Evan Smoak/Orphan X Reading Order
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| Orphan X | 2016 | Buy |
| Buy a Bullet (Short Story) | 2016 | Buy |
| The Nowhere Man | 2017 | Buy |
| Hellbent | 2018 | Buy |
| The Intern (Short Story) | 2018 | Buy |
| Out of the Dark | 2019 | Buy |
| Into the Fire | 2020 | Buy |
| The List (Short Story) | 2020 | Buy |
| Prodigal Son | 2021 | Buy |
| Dark Horse | 2022 | Buy |
| The Last Orphan | 2023 | Buy |
| The Recital (Short Story) | 2023 | Buy |
| Lone Wolf | 2024 | Buy |
| Nemesis | 2025 | Buy |
| The Code | 2025 | Buy |
| Antihero | 2026 | Buy |
The Orphan X series is written by Gregg Hurwitz, an American thriller author and screenwriter. The books follow Evan Smoak, a man who was taken from a foster home as a child and trained as a black-ops government assassin under a program called the Orphan Program. After going off the grid, Evan reinvents himself as “the Nowhere Man,” someone who helps desperate people with nowhere else to turn. Each novel drops Evan into a new crisis while also slowly revealing more about his past.
Hurwitz launched the series in 2016 with Orphan X, and it has become his signature work. The novels are complemented by several short stories (Buy a Bullet, The Intern, The List, The Recital, The Code) that fill in gaps between the main installments. The series has been optionally read in publication order, which is also the recommended reading order. The short stories can be read at the points where they were published.
As of 2026, the series has 12 full-length novels (with Antihero being the most recent) and five short stories. Hurwitz has maintained a roughly annual release schedule, and the series shows no signs of stopping. Fans of Jack Reacher, Jason Bourne, and similar lone-wolf action heroes will find Evan Smoak in good company.