Get ready, because on February 20th, 2024, the Gray Man returns to action in The Chaos Agent, the latest must-read thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Mark Greaney.
Courtland Gentry—also known as the “Gray Man,” or by his callsigns “Sierra Six” and “Violator”—first appeared in Greaney’s 2009 debut novel, The Gray Man. Since then, he’s gone on to star in 12 novels to date, including Burner, which just came out earlier this year. That book saw Gentry stuck between the Russian mafia and the CIA as he raced to uncover stolen documents that threatened to expose the extent of Russia’s operations in the West. If you haven’t read it, don’t keep waiting. It’s on our short list of the best thriller of the year, and an absolute must for anyone in search of a smart plot with tons of action.
Moviegoers will also recognize Gentry from the Ryan Gosling-led film adoption of The Gray Man, which had a limited theatrical run before landing on Netflix last summer. More on that movie and a potential follow-up below . . .
The Chaos Agent is the 13th book in the series, and Book Spy fans are getting an exclusive look at the cover art and the plot details well ahead of its winter 2024 release.
“I’m fascinated by lethal autonomous weapons—killer robots— and how they might be misused by a bad actor,” said Greaney to The Real Book Spy, speaking about where the story idea for his latest thriller came from. “Reading about developments in robotics and artificial intelligence and understanding how these two technologies can and will be combined is actually terrifying, and as a thriller writer, I am drawn towards subjects that terrify me. The Chaos Agent shows the world struggling for control of a revolutionary new weapon, with the Gray Man caught in the middle of this crucial fight.”
While that certainly sounds like something readers might expect from Mark Greaney, the author hinted that this one might have a slightly different feel to it than past books in the series.
“In addition to being a thriller, there is also a sense of mystery in this novel, something I haven’t tried before. Court Gentry, along with others, are racing against the clock to find the culprit of this worldwide conspiracy, and it was a challenge to develop the story in a way that kept certain details from the reader until just the right moment.”
I also made sure to ask Greaney about any movie news that may be coming down the pipeline on The Gray Man 2, and he told me, “I heard they had a draft of the script but were bringing in more writers to take another run at it. And then the Hollywood writers’ strike happened. Not sure if that will delay things or not, but hopefully, the writers will prevail and the film will come out sooner rather than later.”
In celebration of today’s book announcement, I also asked the bestselling author if he ever thought, back in 2009, that he would still be writing Gray Man thrillers all these years later. “Absolutely not,” he told me. “I still remember the conversation in 2009 when my publisher called me at work and said he was going to make me an offer for two more books in the series—the first hadn’t even come out yet. I asked him what the books would be about (I was so new to all this!), and he replied, ‘I don’t know, you’re the writer.'”
Certainly, Greaney has had no shortage of book ideas, and his latest sure is shaping up to be his most thrilling to date, even teasing a showdown between Gentry and another fan-favorite character. Check out everything we know about The Chaos Agent below.
Artificial intelligence leads to shockingly real devastation in this new novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Gray Man series.
Someone is killing the world’s leading experts on robotics and computers. A desperate Russian scientist approaches Court Gentry and Zoya Zakharova to ask for their protection, but before they can help, they are attacked by a team of professional assassins.
They escape, but wherever they turn, it’s clear that whoever’s tracking them is always going to be one step ahead. With a danger of this level, there’s no choice but to attack into the threat.
There is one man who may hold the answers to all their questions. But he’s gone to ground in a fortress surrounded by a veritable army. If that’s not bad enough, he has a new chief of security—Court’s old comrade, Zack Hightower.
Mark Greaney‘s research for the Gray Man novels, including Burner, Sierra Six, Relentless, One Minute Out, Mission Critical, Agent in Place, Gunmetal Gray, Back Blast, Dead Eye, Ballistic, On Target, and The Gray Man, has taken him to more than thirty-five countries, and he has trained alongside military and law enforcement in the use of firearms, battlefield medicine, and close-range combative tactics. With Marine LtCol Rip Rawlings, he wrote the New York Times bestseller Red Metal. He is also the author of the New York Times bestsellers Tom Clancy Support and Defend, Tom Clancy Full Force and Effect, Tom Clancy Commander in Chief, and Tom Clancy True Faith and Allegiance. With Tom Clancy, he coauthored Locked On, Threat Vector, and Command Authority.
Readers excited to pre-order The Chaos Agent can now do so here or anywhere else books are sold.
Praised as “One of the hardest working, most thoughtful, and fairest reviewers out there” by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline, Ryan Steck has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). Steck also works full-time as a freelance editor and is building a growing community on Twitch. His debut thriller, FIELDS OF FIRE, which #1 New York Times bestselling author Jack Carr says “will leave you speechless and begging for more,” is now available. His second novel, LETHAL RANGE, comes out on August 8th. For more information, be sure to follow him on Twitter and Facebook. And to take part in free, exclusive BOOK CLUBS each month, join The Real Book Spy on Discord.