The List: An Orphan X Short Story

I picked up Gregg Hurwitz Orphan series at the library, and liked the book. It was HellBent, which turned out to be the best of the series, by far. Quite addictive, really. I have read most of the series by now, not in order (not that it matters, as each book can stand alone). The first, Orphan X, wasn't bad. The second, The Nowhere Man, was awful an author hunting frantically for a plot, and not succeeding. It was a jerky series of escapes, punctuated by flashbacks to the hero's hard beginning. The third, HellBent was great, the one that plucked into the series. Out of the Dark wasn't too bad, though one does get tired of the constant threats, and the Asian Martial arts. I bought The List as I am a great admirer of Simon Kernick. He is terrific at drawing the reader into his work by proferring a cheap or free short story, with the first chapter of a novel attached. Unfortunately The List does not work that way. I love Joey, but ... It's a turn-off, not a turn-on. I will keep on reading the Orphan books, but because I picked up HellBent, not because of the short story.

A shorty story of Joey Morales, Orphan X's charge as she attends college and sees how actions of those can humiliate and dwindle a person to thinking they have no way out but suicide. In Orphan X style, she shows how to make those that cause such actions pay to regret them and teach them a lesson. Live the short stories that go along with the bigger complete novels.

The characters in this series of books are finely drawn, immensely interesting and have unique backstories. While Evan Amos is the primary character, he takes a back seat to his 16 year old female ward. Both come from childhoods lacking parents and the care all children should have and need. The intervention of a moral "guardian" provides for unusual development in what would otherwise be a handbook on how to grow a killer. in this short story, Joey is attending college and witnesses a fellow students suicide. Her plans to punish the first boys who precipitated the suicide could have been one dimensional. Instead only some of the fraternity members are cruel with others falling into a more nuanced character showing both good and bad. Hurwitz's characters are always multidimensional and even in this short work one sees that few are completely without frailty, even the main characters.Do I like that Joey kicks the sh#t out of the 2 who are most immoral? Yes I admit to admiring her physical abilities that leaves the 2 laying in the dirt!It is hard to further critique without giving away too much so I conclude by recommending this book, particularly to those who want a "taste" of the series without expending the money to purchase the far longer novels. I doubt you will be disappointed.A note on the Audible performance: I forgot I had purchased the book until after I purchased the Audible version. Although I listened to only a few pages before returning, it features the same narrator and I can thus highly recommend it as well. I have a few of this series in Audible form and Scott Brick (hope I have correct name) does a top notch job in bringing the story to life.

Great short story to develop Joey Morales character in the Orphan X series. In 27 pages focused only on Joey and her less-than-routine university experience, the author let's the reader inside Joey's thoughts without the distractions of a longer novel's plotline.Hurwitz's laser-focused storytelling always makes it a fast-paced, action thriller with both surprises and unpredictable situations that fans have come to love. This short story was perfect for a fast read when you need an intense but quick escape reading experience. Well worth it!I bought Audible's narration, even though it wasn't directly linked to my Kindle version. Even with this short work, I was not disappointed.The Kindle version included several chapters of the next Orphan X book, coming out in January 2021. I have mixed feelings about these teasers, but now look forward more to the next installment.The Audible narration also includes an interview with the author, something that I found interesting.My only issue with with the author is his unnecessary overuse of distracting obscenities and profanity. Hurwitz's exceptional writing doesn't need this, and he'd probably appeal to a wider audience. Can't see how readers would choose him for including objectionable language, while I know it keeps many readers away.

I was delighted to see this novella hit my Kindle, fully prepared to enjoy a quick romp with Evan and Joey and a chance to catch up with Dog,but what I got was an opportunity to see deeper into the bond between Joey and Evan; which made this even more enjoyable than I had anticipated. Seeing their relationship from Joey's prospective opened my eyes to how much their bond means to both of them, and how much like family they have become in such a short time. This story had me laughing out loud before finally bringing tears at the end, and that happens so rarely that I now understand why I love Hurwitz's writing, he makes me see and feel what his characters do. From the first Tim Rackley book I read of his until today, my respect and appreciation for his craft has grown. If you don't enjoy this story more than any Orphan X story yet, you simply are missing the point and I pity you for it. The ONLY thing I could find to criticize was the fact that the small excerpt from Prodigal Son ended just as it was getting good! I think it may have made the wait for the rest of the book unbearable.

I enjoyed this short story about Joey and X! It gave me a better insight into their relationship. Joey is becoming more mature and would be an excellent partner for X. I would love to see her have her own series or a larger part in the Orphan X books.I chose not to read the 10 or so chapters of the next Orphan book because I would forget what happened by the time the new book comes out. I like to read it all at once. I have read all of the Hurwitz books and would not miss any future ones. He is that good of an author!

In buying this, I knew that it was only a very short 'teaser' story and not a full blown novel and the brevity of the work doesn't bother me at all. What did cause me pause was the change in stance that Mr Hurwitz has taken in telling this story. I'm an absolute fan and devotee of the Orphan X series of novels and, when the character of Joey first appeared in 'Hellbent', it was fine as the book continued to be written from the perspective of Orphan X. But, in The List, GH has tried to write from the perspective of a bolshy teenaged girl and it just doesn't work.The plot itself is quite lame, especially when compared to the way-over-the-top plots in mainstream Orphan X books and there is a distinct smack of Gregg Hurwitz setting out his 'Me Too' credentials in this novel. It's far more of a morality tale than any of the previous full novels.Yet, having said all of that, it's still a Gregg Hurwitz short story and even the worst work from that man is superior to the best efforts of most authors so, as a quick read, I enjoyed this. And I'm content to wait for the next, full-sized, outing of Orphan X.

Unlike Clive above, I thought this was a great new branch of story telling from Greg Hurwitz - sure it was nothing more than a short taster but this computer savvy, street wise teenager could go a long way in the Orphan X series , adding a whole new dimension to the continuing saga. Let's have a full length story about Joey to see how she pans out - certainly she has a distinct set of skills!

The previous orphan x short stories were ok but this one is a significant step up in quality. It expands the joey character and shows the interaction between Joey and Evan from the other side. The story is good with an interesting plot.I’ll need to wait until prodigal son (next orphan x book) comes out but I’m interested to see where this book fits in the orphan x timeline. I can’t see how it can be set before the next book as I assume that one starts off where the last book finished!I hope we get many more orphan x books!

A nice between books read. Gregg Hurwitz is a fantastic story teller and while this short story deals with very important topics, it is a still very good read and a page-turner like all his other books.

Why did I not like it? The hype said it was an Orphan X short story, No way , it was in reality a Joey short story. Now, I've got it wrong, it wasn't a short story it was a Joey insight. Pretty dull to be honest. Gregg does a lot of insight. 3 star??? Because I read his books