Endgame

Agent 21 #6

by Chris Ryan

'Don’t come after us … remember the first thing I ever taught you - that your first duty is to stay alive'

For some time now, Zack Darke has been operating solo, in total secrecy, for a shadowy government organisation.

When his handlers are abducted by somebody with a serious personal vendetta against him, Zak has no choice but to go after them. And heading across the world to find them - into danger like he's never known - is something that, this time, he cannot do alone . . .

Genres: Action, Thriller, Young Adult, Fiction, Espionage, Crime, Spy Thriller

332 pages, Paperback

First published April 7, 2016

About the author

Colin Armstrong (b. 1961), usually known by the pen-name Chris Ryan, is a British author, television presenter, security consultant and former Special Air Service sergeant.
After the publication of fellow patrol member Andy McNab's Bravo Two Zero in 1993, Ryan published his own account of his experiences during the Bravo Two Zero mission in 1995, entitled The One That Got Away. Since retiring from the British Army Ryan has published several fiction and non-fiction books, including Strike Back, which was subsequently adapted into a television series for Sky 1, and co-created the ITV action series Ultimate Force. He has also presented or appeared in numerous television documentaries connected to the military or law enforcement.

Reviews

[A]

Brilliant book, most annoying thing is I waited 3 months for the book to come out and read it in 4 hours flat!

[Dale]

Echos of Alex Rider... will give others in the series a go.

[azygk]

Fantastic end!!!

[16ToddW]

It was a very good book in general and it finishes the series off. The series was very good because it was a well thought out story line. It’s an action crime genre . In the book two of Zacks best friends are kidnapped and in the book zak Malcolm and Ricky try to find them. Malcolm dies on the way there however they’re all end up fine and the friends are rescued.

[Leensey]

EDITED REVIEW 1/13/2026 :

PHEW! The sigh of relief I felt when both Raf and Gabs made it out of there. I still strongly recalled Malcolm's death, but was so sure someone else died. I guess that was Michael and Felix.

Anyway, after revisiting this series and being blessed enough to buy and read them in physical copies, I can safely say this remains one of my favorite teen spy series. Zak is a phenomenal character who I wouldn't mind seeing more of, and same can be said for Ricky, Gabs, and Raf. Wouldn't mind getting reuinted with them in maybe a separate series?? Idk, I just love this world and characters so much, despite the pain lol 🤧

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

Beautifully written yet severely heart-wrenching.

From the death of Michael and Felix, then later to Malcolm, Calaca, and Cruz.... it's too much to bear. Zak has gone through too much loss in his young life that I am so pained. I even feared that Ricky, Zak, Gabs, and Raf wouldn't make it out of the Russian base. That really terrified me.



Overall, yet another amazing work from Chris Ryan. The amount of realism in the portrayal of Zak and company's journey for the 'Endgame' was action-packed and had me on edge the entire time I was reading. It was also heavily emphasized how much lives are so valuable and so quick to be lost.

I do hope another installment of this series comes around, with hopefully, something good coming into Zak's life. Please.

[Sanoo]

I, personally believe that this book is one of the greatest works of Chris Ryan (having read many of his fiction works, along with series like Code Red etc...) alongside Codebreaker (Agent 21 #3). I was starting to get a bit disappointed with Under Cover, but this just made me feel great. Great job!

About the book itself: No one can say that this book isn't a thriller, and it was full of action from the get-go. I love how the author portrays the growing up of Agent 21 from his first book, in 2011, about how he, at first, believes that no matter what, he could help Cruz become what he was before, but has now come to the realization that it is not enough, but still towards the very end of the book, he finds a little bit of his younger mentality and vows to not kill anyone.

Overall: Really loved the book, and I'm going to keep buying copies of the Agent 21 series till it is over, hopefully. Great Read for whatever mood!

PS:- Not really used to reviews, more to rating, so please forgive me if there is anything I have done wrong. Thanks!

[St Stephen's C C]

"'Don't come after us a remember the first thing I ever taught you - that your first duty is to stay alive' For some time now, Zack Darke has been operating solo, in total secrecy, for a shadowy government organisation. When his handlers are abducted by somebody with a serious personal vendetta against him, Zak has no choice but to go after them. And heading across the world to find them - into danger like he's never known - is something that, this time, he cannot do alone . . ."

[Evyln]

A Good book that fits in well with the rest of the series. I enjoyed reading about both Zak and Ricky but the plot was a little repetitive, I thought previous books in the series were more engaging. Overall an excellent book to kill time and great for fans of action. I will definitely be buying more books in the series if/when they come out.

[Rebecca]

I loved this book! It was brilliant! This set keeps getting better and better! I do love Chris Ryan's YA books they are always so well done and so much fun! It was a nice, quick and easy read that was really enjoyable. The storyline as always was good and well thought out. It tied up a story that had been ongoing throughout the series. 5 stars loads of fun!

[Kirsty Maule]

I love this series and I think this is the best book so far.

[Lucas]

Intense and addicting book.

[15VanGeesbergenH]

I really enjoyed this book. It had a lot of tension and it was really effective. I recommend it.

[Leo]

Another book in the Zak Darke series. Is a thriller binge-reader I felt like this book fitted the criteria of a thriller. It was a good book, however it was not really a “good ending” in the sense that due to this being the last book there usually is a grand ending or a cliffhanger leading to a new series. In this book there was nothing of that sort. Apart from the usual cast we actually got to see the 2 kid agents work together, I would have honestly preferred it if they worked together in most of the books. The killing of Malcom was quite an unexpected twist while the killing of Cruz I expected to be a bit more dramatic. I’m kind of bummed out that series ended as it was a great series to read, I would recommend this book to thriller readers.

[Alan]

Did not hold my interest. Was about 15-year-old spies.Very disappointing.

[Glenn]

What a good end to the series... Some very unexpected outcomes... very enjoyable..

[Sue]

Full-on action extreme. Quite a bit of violence as well. Absolutely nonstop.

[Salfaraz]

A good ending to a good Series

[Wanda Janek]

Iloveit

I am disappointed that this is the end of this series. I hope that Chris Ryan will add more. Fan

[Lither]

pretty nice end

[Elizabeth Thacker]

Nothing particularly unique, but a great action romp.

[Mohd Fayaz]

Not Expected anti climax

[Doreen]

a fast paced book, albeit it is all about saving zak's guardian angels there is something which just seem to be too convenient that gabs' brother turned out to be hiding out in alaska as well… and then to kill of both handlers, Michael and felix? a bit over the top?
so, will there be a seventh book?

[Rebekka]

Früher habe ich die Reihe sehr gemocht. Sehr spannend und macht großen Spaß zu lesen.

[Lois Nelson]

I absolutely loved this book the suspense was amazing and a very twisting and unpredictable end to the story. Just wished there were more agent 21 books🩷

[Jenny]

Perfect conclusion to this awesome series. LOVED IT!!!

[Richard Lelievre]

Good book, lot of action.

[Steve Pillinger]

Definitely weaker, this one; clearly intended to wrap up the series, and maybe a little writer-fatigue shows through. It did not sadden me that there would be no more Agent 21 stories… Overall, the first book I read in this series takes the prize: No. 5, "Under Cover" clearly outstrips the rest, to my mind. It has a different protagonist and a different supporting cast, and somehow has a lot more zip and snap.

[Bex]

4 Stars!

This read was a long time coming. I’ve been reading the series since it began, and have put off finishing it for so long.

It had all of the action of the other books, but I couldn’t help that it felt a little lacklustre in parts. The book started off solidly with some surprises and the formation of a plan, but of course, plans tend to go awry. From there, it seemed more like a survivalist book than I spy novel, and although I loved reading about Zak and Ricky working as a team, it still fell a little short.

I also thought that Cruz would be more present in the story, and so, as Zak’s arch-nemesis, I couldn’t help but be disappointed that he didn’t play a bigger role in the final book.

Having said that, I liked that the book mainly shifted between Zak and Ricky’s POV, mainly because it gave cause to see just how far Zak had come since book one. It’s amazing and kind of scary, I’m not going to lie.

Overall: A solid if underwhelming finale to a action-packed spy series.