Smoak is trying to find and kill him.\u00a0 You can’t just walk away from the Orphan Program.<\/p>\n

+++<\/p>\n

ORPHAN X was published in 2016.\u00a0 Its popularity led to a series of Orphan X novels.\u00a0 There are currently 10 novels (with an 11th due in February 2026) and several short stories in the series.<\/p>\n

ORPHAN X was a page turner.\u00a0 I loved the characters, and world Hurwitz created.\u00a0 This is a series that sho to the top of my t0-be-read list.\u00a0 If you’re a fan of intelligent action, this series is for you.<\/p>\n

Rating:<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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