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Victor the Assassin #10
Traitor
SOMEONE'S SET HIM UP
SOMEONE'S GOING TO DIE
When Victor is arrested for a murder that, for once, he didn't commit, escape must surely be inevitable for a hitman of his ferocity.
Yet someone wants Victor put away, and he finds himself behind bars, incarcerated by police who have no idea of the monster they are dealing with and have, apparently, tamed.
Quickly, however, his fellow the prisoners realise that he's not trapped in there with them: they are in a cage, with the most dangerous of enemies. And Victor has a traitor to find.
SOMEONE'S GOING TO DIE
When Victor is arrested for a murder that, for once, he didn't commit, escape must surely be inevitable for a hitman of his ferocity.
Yet someone wants Victor put away, and he finds himself behind bars, incarcerated by police who have no idea of the monster they are dealing with and have, apparently, tamed.
Quickly, however, his fellow the prisoners realise that he's not trapped in there with them: they are in a cage, with the most dangerous of enemies. And Victor has a traitor to find.
464 pages, Hardcover
First published November 28, 2022
71 people are currently reading
723 people want to read
About the author
Tom Wood
23 books1,292 followersHe is the author of the Victor series of 10 novels and 2 ebook novellas. Tom also wrote the standalone thriller A Knock at the Door under the pseudonym T W Ellis
Victor 10, TRAITOR, is out now in UK, IE, AS & NZ.
Subscribe to Tom's newsletter to stay up-to-date, and have the chance of winning signed copies and more: tomwoodbooks.com/newsletter
Victor 10, TRAITOR, is out now in UK, IE, AS & NZ.
Subscribe to Tom's newsletter to stay up-to-date, and have the chance of winning signed copies and more: tomwoodbooks.com/newsletter
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
July 5, 2024
Very interesting and not his normal “victor” assassin. I enjoyed it.
June 10, 2023
Entertaining installment. The author has almost done a retcon from Victor #9 to restore him the old ruthless assassin we like. In this one V is setup by his handler Phoenix after surviving a hit.
The Russian mafia gets involved which I think was recycling themes and plots a bit as well.
Overall enjoyable.
The Russian mafia gets involved which I think was recycling themes and plots a bit as well.
Overall enjoyable.
January 2, 2023
This will be the first book of many this year and it was agreat one. Traitor by Tom Wood is the tenth book about Victor and it has some really good twists and plots. Victor has to be really careful with what person he should trust. There are so many deceits and bad people in this book it's a balancing act for Victor all the way and it does not end the way I thought it would. As always Wood writes a good thilling story and it's hard to put down to get some food or sleep. I really recommend this series, in my mind it's one of the best assassin series out there. Enjoy.
March 17, 2023
Tom Wood's antihero, Victor, is one of the most fascinating and deadly characters in fiction. You can probably guess revenge is on the menu but Traitor is so much more than that. The book puts Victor in unfamiliar situations and forces the assassin to take risks that are out of character. More than once I felt horrible for Victor. Then I remembered he's not a good guy. Or is he? In Traitor, probably 75% is the inner monologue of Victor and Wood uses this time effectively. Wood takes us through Victor's mental checklist in almost every situation: the pros and cons of a location, how the enemy might attack/react, the various outcomes to his choices, and all that comes with killing nine other mercenaries or whatnot. It's a look into the mind of a predator. A predator with a certain code. He doesn't allow swearing, blasphemy and a job is just that and nothing more. For readers its a glimpse into an unfamiliar thought process sprinkled with the familiar. I mean, while detailing how he is going to kill a bunch of Russian gangsters he transitions into being concerned a little girl might choke on a piece of fruit. It's this dichotomy that makes Victor such an intriguing character and Wood's books so enjoyable.
November 29, 2022
Victor enters the chess game of his life in Tom Wood‘s new superlative thriller
Victor is quite adept at manipulating situations in his favour but this time someone appears to have turned the tables on him. Imprisoned for a murder he didn’t (yet) commit, he has to navigate the cesspool of human depravity and unflinching violence that is county jail in Minnesota. But his most lethal enemies aren’t on the inside. They are just laying in wait for him on the outside. To initiate a series of events that will change Victor’s world forever… if he lives long enough to see it.
Over the course of ten thrillers Tom Wood has not only given us more and more insight into the most fascinating lead character of the genre, he has also established himself as one of its leading storytellers. And it is that skill in particular he puts on awe-inspiring display in TRAITOR.
The plot is beautifully crafted and the twists are intricately woven into the narrative, catching the reader with the force of a speeding fright train. The story has a compelling emotional core and is populated by interesting, multi-dimensional characters.
The action is again described so vividly by Wood that the reader witnesses it all through Victor’s eyes. One almost feels the punches and smells the cordite from the intense firefights.
Last but not least, the locations deserve special mention: they are extraordinarily immersing and breath-taking in this particular chapter.
Tom Wood has yet again created a unique, adrenaline-fuelled and mesmerising reading experience and I can’t wait to find out where Victor goes from here!
Disclaimer: I was a beta reader of this book and therefore got to read an early edition. However, I also bought the final product because it’s so damn good!
Victor is quite adept at manipulating situations in his favour but this time someone appears to have turned the tables on him. Imprisoned for a murder he didn’t (yet) commit, he has to navigate the cesspool of human depravity and unflinching violence that is county jail in Minnesota. But his most lethal enemies aren’t on the inside. They are just laying in wait for him on the outside. To initiate a series of events that will change Victor’s world forever… if he lives long enough to see it.
Over the course of ten thrillers Tom Wood has not only given us more and more insight into the most fascinating lead character of the genre, he has also established himself as one of its leading storytellers. And it is that skill in particular he puts on awe-inspiring display in TRAITOR.
The plot is beautifully crafted and the twists are intricately woven into the narrative, catching the reader with the force of a speeding fright train. The story has a compelling emotional core and is populated by interesting, multi-dimensional characters.
The action is again described so vividly by Wood that the reader witnesses it all through Victor’s eyes. One almost feels the punches and smells the cordite from the intense firefights.
Last but not least, the locations deserve special mention: they are extraordinarily immersing and breath-taking in this particular chapter.
Tom Wood has yet again created a unique, adrenaline-fuelled and mesmerising reading experience and I can’t wait to find out where Victor goes from here!
Disclaimer: I was a beta reader of this book and therefore got to read an early edition. However, I also bought the final product because it’s so damn good!
December 17, 2022
Book Review – Traitor – Tom Wood
Over the years, British author Tom Wood has created 10 Victor the Assassin thrillers that not only has given readers more and more insight into probably the most fascinating characters in the action thriller genre than any other series protagonist. With this series, Wood has established himself as one of the leading storytellers in the action thriller genre. And it is with that skill that he has presented another awe-inspiring penning of Victor the Assassin in “Traitor.” In this latest story, someone appears to have turned the tables on Victor. Imprisoned for a murder he didn’t (yet) commit, Victor must navigate the cesspool of human depravity and steadfast violence that is in a county jail in Minnesota. The plot is beautifully crafted, and the twists and turns are intricately woven into the narrative, hitting the reader with the force of a speeding freight train. The story has a compelling emotional core and is populated by interesting, multi-dimensional characters. The action is again described so vividly by Wood that the reader witnesses it all through Victor’s eyes. One almost feels the punches and smells the cordite from the intense gunfights. Wood has yet again created a unique, adrenaline-fueled, and mesmerizing reading experience. As usual, like previous stories, Victor approached every situation with the analytical mind of a serious investigator, and he looks at his confrontations as an isolated trauma surgeon. I loved this story, Victor, in all his complexity and Wood’s fantastic writing style. Traitor was an absolute pleasure to read from start to finish! Extraordinarily engaging and breath-taking, Traitor by Tom Wood completed the year as one of my favorite series reads!
Over the years, British author Tom Wood has created 10 Victor the Assassin thrillers that not only has given readers more and more insight into probably the most fascinating characters in the action thriller genre than any other series protagonist. With this series, Wood has established himself as one of the leading storytellers in the action thriller genre. And it is with that skill that he has presented another awe-inspiring penning of Victor the Assassin in “Traitor.” In this latest story, someone appears to have turned the tables on Victor. Imprisoned for a murder he didn’t (yet) commit, Victor must navigate the cesspool of human depravity and steadfast violence that is in a county jail in Minnesota. The plot is beautifully crafted, and the twists and turns are intricately woven into the narrative, hitting the reader with the force of a speeding freight train. The story has a compelling emotional core and is populated by interesting, multi-dimensional characters. The action is again described so vividly by Wood that the reader witnesses it all through Victor’s eyes. One almost feels the punches and smells the cordite from the intense gunfights. Wood has yet again created a unique, adrenaline-fueled, and mesmerizing reading experience. As usual, like previous stories, Victor approached every situation with the analytical mind of a serious investigator, and he looks at his confrontations as an isolated trauma surgeon. I loved this story, Victor, in all his complexity and Wood’s fantastic writing style. Traitor was an absolute pleasure to read from start to finish! Extraordinarily engaging and breath-taking, Traitor by Tom Wood completed the year as one of my favorite series reads!
December 7, 2022
Maybe it is time for Victor to retire. The story and plot is thin unless you want to learn a 100 wats to kill someone.
Not his best
Not his best
December 5, 2022
Back to his old ruthless calculating self.
Victor is back to form in this enjoyable thriller, full of action and with a few twists. He has a kind of humanity here, largely shown in his appreciation for history and environment but he's still a stone cold killer who gives no quarter. A few more references to his difficult youth round out the characterisation, without being too obvious. As always he approa hed every situation with the analytical mind of a great detective and he looks at his fights as would a detached trauma surgeon. I loved the last image the book leaves us of Victor, in all his complexity. An absolute pleasure from start to finish.
Victor is back to form in this enjoyable thriller, full of action and with a few twists. He has a kind of humanity here, largely shown in his appreciation for history and environment but he's still a stone cold killer who gives no quarter. A few more references to his difficult youth round out the characterisation, without being too obvious. As always he approa hed every situation with the analytical mind of a great detective and he looks at his fights as would a detached trauma surgeon. I loved the last image the book leaves us of Victor, in all his complexity. An absolute pleasure from start to finish.
May 31, 2025
Mana superspēja ir paņemt grāmatu un neattapt, kā tā ir sērijas nezkura (šajā gadījumā - sestā) daļa :)
Lai arī apraksts izklausījās intriģējoši, acīmredzot, es neesmu auditorija, ko aizrauj 40 lpp. apšaudes apraksts, tuvcīņa šitāda, kautiņš tāds - viss aprakstīts līdz sīkākajai kustībai 🙄
Protams-protams, ir centieni parādīt arī algotņu un organizētās noziedzības visu rangu pārstāvju “bagāto” iekšējo pasauli, bet… nop, man tur stipri pietrūkst dziļuma un jebkā, kas atsauktos, līdz ar to bija vienkārši garlaicīgi.
Lai arī apraksts izklausījās intriģējoši, acīmredzot, es neesmu auditorija, ko aizrauj 40 lpp. apšaudes apraksts, tuvcīņa šitāda, kautiņš tāds - viss aprakstīts līdz sīkākajai kustībai 🙄
Protams-protams, ir centieni parādīt arī algotņu un organizētās noziedzības visu rangu pārstāvju “bagāto” iekšējo pasauli, bet… nop, man tur stipri pietrūkst dziļuma un jebkā, kas atsauktos, līdz ar to bija vienkārši garlaicīgi.
July 30, 2025
I simply didn't like this book. I tried to, though, really hard. Because the story sounded fun! It didn't help, I still had to fight myself all the way to not give up and start reading something else.
It wasn't worth it. Well, yes, it was, kind of, as I now know that Victor the assassin is not for me. It just didn't come easy to me, and frankly, I lost interest before I reached halfway through. It was mostly due to the sloppy writing, I think.
(Please forgive my poor English, my excuse is I’m Swedish).
It wasn't worth it. Well, yes, it was, kind of, as I now know that Victor the assassin is not for me. It just didn't come easy to me, and frankly, I lost interest before I reached halfway through. It was mostly due to the sloppy writing, I think.
(Please forgive my poor English, my excuse is I’m Swedish).
November 30, 2022
Superb back to best
I have read every single one of the Victor books The Quiet man was good but not great, this is a great read and Mr Wood back to his best .Long may it continue.
I have read every single one of the Victor books The Quiet man was good but not great, this is a great read and Mr Wood back to his best .Long may it continue.
December 1, 2022
Tom Wood is the G.O.A.T
Sincerely a master of the genre.
I honestly think this is the best Victor novel so far.
You do not have to read these books in order as everything is explained well. However, if you do, this book will reward you 10 fold.
On multiple occasions, my jaw dropped.
I was hesitant after reading the blurd, not knowing if the things I love about Victor novels could really be covered by the premise but trusting Tom Wood to do his thing and pre-ordering back in February.
As the story unfolded, I was not only shown I was right to trust but being rewarded with the single greatest Victor novel (and by extension, greatest novel in genre) written so far.
Here's hoping the series continues 🙏
Sincerely a master of the genre.
I honestly think this is the best Victor novel so far.
You do not have to read these books in order as everything is explained well. However, if you do, this book will reward you 10 fold.
On multiple occasions, my jaw dropped.
I was hesitant after reading the blurd, not knowing if the things I love about Victor novels could really be covered by the premise but trusting Tom Wood to do his thing and pre-ordering back in February.
As the story unfolded, I was not only shown I was right to trust but being rewarded with the single greatest Victor novel (and by extension, greatest novel in genre) written so far.
Here's hoping the series continues 🙏
December 9, 2022
No one quite like Victor
For Aristotle, patience was bitter but the fruit it bore was sweet. For Tolstoy, it was one of the two most powerful warriors, with the other being time..
Traitor (Book 10) did not leave me disappointed, Tom has created a character who I would love to have coffee with, as long as he could relax a little.. Loved the book and have recommended already… Look forward to the next evolution!!
For Aristotle, patience was bitter but the fruit it bore was sweet. For Tolstoy, it was one of the two most powerful warriors, with the other being time..
Traitor (Book 10) did not leave me disappointed, Tom has created a character who I would love to have coffee with, as long as he could relax a little.. Loved the book and have recommended already… Look forward to the next evolution!!
December 11, 2022
A brilliant Victor tale
Great setup.
Breakneck pace as always, fantastic Victor story. You could read it without the others, having read the series you find the references to his history.
Great setup.
Breakneck pace as always, fantastic Victor story. You could read it without the others, having read the series you find the references to his history.
December 6, 2022
Seems really perfunctory, and the action sequences are just plain monotonous. Hand-me-down Lee Child. I'm afraid Tom Wood has dried up.
December 18, 2022
Viktor it's back!!
The finest of all anti heroes. Convoluted yet not convoluted. Deep yet shallow. All business, much to his own discomfort
The finest of all anti heroes. Convoluted yet not convoluted. Deep yet shallow. All business, much to his own discomfort
July 16, 2024
Want to give it 3.5 stars. I found the book quite repetitive and was very violent just describing all the ways Victor kills people. Didn’t feel as though there was much plot development or closure
December 10, 2024
Another great outing for Victor. This one was tricky because of all the potential double crosses. It mate for a very espionage-related story rather than an assassin-related one.
And those kills where you think he might just break his code, but ultimately did not were fantastic. It was like watching the original Lone Wolf in action.
And those kills where you think he might just break his code, but ultimately did not were fantastic. It was like watching the original Lone Wolf in action.
April 7, 2023
Always a pleasure to spend some quality time with Victor!
The latest installment in this always entertaining series starts with the assassin finding himself in the rather unusual situation of not only getting arrested, but for being arrested for a murder he - for pnce - didn't commit. And with that, we're off on another gripping, fastpaced ride with plenty of twists and doublecrosses.
As usual, I was glued to the page all the way through - can't wait for the next one!
The latest installment in this always entertaining series starts with the assassin finding himself in the rather unusual situation of not only getting arrested, but for being arrested for a murder he - for pnce - didn't commit. And with that, we're off on another gripping, fastpaced ride with plenty of twists and doublecrosses.
As usual, I was glued to the page all the way through - can't wait for the next one!
December 18, 2022
Started out really well, plenty of action. Then, three quarters of the way through, it rambled around trying to work out how to end itself and finally just fizzled out.
April 20, 2023
This is the most recent book in the Victor series. I found it thoroughly, enjoyable, like the others. The plot was slightly more complex, with Victor taking assignments within assignments. Cleverly done.
A bit of a sad ending for one of the frequent characters. But that character had a coming! Also, we learn more about Victor‘s background and childhood, and he evolves somewhat to become more human. Although that may not be the best thing for him to do.
This book certainly set the table for the next book, which I’m anxiously awaiting. I believe it comes out in November 2023.
A bit of a sad ending for one of the frequent characters. But that character had a coming! Also, we learn more about Victor‘s background and childhood, and he evolves somewhat to become more human. Although that may not be the best thing for him to do.
This book certainly set the table for the next book, which I’m anxiously awaiting. I believe it comes out in November 2023.
January 5, 2023
Couldn't put it down.
It is unfortunate that Tom Wood is unable to write as fast as I can read. Once I'd started this book it held my attention and I finished it in two sittings. I would now ask Mr. Wood to forego any other activities in order that he can expedite the next book in the series please.
It is unfortunate that Tom Wood is unable to write as fast as I can read. Once I'd started this book it held my attention and I finished it in two sittings. I would now ask Mr. Wood to forego any other activities in order that he can expedite the next book in the series please.
September 12, 2024
Back with my man Victor in the 10th instalment in this wonderful series. The Traitor sees the likeable assassin playing a game of chess with the enigmatic Phoenix. Full throttle from the off with a superbly plotted and executed storyline. Deceit and betrayal lie at the heart of the story and it’s all a bit close to home for Victor, but he’s not thwarted for long. Tom Wood once again takes us on a brilliant adventure 4.5⭐️
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March 11, 20257.5
January 2, 2023
Tom strikes again with another amazing Victor read!
This book felt like a movie, it kept you hooked from the start to the end. The writing style was great, the character development was good, and I overall enjoyed it very much.
Things unfolded pretty clearly towards the end of the book, and it hooked me like a fish. I just couldn't put it down! The action is top notch as usual. Great job Tom!
This book felt like a movie, it kept you hooked from the start to the end. The writing style was great, the character development was good, and I overall enjoyed it very much.
Things unfolded pretty clearly towards the end of the book, and it hooked me like a fish. I just couldn't put it down! The action is top notch as usual. Great job Tom!
December 5, 2022
he’s back
I have missed Victor and his non nonsense approach to his work.
Totally enjoyable great script brill written….how long do I have to wait until Victor 11…..please soon…
I have missed Victor and his non nonsense approach to his work.
Totally enjoyable great script brill written….how long do I have to wait until Victor 11…..please soon…
August 16, 2024
The first time I read one of these Victor series, with The Hunter, I was entirely hooked. I'd always felt there was a lack of thriller stories where the hitman/cia/agent/blackop/etc character acts with the proper amount of paranoia and skill. Someone who has survived in such a dangerous line of work as being a professional hitman who operates solo, needs to have a very high degree of skill, experience, paranoia, and a willingness to kill immediately whenever necessary.
The first stories, perhaps it was that I'd never seen something done so perfectly, because Victor really was all that, or if they were better overall. I think it's a bit of both. There have always been a few flaws here and there in these novels, but I definitely feel that increasingly, as time passes, there appear more and more.
It's just these little moments where it becomes obvious that the author has opted to be a little lazy. He has a plot in mind and wants to make it happen. He likes it when Victor gets captured because then seeing Victor get out of that is fun and tense. He likes Victor to interact with other killers because of course, this is always interesting and enjoyable.
It's not that I mind these things, it's just that in this one particular, there were a number of moments that felt quite out of character, where I feel the author pushed the established character of Victor even further off the rails than normal. When the capture moment, and the tense talks with other killers moment, come at the expense of Victor doing some dumb shit I wouldn't expect from him, that gets him in very avoidable trouble, it sours these moments overall. I definitely feel the author could've got these fun moments into the story, in a way that didn't require Victor to do things that were quite so silly.
I'm just gonna go through up to where I'm up to, so spoilers from here on out.
At the start of the story we see Victor being arrested. He's in town to kill some Russian mobster. But, they've already been killed by someone else, and the police think its him. There is clearly something afoot because he definitely didn't kill the guy, but the guy is dead and he's been framed.
He ends up going to jail. This was quite unusual, but I didn't mind it. It was interesting and fun seeing him in jail, his views on it, the whole macho thing.
There he encounters the man who hired him to kill the guy, who is quite upset with him because he's gotten himself caught. This man, also a russian mobster, invites him to a clandestine midnight meeting in his room - alone.
This is where it went a bit off the rails imo. After a brief talk, Victor kills the man. Now, I quite enjoyed this at first because hey, bit of unflinching murder, very cool, I'm a fan. But I was a little confused because this dude clearly didn't set him up - he is convinced Victor did the killing, as hired to do. He has no involvement in the setup which Victor is still in the dark about. But maybe Victor could have asked questions and gotten some details, tried to work out what was going on? Nope he just kills the guy lol. This is... never really explained or delved into. I was expecting at least something like, the guy knew who he was and could implicate him so had to die. Which would be fair enough but, yeah, there was just never anything mentioned and generally when there is a larger problem Victor is willing to spare people to work out what is going on.
It becomes quickly clear why Victor killed that man so quickly and kind of randomly as we get to the next few chapters. It turns out this guy was the son-in-law of the biggest boss of the russian mob, an oligarch who loves nothing more in life than... his daughter. For her, he must avenge this killing, and immediately turns all resources to this.
It's a fairly standard Victor setup in this regard, we've seen russian mobsters quite a few times, we've seen a powerful man deciding Victor must die due to reasons various times, too. It's a bit formulaic but still, enjoyable enough. My issue is that I was still waiting to learn why exactly Victor decided to kill the dude... and then that is never really explained but, with this reveal, it becomes very clear that for PLOT reasons, Victor had to kill that man. It was much less about the character being himself, and much more about pushing the story forward.
So, a bit of a black mark but whatever, we go on. The carnage has to start somehow, right? At the very least, I was thinking that Victor in this story was looking to be especially unflinching and murderous. Seeing him kill someone at the drop of a hat is something I'm always up for.
On we go, and next up Victor is meeting with his broker, Phoenix. He doesn't seem too concerned about who/why set him up. The mystery is sitting in the background, I guess. So, meets broker, she's hot, they have the sex, again standard stuff. She wants to meet again. Breaking protocol, Victor does it anyway because... idk, reasons.
Goes to the meet and the big shoot out happens which the story started with in media res. The broker wants him dead!!! What a surprise. From there, he starts trying to track her down. He goes to a tailor she mentioned to interrogate the man about where her safe house is and...
another killer turns up, asking the same question. A french woman who the broker is apparently, also trying to kill. Okayy..? It turns out she was there at the first assassination attempt on him, too. This is quite a coincidence. You wouldn't expect such a competent broker to try and kill two assassins at once in this two birds one stone method, that seems apt to go wrong.
The new assassins says hey let's team up and go hunt the broker down together.
She leads him to her car and she has two guys with her, her team.
They drive to the brokers safe house, and, surprise surprise no one is there.
This is where it started to get weird for me. Because Victor then travels with these guys and its obviously highly suspicious. We the reader knows the broker setup more traps for him because that was shown in her POV. VIctor didn't see that but we know, he should be suspicious here - and he is. Which is good.
He ends up alone with the two guys. I'm remembering how he instantly murdered that guy in the jail before the guy could do anything. We see from his internal monologue that yep, he does know something is up, he hasn't lost his mind. These guys are acting increasingly suspicious.
One of them leaves the room and... Victor doesn't creep up on the other guy and quietly murder him. Instead he starts talking in a way that makes it clear he knows what's up. Oh, also he went and found a knife before all this. At this point, I was thinking... did he lose his pistol? Cuz he had a pistol. So why didn't he perhaps, draw that first...
Anywya the guy immediately draws a gun and holds him up after he makes it clear he knows. Victor is cool as a cucumber. The guy comes over to disarm him - I guess he does still have his pistol. And Victor stabs him with the secret knife. This was seriously unnecessary, I was quite confused at this point. There was no reason for it to go like this. He literally had one of the killers who has been hired to kill him aiming a gun at him. He pretty much engineered it going like that. The guy didn't shoot him because... idk? Why didn't he shoot him lmao. It makes no sense to me.
After stabbing him, Victor continues their conversation. The guy was asking if he enjoys the work they do. He says yes he does and osme other philosophical shit. It's a few paragraphs. Only after he's finished his little speech does he actually go to grab the guys gun, which gives the guys friend time to come back... and, oh, bad luck, the dead guy's hand has clenched so tight around the gun he can't pull it free. And he doesn't go for his own pistol either so, I'm still uncertain if he even has it or wtf happened. It seems to be there so someone can come and disarm it. But not there so he can't just shoot the guy walking in.
He has another intense fight, no guns, with massive steroid dude who just talked in. It goes bad and... he gets knocked out! End of chapter.
And this is where I realised why the character who earlier, killed a man very rapidly and saying very little, not giving them a chance to do anything (and this killing started the whole mess of the story), suddenly became all overly chatty, willing to squander his advantage, willing to let people draw a gun on him and generally willing to play things as badly as possible until he got captured... it's because the plot requires it. The author wants to have his 'Victor is captured now and the bad guys are gonna monologue at him and he'll get out of it through cleverness and viciously kill 'em all' and, I imagine that's different to engineer with a character like Victor, who is so endlessly paranoid and quick to kill.
This is really where my issue with these stories and many parts of this series overall come in. I do agree that Victor being captured is fun and interesting. I like to see the unarmed fights rather than him just shooting everyone in the back. It's just that, I definitely feel the author could, with a bit more thought, engineer these things to occur without tossing Victor an idiot ball. As it is, it starts to become pretty obvious when a scene is twisting away from how it should occur due to plot reasons. Suddenly Victor is doing an unnecessary monologue or he's telling people he knows and letting them draw a gun on him. That's what really annoys me and is the reason for the 3 stars. And, I know the author can do better than this. In this same fight, he goes to stab guy number 2 in the head - but the knife is crappy and old, must've been chopping onions for years, and it breaks on the guy's skull even though he hit the soft point. Now that's just shit luck. That I can entirely forgive, I don't mind it at all - no one can know and predict everything, nothing can go perfectly.
But when the character's actions change so rapidly in one story, and he gets the idiot ball at times like that, it makes it really obvious that there is a plot planned and that plot is gonna happen no matter what. And if the easiest way to make it happen, is to have Victor do something a little out of character or a little stupid, I guess that's fine. Personally, if he had left the guy at the start alive and grilled him for info THEN killed him, I'd have been much more fine with that. And if he'd simply murdered those 2 guys by shooting them in the back... I would have enjoyed that more, too. I don't need some quota of 11 unarmed fights, 7 shoot outs, 3 chase scenes, to be met every book. I'm just interested in seeing Victor make smart decisions and be that top tier, insanely paranoid killer that he is.
Also, the dislike of swearing/blasphemy is becoming increasingly cringe ngl. He was unusually chatty in this one and some of his lines were quite cheesy lol.
Still, overall I still really enjoy the majority of the action in this series, and all the detail and thinking that goes into the characters decisions. In general it's good. Buit here and there where the author is forcing things for the plot, it starts to lose its charm. I haven't read any further yet because seeing him get captured in such a dumb and unnecessary way made me put the book down.
edit: and the thing is, I KNOW Tom Wood can do better than this because I've read it. Book #1, the Hunter, is still one of the best there was. That one the focus was laser tight and Victor didn't make a single off/bad decision I can think of. I mean, he gradually got won over and began to have feelings for Rebecca - but I don't mind that at all. Those rare moments of humanity in someone who has so little are what makes him interesting for me. But there wasn't any unnecessary monologuiing that gives someone time to walk in so he has to fight them unarmed, and there was no random killing of people who he knows nothing about and who might have information - in fact Rebecca was an example of someone who he expressly didn't kill because she had information. The only part that wasn't quite up to standard was the very end where, there were a few moments where bullets were fired at one another but, they didn't hit. Still overall it was perfect and the slightly hollywood ending is forgivable. This one not so much. A few of the others really stand out as being amazing start to finish, too, mostly the earlier ones. These later ones, I do feel the author is getting a little lazy.
edit:
I finished the book.
It did turn out there were some extra plays and twists. It didn't end quite how I expected. Still feel this is one of the weaker Victor novels.
If Tom Woods ever reads this: many of the earlier books are amazing and imo the best books ever written in this genre. I really appreciate you for those, and this one is still good enough to scratch the Victor itch.
All I'd say is, and this is ofc just my opinion, but I don't think you need to always have him end up in these difficult fights. Not every situation has to be pushed to the point where he's on the backfoot and has an intense brawl.
Like, the bit with the two guys and then he gets knocked out by steroid guy. There was no need for him to ever have a gun pointed at him - he clued the guy off when he started basically saying: I know you're plotting something against me, and then got a gun pointed at me. I'm also still really confused about where his pistol went. But yeah he could've just closed in and stabbed the guy and taken his gun, or just shot him or held him hostage to keep him silent while waiting for the other guy to come.
For me, I'd have found this more satisfying - I really love it when Victor simply makes optimal moves, in fact imo those are more enjoyable and fit his character better than these moments where he kinda invites a close melee brawl. At the end of it all he did end up killing steroid guy, but I guess it gave that tension when he got knocked out - and I did really like that steroid guy had a heart attack, you were suggesting that might happen from the moment we met him and it was nice to see it lol.
But just in this case it was overall a moment that left a real sour taste because Victor only got into that situation due to bad decision making that doesn't match up with his generally smart, calculating, and risk avoidant nature. I just don't see any logical reason for him to tell the guy he knows and ensure a gun is drawn on him, when the other guy was still relatively relaxed and playing along with the ruse. It was a dramatic moment which, sure, that's fun - but tarnished by the nature in which it happened.
I feel sure that with some editing of scenes like this you could have the best of both worlds - a situation where Victor plays it optimally, but due to simple bad luck or coincidence, he still ends up in a sticky spot giving us the fun tension. Even if not, for me I would 100% prefer that there is less tension but he just wins the day by being smart + using his experience. For me I find that super super satisfying and it is one of my favourite things you do in this series. His skill at combat is awesome to read too, but only when the combat is happening because it had to happen, not when it could've easily been avoided.
Still an awesome series overall!
The first stories, perhaps it was that I'd never seen something done so perfectly, because Victor really was all that, or if they were better overall. I think it's a bit of both. There have always been a few flaws here and there in these novels, but I definitely feel that increasingly, as time passes, there appear more and more.
It's just these little moments where it becomes obvious that the author has opted to be a little lazy. He has a plot in mind and wants to make it happen. He likes it when Victor gets captured because then seeing Victor get out of that is fun and tense. He likes Victor to interact with other killers because of course, this is always interesting and enjoyable.
It's not that I mind these things, it's just that in this one particular, there were a number of moments that felt quite out of character, where I feel the author pushed the established character of Victor even further off the rails than normal. When the capture moment, and the tense talks with other killers moment, come at the expense of Victor doing some dumb shit I wouldn't expect from him, that gets him in very avoidable trouble, it sours these moments overall. I definitely feel the author could've got these fun moments into the story, in a way that didn't require Victor to do things that were quite so silly.
I'm just gonna go through up to where I'm up to, so spoilers from here on out.
At the start of the story we see Victor being arrested. He's in town to kill some Russian mobster. But, they've already been killed by someone else, and the police think its him. There is clearly something afoot because he definitely didn't kill the guy, but the guy is dead and he's been framed.
He ends up going to jail. This was quite unusual, but I didn't mind it. It was interesting and fun seeing him in jail, his views on it, the whole macho thing.
There he encounters the man who hired him to kill the guy, who is quite upset with him because he's gotten himself caught. This man, also a russian mobster, invites him to a clandestine midnight meeting in his room - alone.
This is where it went a bit off the rails imo. After a brief talk, Victor kills the man. Now, I quite enjoyed this at first because hey, bit of unflinching murder, very cool, I'm a fan. But I was a little confused because this dude clearly didn't set him up - he is convinced Victor did the killing, as hired to do. He has no involvement in the setup which Victor is still in the dark about. But maybe Victor could have asked questions and gotten some details, tried to work out what was going on? Nope he just kills the guy lol. This is... never really explained or delved into. I was expecting at least something like, the guy knew who he was and could implicate him so had to die. Which would be fair enough but, yeah, there was just never anything mentioned and generally when there is a larger problem Victor is willing to spare people to work out what is going on.
It becomes quickly clear why Victor killed that man so quickly and kind of randomly as we get to the next few chapters. It turns out this guy was the son-in-law of the biggest boss of the russian mob, an oligarch who loves nothing more in life than... his daughter. For her, he must avenge this killing, and immediately turns all resources to this.
It's a fairly standard Victor setup in this regard, we've seen russian mobsters quite a few times, we've seen a powerful man deciding Victor must die due to reasons various times, too. It's a bit formulaic but still, enjoyable enough. My issue is that I was still waiting to learn why exactly Victor decided to kill the dude... and then that is never really explained but, with this reveal, it becomes very clear that for PLOT reasons, Victor had to kill that man. It was much less about the character being himself, and much more about pushing the story forward.
So, a bit of a black mark but whatever, we go on. The carnage has to start somehow, right? At the very least, I was thinking that Victor in this story was looking to be especially unflinching and murderous. Seeing him kill someone at the drop of a hat is something I'm always up for.
On we go, and next up Victor is meeting with his broker, Phoenix. He doesn't seem too concerned about who/why set him up. The mystery is sitting in the background, I guess. So, meets broker, she's hot, they have the sex, again standard stuff. She wants to meet again. Breaking protocol, Victor does it anyway because... idk, reasons.
Goes to the meet and the big shoot out happens which the story started with in media res. The broker wants him dead!!! What a surprise. From there, he starts trying to track her down. He goes to a tailor she mentioned to interrogate the man about where her safe house is and...
another killer turns up, asking the same question. A french woman who the broker is apparently, also trying to kill. Okayy..? It turns out she was there at the first assassination attempt on him, too. This is quite a coincidence. You wouldn't expect such a competent broker to try and kill two assassins at once in this two birds one stone method, that seems apt to go wrong.
The new assassins says hey let's team up and go hunt the broker down together.
She leads him to her car and she has two guys with her, her team.
They drive to the brokers safe house, and, surprise surprise no one is there.
This is where it started to get weird for me. Because Victor then travels with these guys and its obviously highly suspicious. We the reader knows the broker setup more traps for him because that was shown in her POV. VIctor didn't see that but we know, he should be suspicious here - and he is. Which is good.
He ends up alone with the two guys. I'm remembering how he instantly murdered that guy in the jail before the guy could do anything. We see from his internal monologue that yep, he does know something is up, he hasn't lost his mind. These guys are acting increasingly suspicious.
One of them leaves the room and... Victor doesn't creep up on the other guy and quietly murder him. Instead he starts talking in a way that makes it clear he knows what's up. Oh, also he went and found a knife before all this. At this point, I was thinking... did he lose his pistol? Cuz he had a pistol. So why didn't he perhaps, draw that first...
Anywya the guy immediately draws a gun and holds him up after he makes it clear he knows. Victor is cool as a cucumber. The guy comes over to disarm him - I guess he does still have his pistol. And Victor stabs him with the secret knife. This was seriously unnecessary, I was quite confused at this point. There was no reason for it to go like this. He literally had one of the killers who has been hired to kill him aiming a gun at him. He pretty much engineered it going like that. The guy didn't shoot him because... idk? Why didn't he shoot him lmao. It makes no sense to me.
After stabbing him, Victor continues their conversation. The guy was asking if he enjoys the work they do. He says yes he does and osme other philosophical shit. It's a few paragraphs. Only after he's finished his little speech does he actually go to grab the guys gun, which gives the guys friend time to come back... and, oh, bad luck, the dead guy's hand has clenched so tight around the gun he can't pull it free. And he doesn't go for his own pistol either so, I'm still uncertain if he even has it or wtf happened. It seems to be there so someone can come and disarm it. But not there so he can't just shoot the guy walking in.
He has another intense fight, no guns, with massive steroid dude who just talked in. It goes bad and... he gets knocked out! End of chapter.
And this is where I realised why the character who earlier, killed a man very rapidly and saying very little, not giving them a chance to do anything (and this killing started the whole mess of the story), suddenly became all overly chatty, willing to squander his advantage, willing to let people draw a gun on him and generally willing to play things as badly as possible until he got captured... it's because the plot requires it. The author wants to have his 'Victor is captured now and the bad guys are gonna monologue at him and he'll get out of it through cleverness and viciously kill 'em all' and, I imagine that's different to engineer with a character like Victor, who is so endlessly paranoid and quick to kill.
This is really where my issue with these stories and many parts of this series overall come in. I do agree that Victor being captured is fun and interesting. I like to see the unarmed fights rather than him just shooting everyone in the back. It's just that, I definitely feel the author could, with a bit more thought, engineer these things to occur without tossing Victor an idiot ball. As it is, it starts to become pretty obvious when a scene is twisting away from how it should occur due to plot reasons. Suddenly Victor is doing an unnecessary monologue or he's telling people he knows and letting them draw a gun on him. That's what really annoys me and is the reason for the 3 stars. And, I know the author can do better than this. In this same fight, he goes to stab guy number 2 in the head - but the knife is crappy and old, must've been chopping onions for years, and it breaks on the guy's skull even though he hit the soft point. Now that's just shit luck. That I can entirely forgive, I don't mind it at all - no one can know and predict everything, nothing can go perfectly.
But when the character's actions change so rapidly in one story, and he gets the idiot ball at times like that, it makes it really obvious that there is a plot planned and that plot is gonna happen no matter what. And if the easiest way to make it happen, is to have Victor do something a little out of character or a little stupid, I guess that's fine. Personally, if he had left the guy at the start alive and grilled him for info THEN killed him, I'd have been much more fine with that. And if he'd simply murdered those 2 guys by shooting them in the back... I would have enjoyed that more, too. I don't need some quota of 11 unarmed fights, 7 shoot outs, 3 chase scenes, to be met every book. I'm just interested in seeing Victor make smart decisions and be that top tier, insanely paranoid killer that he is.
Also, the dislike of swearing/blasphemy is becoming increasingly cringe ngl. He was unusually chatty in this one and some of his lines were quite cheesy lol.
Still, overall I still really enjoy the majority of the action in this series, and all the detail and thinking that goes into the characters decisions. In general it's good. Buit here and there where the author is forcing things for the plot, it starts to lose its charm. I haven't read any further yet because seeing him get captured in such a dumb and unnecessary way made me put the book down.
edit: and the thing is, I KNOW Tom Wood can do better than this because I've read it. Book #1, the Hunter, is still one of the best there was. That one the focus was laser tight and Victor didn't make a single off/bad decision I can think of. I mean, he gradually got won over and began to have feelings for Rebecca - but I don't mind that at all. Those rare moments of humanity in someone who has so little are what makes him interesting for me. But there wasn't any unnecessary monologuiing that gives someone time to walk in so he has to fight them unarmed, and there was no random killing of people who he knows nothing about and who might have information - in fact Rebecca was an example of someone who he expressly didn't kill because she had information. The only part that wasn't quite up to standard was the very end where, there were a few moments where bullets were fired at one another but, they didn't hit. Still overall it was perfect and the slightly hollywood ending is forgivable. This one not so much. A few of the others really stand out as being amazing start to finish, too, mostly the earlier ones. These later ones, I do feel the author is getting a little lazy.
edit:
I finished the book.
It did turn out there were some extra plays and twists. It didn't end quite how I expected. Still feel this is one of the weaker Victor novels.
If Tom Woods ever reads this: many of the earlier books are amazing and imo the best books ever written in this genre. I really appreciate you for those, and this one is still good enough to scratch the Victor itch.
All I'd say is, and this is ofc just my opinion, but I don't think you need to always have him end up in these difficult fights. Not every situation has to be pushed to the point where he's on the backfoot and has an intense brawl.
Like, the bit with the two guys and then he gets knocked out by steroid guy. There was no need for him to ever have a gun pointed at him - he clued the guy off when he started basically saying: I know you're plotting something against me, and then got a gun pointed at me. I'm also still really confused about where his pistol went. But yeah he could've just closed in and stabbed the guy and taken his gun, or just shot him or held him hostage to keep him silent while waiting for the other guy to come.
For me, I'd have found this more satisfying - I really love it when Victor simply makes optimal moves, in fact imo those are more enjoyable and fit his character better than these moments where he kinda invites a close melee brawl. At the end of it all he did end up killing steroid guy, but I guess it gave that tension when he got knocked out - and I did really like that steroid guy had a heart attack, you were suggesting that might happen from the moment we met him and it was nice to see it lol.
But just in this case it was overall a moment that left a real sour taste because Victor only got into that situation due to bad decision making that doesn't match up with his generally smart, calculating, and risk avoidant nature. I just don't see any logical reason for him to tell the guy he knows and ensure a gun is drawn on him, when the other guy was still relatively relaxed and playing along with the ruse. It was a dramatic moment which, sure, that's fun - but tarnished by the nature in which it happened.
I feel sure that with some editing of scenes like this you could have the best of both worlds - a situation where Victor plays it optimally, but due to simple bad luck or coincidence, he still ends up in a sticky spot giving us the fun tension. Even if not, for me I would 100% prefer that there is less tension but he just wins the day by being smart + using his experience. For me I find that super super satisfying and it is one of my favourite things you do in this series. His skill at combat is awesome to read too, but only when the combat is happening because it had to happen, not when it could've easily been avoided.
Still an awesome series overall!
February 18, 2024
Picked up this book by mistake, not realising it was a series. Ugh. The writing style is that of a stage director, going into ridiculous detail on every single movement.
The main character is a James Bond/Sherlock type, the most incredible assassin who can take out a dozen guys by using his wits and amazing fighting skills, he also speaks fluent French and Russian and can lip read, he's able to deduce everyone's next moves by reading body language, he doesnt seem to need to rest or eat, he is superhuman in all but body. He doesn't experience fear, and never second guessed himself, also he is a master of disguise. He doesn't like people swearing, smoking, or partaking in anything that he himself finds immoral. He is truly The Best. Wow. What a guy.
This book is boring as hell and the protagonist is the ultimate Gary Sue. Sorry, it's a snoozefest.
The main character is a James Bond/Sherlock type, the most incredible assassin who can take out a dozen guys by using his wits and amazing fighting skills, he also speaks fluent French and Russian and can lip read, he's able to deduce everyone's next moves by reading body language, he doesnt seem to need to rest or eat, he is superhuman in all but body. He doesn't experience fear, and never second guessed himself, also he is a master of disguise. He doesn't like people swearing, smoking, or partaking in anything that he himself finds immoral. He is truly The Best. Wow. What a guy.
This book is boring as hell and the protagonist is the ultimate Gary Sue. Sorry, it's a snoozefest.
July 28, 2023
I've read the series twice because I love it. I love the logical POV Victor has. But he is also changing, slowly but surely. He's forever learning new things, new ways to blend it, but there's subtle changes that are oh so lovely.
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