Evan Smoak is an assassin par excellence. He is the Orphan X, selected at a young age from an orphanage by a shadowy government agency and trained to be a highly-skilled assassin for the government. After having had enough of killing for the government, he becomes the Nowhere Man, the helper of desperate, persecuted people. But the government, not wanting to risk the exposure of such a sensitive asset, forces him to retire in return for letting him live. His retirement, an opportunity for him to get the first taste of a normal life, is cut short when he gets a call from someone who claims to be his mother asking him to help a man whose life is in terrible danger – a man whom Smoak might know from his past life in the orphanage. It is up to Smoak to unravel the conspiracy and stop some extremely powerful bad guys from executing their deadly plan, while dealing with his past that has come back from nowhere to haunt him.
Prodigal Son is my first experience with the hugely acclaimed Orphan X series by Gregg Hurwitz and it turned out to be so good that I have decided to read the five previous novels soon. This is an excellent book with the perfect mix of heart-stopping action, cutting-edge technology and a moving human element. While the breakneck narrative of Smoak’s adventure and the technological wizardry is exciting, his amusing interactions with his teenaged ward-cum-associate, Joey, and his little-bit-more-than-neighbour Mia and her son Peter, expose his hitherto concealed human side and lend this book a touch of tenderness. Smoak’s fight is as much internal as it is external and it is a lot of fun to watch the tough guy exploring the unexplored corners of his heart.The writing of Prodigal Son is top-notch and the plot is crisp. The characters, even the ones with minor parts to play, are finely etched and the dialogues are enjoyable. Though this part of the story is finished satisfactorily, the novel ends in a cliff-hanger, forcing the reader to wait impatiently for the next one. On the downside, the technological angle feels a bit over-the-top and the skills of Evan Smoak and Joey, in their respective fields, are unbelievable at times. Also, the part of the killer twins, Declan and Queenie, could have been developed more. Apart from these minor flaws, Prodigal Son is a fantastic piece of fiction that is sure to light-up a dull day,
My original review of the Advance Reader Copy of Prodigal Son is published here... https://www.netgalley.com/book/198045/review/670189