Every now and again, I get the urge to take a holiday from myself and spend some time imagining being someone I know I'll never be and someone that, deep down, we know we don't want to be: a disciplined, potent, loner who has all the toys and all the money but is still driven by a code of honour to protect the weak.

"Orphan X" gave me a top-of-the-range opportunity to indulge myself this way. It's a well-written male wish fulfilment fantasy, where I got to be "The Nowhere Man", Orphan X a tough, competent hero in a world where problems can be solved with violence and sacrifice, women need to be rescued and bad people need to be killed.

The hero pays a price, of course, or else he wouldn't be a hero. Orphan X is burdened with isolation, the constant risk of death or injury and the need to keep secret who he is.

The question of what constitutes ethical behaviour for a man who spends his time killing people was thoughtfully handled, borrowing something from the "pay-it-forward" mindset.

I was impressed when Hurwitz turned both Smoak's ethical code and his relationship with the boy against him, turning them into things that could destroy him and making him far more vulnerable than these kinds of heroes usually are.

He's still an emotionally distant, frequently ruthless killer, crippled by the training that took away much, but not all of his humanity.

As an entertainment, within the conventions of the genre, "Orphan X" was first-rate. A strong, clever plot, lots of graphic action scenes, lots and lots of toys with all the technical details provided and just enough emotional content to stop it being weapons-porn without turning into anything mushy or chic-flickish.

I read "Orphan X" as part of my "Thirty Firsts 2019 TBR Reading Challenge." Part of the challenge is to rate my eagerness to read the series(Yes / Probably / Maybe / No). I've rated Orphan X as a Probably. I'm not in any rush but the next time I'm in the mood to play Batman without the melodrama of wearing a cape, I'll visit with Evan Smoak and see what he does next.

This a well-written example of male wish fulfilment fantasy. I think this offers men an analogue of the escapism offered in bodice-ripper romances.

It gives us the chance to imagine being someone we know we'll never be and someone that, deep down, we know we don't want to be: a disciplined, potent, loner who has all the toys and all the money but is still driven by a code of honour to protect the weak.

It's a world where problems can be solved with violence and sacrifice. Where women need to be rescued and bad people need to be killed.

The hero pays a price, of course, or else he wouldn't be a hero. He's burdened with isolation, the constant risk of death or injury and the need to keep secret who he is.

Still, the opportunity to be Batman without the melodramatics of that creepy cape has a strong appeal.

The best part is, when I close the book, I can return to civilisation and the rule of law and frown upon any would-be vigilantes trying to impose Jack Bauer problem solving on the real world.

He was once called Orphan X. 

As a boy, Evan Smoak was taken from a children's home, raised and trained as part of a secret government initiative buried so deep that virtually no one knows it exists. But he broke with the programme, choosing instead to vanish off grid and use his formidable skill set to help those unable to protect themselves.

One day, though, Evan's luck ran out . . .

Ambushed, drugged, and spirited away, Evan wakes up in a locked room with no idea where he is or who has captured him. As he tries to piece together what's happened, testing his gilded prison and its highly trained guards for weaknesses, he receives a desperate call for help.

With time running out, he will need to out-think, out-manoeuvre, and out-fight an opponent the likes of whom he's never encountered to have any chance of escape. He's got to save himself to protect those whose lives depend on him. Or die trying . . .

My thoughts 
rating: 5 stars
This series gets better with each book , and with each book you get to see the character grew as well, its one of those series that once I started reading it I get pulled into the story and just want to keep reading until the very end. It also reminds me of an old tv show :  Have Gun Will Travel , to find out why ,you need to read the series , with that said I want to thank Netgalley for letting me read and review it exchange for my honest opinion.

Evan Smoak is a former government trained assassin. A program that recruit orphans to work. They are all given a code name started with "Orphan". Evan is Orphan X. 

His handler bond with him and trained him to remain human.

Once he run away from this black-op, he wanted to use this skill to help other people in desperate situation that could use his skill set. 

Call  1-855-2- NOWHERE and he would help you.  

He received a call from Jack. That lead to a package. 

Now he is on the run with the package. 

More people try to kill him while he still tried to take on case. 

It works well together as the character developments allow enough details into the mind of a man who has a past still not letting him go yet. He wants to move forward but his past is a bit too dangerous and unpredictable to draw someone new into his life.

In this book we learned about the 10 commandments from Jack. Don't let an innocent dies is one of them. Also, not killing children.

While reading this, Evan drink vodka. I drink vodka but I haven't try any of the expensive one that the book mentioned. Would like to try Glass Kona with coffee infusion. 

The moving forward part is hard, especially for someone who killed before. If he is not being hunted, he should at least see a therapist and see if he is suffering PTSD. 

The solitude. The straight discipline. The anxiety of social interaction. All very endearing. The responsibility forced upon him is texting as well. 

The story moved along quite smoothly in a fast pace. But leave enough space for Evan self reflection and character development. 

Like it a lot. High recommended. 

Evan heard the call from Jack, calling for help.

And it forced him to come out of his routine and find Jack.

Now Jack has left him a package. 

Evan is continued being hunted.

The plot developing nicely. With some plots twists revealed along the way. 

The dinner scene reminds me of Logan.