I will look for another volume in this series | Columbia Valley, Cranbrook, East Kootenay, Elk Valley, Kimberley – E-Know.ca

Posted:November 14, 2021

Book Review

By Derryll White

Hurwitz, Gregg (2016). Orphan X.

Act so that you can tell the truth about how you act. Jordan Peterson

I have never read Gregg Hurwitz before. He has an interesting writing style, layering detail upon detail until even the unknown or unfamiliar takes shape for the reader. It works well, as it kept me engaged through the whole story.

Orphan X is a compelling read. Hurwitz has created an interesting character in Evan Smoak. He is self-contained and completely on his own. Ruthless and a killing machine, he also has a soul and strong sense of responsibility. He negotiates a grim and nasty world, helping those who have no option left to them.

Gregg Hurwitz does a great job, making the Nowhere Man a believable super hero. There is a believable juxtaposition this is what can be accomplished with the human form by intensive training and discipline, and this is what it costs. Sobering in the extreme.

I will look for another volume in this series, hoping that Evan Smoak is forced to deal with his own awakening of self.

****

Excerpts from the novel:

EXPOSURE We live in a celebrity culture now. Or a wannabe-celebrity culture. The name of the game is visibility. If you arent tweeted, liked, YouTubed, or Instagrammed, you dont exist.

MAN A guy can love a million women. But a man, a man loves one woman a million ways.

DEATH We keep death at a distance here, X. Hospitals and nursing homes tuck it away. Our food comes to us neatly packaged. Refrigerators preserve it. It used to be you wanted a chicken, you walked out back and snapped its neck.

WOMEN Respect for women is essential, Jock tells him. Womens rights and economic development within a country are highly correlated. Treating women properly is not just a moral position which it is or an American value which it is. Its a strategic imperative, and you will always, always lead by example in this regard.

Derryll Whiteonce wrote books but now chooses to read and write about them. When not reading he writes history for the web atwww.basininstitute.org.

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I will look for another volume in this series | Columbia Valley, Cranbrook, East Kootenay, Elk Valley, Kimberley - E-Know.ca