What to Read if You Like Mitch Rapp
It'due south that time of the year again. . . but for united states, the grueling process started back in Jan, and, really, even prior to that.
The process of assembling our Top Ten listing of the genre's well-nigh lethal characters is long and difficult. At that place are charts, conference calls, plenty of debates, and, this year, nosotros added a new element to assist brand it as accurate as possible.
On top of assembling a secret squad of manufacture professionals (1 editor, one best-selling author who didn't take a volume come out this twelvemonth, one reviewer, and two bookstore representatives), we also gave readers a chance to counterbalance in. Two dozen hardcore readers helped set this year's list, which features a big shakeup right at the very peak.
To bring together in on the process, these readers were put through the ringer. Nosotros asked them why they thought they were qualified to aid set this year's rankings, and then sent them a list of characters (and the corresponding books) under consideration. Each of them stayed busy reading as the year went on, and then they had to file a full report back to usa. While this was the beginning year we involved other readers, it proved beneficial.
Everyone involved was asked to set up bated their feelings as to who their personal and all-time favorite characters are. Previous books don't count. We're non talking about who has had the most lethal and successful career, that's a conversation for another day. This listing is all about 1 thing, and information technology all came down to two questions:
ane.) Judging just by this year's books, if you had to enter a cage fight lucifer to the decease with the genre'south top protagonists, who would y'all most exist agape to have on?
ii.) If you found out one of these characters was hunting yous down, who would you lot most be afraid of?
Afterward a whole lot of back and forth betwixt anybody involved in the decision-making process, we finally reached a consensus. What y'all'll detect below is the product of many hours of conversation and disturbing over getting this list right. . . enjoy!
The Peak Ten Blue-chip Dudes in the Thriller Genre Right Now
1.) Court 'The Greyness Man' Gentry
2017 Book: Gunmetal Grey by Mark Greaney
2016 Ranking: #5
And nosotros brainstorm our 2017 list with a shakeup right at the summit.
It was shut–with the vote pretty evenly split betwixt Mitch Rapp, who has been our reigning #ane blue-chip man for two consecutive years, and Court Gentry. In the end, Gentry, likewise known every bit "Sierra Half dozen" and "Violator," won the superlative spot here.
Back with the CIA, Gentry heads to China. The book picks up right whereBack Boom left off (Court is fifty-fifty still nursing a gnarly injury he got in Back Blast when a bullet grazed his rib muzzle), and Greaney doesn't have long to get the action started. From the moment Court walks into his hotel room and is greeted by two Chinese goons, the Grey Man goes on a killing spree equally he searches for a highly-valuable computer hacker. He'southward a man on a mission, and anyone stupid enough to threaten or try to neutralize Gentry pays with their life.
Gunmetal Grayness is another hard-hit thriller from Marker Greaney. . . Court Gentry, when needed, is one of the coldest killers in the business, and our pick for the baddest man in the thriller genre right now!
2.) Mitch Rapp
2017 Book: Enemy of the State by Kyle Mills
2016 Ranking: #1
It was close, but for the first time since we started publishing this listing back in 2015, Rapp's name isn't featured in the top spot.
This year, Rapp goes rogue to hunt down a member of the Saudi Regal Family unit who's been funding terrorism. Quitting the CIA, Mitch assembles a team of assassins to aid him out. It doesn't have long, though, for Rapp to brand international headlines for all the incorrect reasons. Disavowed past the American president, Rapp is deemed an enemy of the state, making his task all the more hard. Never one to quit at anything, Rapp pushes forrard with his mission, operating on the run while the rest of the world tries to track him down.
As readers know all too well, when Rapp shows up, bad guys quit breathing. Not only does he get pissed off and literally drive a knife through a homo's skull–crown to chin–but Rapp also puts his scenic combat skill gear up on full display in Mills' latest novel.
three.) Scot Harvath
2017 Book: Utilize of Strength past Brad Thor
2016 Ranking: #two
While Harvath did slip one spot on this year's list, that had more to do with the fact that through part of Apply of Force, Scot has help from a team of operators who likewise throw down alongside him. That was the biggest matter readers pointed out when they slotted him here, noting that the other guys Harvath rolls with are plenty lethal themselves–taking away from Scot'southward body count. (It'due south worth pointing out, however, that after Rapp and Gentry, Harvath was the just other character to receive first-identify votes from our console.)
Whether he's taking down a suicide bomber or single-handedly destroying technicals mounted with antiaircraft guns, Harvath proves once again that the bad guys are ameliorate off just quitting while they're ahead and non showing up to work once Scot'southward name is brought into the fold.
Use of Force is one of Brad Thor'south best novels however. And while it's articulate that Harvath is considering moving into more of a management position within the Carlton Grouping, it's fifty-fifty more than articulate that he's got a lot of doors left to kick in earlier he always considers sitting behind a desk-bound.
4.) Dewey Andreas
2017 Book: Trap the Devil past Ben Coes
2016 Ranking: #3
When a powerful shadow government kills the Speaker of the Firm and then the Secretary of State, they turn their attending to the Vice President and President of the United States of America. Standing in their fashion, though, is one-time Tier One operator turned counterterrorism expert Dewey Andreas.
As Dewey races to cease the bad guys, he encounters multiple bug. From being bars to a jail cell to confronting past demons, Dewey runs through each problem with all the subtlety of Juggernaut running through brick walls. Proficient in paw-to-manus combat and every weapon imaginable, Dewey is without question one of the most lethal protagonists in the genre today. As Coes continues to get better and improve with each book, so does Dewey, who is a fan-favorite that seems destined to take the #1 spot on this listing sooner rather than afterwards.
5.) Evan Smoak
2017 Volume: The Nowhere Man by Gregg Hurwitz
2016Ranking: #half dozen
Over the last two years, Evan Smoak has taken the thriller genre by storm. The Nowhere Homo is i of our highest-rated thrillers of the year, and for adept reason. Hurwitz mixes hard-hitting activeness with a unique plot. If y'all boil it all down, Evan essentially finds himself in the very situation people would typically call him for help with. He's imprisoned in a secluded mansion crawling with armed guards, with no style out. But when it looks like there'due south no hope, Hurwitz changes the name of the game. Readers realize that Evan isn't just trapped inside with armed guards. . . those armed guards are trapped within with Evan.
Fast-paced, well-written and a ton of fun to read, The Nowhere Man is an crawly thriller that proves once once more that Evan Smoak is i of the hottest new heroes the thriller genre has seen since Jason Bourne.
6.) Pike Logan
2017 Book: Ring of Fire by Brad Taylor
2016 Ranking: #four
Motorway Logan is back in Brad Taylor'south Ring of Fire, along with other members of the Taskforce. After learning that an attack to commemorate the anniversary of nine/11 is in the works, information technology'due south up to Pike, Jennifer, and Taylor's other fan-favorite characters to save the day.
Coming off the very strong Ghosts of War, Taylor tops himself over again by delivering a loftier-stakes, timely plot. In that location'due south tons of action, which nobody does better than Taylor–ane of the few bestselling authors in the genre who writes with been-there-done-that experience and realism. While he could have easily been slotted higher, several members of our console noted that Thruway works with a team, which means he shares the load, thus reducing his ain torso count. Even still, Pike is the master attraction in this volume, and he's i of the best franchise-leading characters in print correct at present.
7.) Logan West
2017 Volume: Oath of Honor past Matthew Betley
2016 Ranking: #10
Last yr, Betley and Logan Westward fabricated Book Spy history when Logan cracked our list as a rookie. Overwatch, Betley'south debut, turned heads and flashed world-course potential, creating high expectations for book 2.
Even with expectations set almost unfairly high, Betley delivered by putting out one of 2017'due south best books. Oath of Honor is a high-octane thriller that can stand up toe-to-toe with anyone else in the genre, and is a must-read for fans of Ludlum, Clancy, and Flynn. When he's not engaging bad guys in gunfights on solid footing, Logan West is spraying and dodging bullets on huge ships, which tend to sink when he and his buddy, John Quick, are around. Bottom line: Logan West is sarcastic, funny, and has enough of love for his family and friends — but when terrorists threaten him, his country, or his loved ones. . . he turns into a bad, bad man.
eight.) Victor The Assassin
2017 Book: The Final Hour by Tom Wood
2016 Ranking: Wasn't listed.
Victor was on our listing in 2015, but just barely missed terminal year's superlative ten. He's dorsum at present, though, thanks to Tom Forest–who unleashed his fan-favorite anti-hero in The Final Hour , which might just exist his best thriller still.
More than annihilation, Victor is just plain ruthless. Yeah, he's proficient with a variety of weapons and hand-to-mitt combat, but it's his mean streak that sets him apart from the other names on this list. While every other grapheme on our Top Ten list has redeeming qualities, Victor is a true anti-hero who is exceptionally good at one matter: killing people. And he'south done a whole lot of that!
9.) Gabriel Allon
2017 Volume: House of Spies by Daniel Silva
2016 Ranking: #8
Gabriel Allon's ranking is a perfect example of voters putting aside career accomplishments and only focusing on this twelvemonth'south books. If this was an all-fourth dimension list, Gabriel would be in the top iii for sure. . . but shortly, Silva'southward hero is crumbling. From field operator to chief of the Office, Gabriel isn't the aforementioned quick, spry assassinator he once was. That's non to say, however, that he isn't downright lethal when he needs to be, and he proved that in House of Spies when he re-defined the term "operational chief" by going on the hunt for ISIS'due south leader, Saladin, himself.
He might be a step slower, but Gabriel Allon is still one of the baddest characters in the genre. . . and Daniel Silva continues to use his protagonist brilliantly, now seventeen books into his #1 New York Times bestselling series.
10.) Jack Reacher
2017 Book: The Midnight Line by Lee Child
2016 Ranking: #9
This ane was close, but Jack Reacher was able to fend off two other characters (A.J. Tata's JakeMahegan and Alex Berenson'south John Wells) to fill up the terminal spot on this year'south list. The general consensus among our voters was that Reacher was back to being his old bad self later on Lee Child went back in time for 2016's prequel, Dark School. Not only was this year'southward The Midnight Line a ameliorate book, but Reacher throws down early and often, proving with another 4-on-one fight that the giant nomad is a force to be reckoned with.
Honorable Mentions
Honorable mentions (in no item order):Jake Mahegan (A.J. Tata), John Wells (Alex Berenson), Jason Bourne (Eric Van Lustbader), Michael Garin (Peter Kirsanow), Cotton Malone (Steve Berry), Nick Mason (Steve Hamilton), Jim Brodie (Barry Lancet), John Hayes (Matthew Quirk), John Dempsey (Andrews & Wilson), David Slaton (Ward Larsen), Clyde Barr (Erik Storey), Jonathan Grave (John Gilstrap), Peter Ash (Nick Petrie), John Rain (Barry Eisler), Will Robie (David Baldacci), Kolt Raynor (Dalton Fury).
Of the honorable mentions, there were three characters who merely missed placing in the Elevation Ten: JakeMahegan (A.J. Tata), John Wells (Alex Berenson), and John Rain (Barry Eisler). Each received votes, but not quite enough to knock off one of the other Elevation Ten characters.
Looking Alee to 2018
Next yr is going to be fun, and we're already thinking about how our listing might wait side by side December. . .
For starters, Alex Hawke, Ted Bell'south millionaire MI6 agent, is back in action in Overkill. Hawke was one of the original Top 10 characters we named back when nosotros started the listing in 2015, and there's a strong chance he reclaims a spot in 2018.
I've already filed reviews for Marker Greaney, Brad Taylor, and Gregg Hurwitz's 2018 titles, along with new books from Alex Berenson and one of the year's nigh-anticipated debuts: Jack Carr'due south The Terminal List. It's early, but there's a very good risk that Carr's protagonist, James Reece, becomes simply the second graphic symbol from a debut novel to fissure the list after Matthew Betley did information technology in 2016.
While we don't even so know much about Kyle Mills' side by side Mitch Rapp volume, Rapp was literally a vote away from overtaking Court Gentry this year. He's definitely a character to lookout next yr, and information technology'll exist fun to run across if he tin can have back his crown in 2018.
Scot Harvath slipped a spot considering he had then much help in Brad Thor's Apply of Force, but nosotros don't know what will happen in Thor'due south adjacent volume, Spymaster. Details are still under wraps, merely Harvath has been in the height three every year. . . peradventure 2018 will be his twelvemonth to finally take the number one spot.
Another early favorite is Vic Harwood, nicknamed "The Reaper," who is the star of Reaper: Ghost Target, co-authored past Nicholas Irving (one of the about deadly snipers in the history of the Usa' military) and A.J. Tata. I've read it, and it'southward crawly. I don't want to spoil my review, which volition become upward in some other week or then, but Irving and Tata are a lethal combination, and Harwood is a astounding new grapheme.
Praised equally "i of today'due south finest book reviewers" by New York Times bestselling writer Gayle Lynds, Ryan Steck has "speedily established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers" (Writer A.J. Tata). He currently lives in Southwest Michigan with his wife and their six children.
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Source: https://therealbookspy.com/2017/12/18/the-top-ten-baddest-dudes-in-the-thriller-genre-right-now-2017/
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