I listened to the audiobook of this narrated by Jay Snyder and it was excellent. It's been a while since I read The Gray Man, so I was a little rusty on some details, but the book does a pretty good job of catching you up.

Court is a compelling character, undoubtedly a stone cold killer, but one with a moral compass. He started out as a CIA assassin and went private sector when he got burned, and when the book begins, he's four months out recovering from a standoff with his former employers at the CIA. Unfortunately, he has developed an opioid addiction that he somehow manages to keep in check for the most part. Now, he's having to take some assignments that aren't ideal. Gray gets picked up by a Russian gangster who wants him to do a hit on a certain leader in a certain country, and while he could say no, it wouldn't be exactly healthy for him. His former team commander contacts him to take the hit and turn it into a kidnapping, and that's when things get very interesting.

This book takes place over about a week, and it's practically nonstop action. Having said that, Greaney also leaves time for some introspection and character development with Court. While Court knows he's a killer, he knows right and wrong and would never be considered a psychopath or a monster, and he's far from sociopathic. When confronted with the genocide and ruthless murder and abuse of the black peoples of the Sudan, he wants to do something about it, even when it complicates his life greatly. He also has to save a woman who is in the wrong place at a terrible time. Court assumes responsibilities to keep her safe that involve killing others, and stands tall in the face of her judgmentalism about it. I personally was pretty annoyed at the woman. She was making some really stupid decisions and when Court risks his own mission to keep her ass safe, she's all up in his face calling him a monster. That conflict was interesting because it is timely with a lot of really profound evil going on in the world. When do our actions represent giving in to evil and compromising ourselves versus being a weapon for finding a rough sense of justice and ultimately helping others, admittedly through dark means?

Court is put into situations where he interacts with others who have the opportunity to assess his character, and most of them have huge character flaws of their own. I hope that there is some closure with the mob boss who hired Court. That dude needs to be dealt with.

I really like how Court has to get himself out of really tough situations using his training, skills and ingenuity to get out of nearly inescapable situations. Also how he makes tough, untenable choices. He knew what it meant when he decided to go against his commander's order. It was a tough decision that would make his life hell and things even worse for him than they were when everything started, but he made it anyway. He continues to do this through the rest of the book. Court is the kind of hero you root for to kick ass but also to save the day and to keep himself and others safe, even knowing he's an assassin (although I really like assassin heroes, so that's not an issue for me (as long as they aren't sociopathic or psychopathic monsters who enjoy hurting others).

The action scenes were very well written and cinematic. I felt like I was watching this on a movie screen. There weren't any cardboard character. Even the lesser developed characters still have some depth to them. His old commander, Hightower is an a***&%$%! And says some really racist stuff too. While the woman that Court helps annoyed me, I think that Greaney did show her growth in understanding of who Court was and what motivates him. Greaney gives a nuanced perspective on the situation in the Sudan and how it relates to the geopolitical current events with China and Russia (how they are exploiting Africa for resources, deliberately causing strife and destruction to facilitate this processes) , and not necessarily showing the Americans and the good guys who do the right things for the right reason. 

I would have liked more closure on Court's health situation near the end of the book, but I have to assume that's all okay. I really hope he kicks the opioid addiction very soon.

This is a really excellent follow up to "The Gray Man." I already downloaded Ballistic so I can listen to it very soon.

I thought this was a great comeback from the third book, which wasn't my favorite. The action level was high, and the villain was more than a worthy match for Artemis, Butler and Holly Short. There is a very intense and tragic moment that is the catalyst for what follows in this book. Holly thought she'd seen the last of Artemis, but when the chips fall down, she's rushing to save him and Butler and knows that he's the only one who can deal with the villain, the nefarious Opal Koboi.

The characteristic wry humor is here, but Colfer takes things seriously in many ways (no patronizing tone). Artemis might be fourteen, but he is a mature fourteen who doesn't view the world from the vantage point of a child. I was happy to see Butler in the action as much as Artemis, and their back and forth, and that of Artemis with Holly, is what makes these books so enjoyable.

Opal is a very evil villain, not troubled by any morals that would preclude murder or even feeding a boy to bloodthirsty trolls. What makes it even worse is she looks like a cute little girl. I was very happy to see her dealt with in a fitting manner by Artemis and Co.

This is a clever and enjoyable series that many younger readers and some older ones will enjoy.

This was definitely pretty intense. At times it was hard to follow what was going on with the story. The artwork was good, but the layout was disorganized, which detracted from my rating considerably. Constantine is definitively anti-heroic in this volume. He makes an ugly, mean choice that makes him the de facto bad guy to parties concerned, even if he believes it's for the greater good. I asked myself a few times if I agreed with his decision and on one level, I can't see it working out better the other way. That doesn't make what he did any better. I didn't understand the magic at all, but maybe that's good. I am sure that I don't need to know how to do sorcery anyway. I am studying Revelation at my Bible Study and we just finished Revelation 9, in which the angels are sounding the trumpets, and Constantine makes a reference to that. Who knew I'd have this kind of crossover in this week?

This is still not my favorite New 52, but I keep picking it up. That must count for something?

I still find the writing in these books confusing, but the stories kept my interest more than Blight, and I wasn't quite as lost. Constantine encounters some real characters in the magical underworld, which I always find fun in a rubbernecker sort of way.

Each story seemed better to me, and the Doctor Fate story packs a pretty good punch. Perhaps this series is finding its feet. I've been watching the NBC Constantine series on DVR, and it's a nice combo to do it this way. I definitely hold a grudge against NBC for canceling it. I don't have much more to say than that.

Overall rating: 3.5/5.0 stars.