Enjoyable story, production not so hot

Buckley's writing makes for an entertaining story, not least for the audacity of his hero spy, Blackford Oakes, but also because he weaves in historical perspective to the characters' motivations. The production, however, leaves much to be desired. Frequently there are strange pauses in the narration, as though a sentence were punctuated with commas in the wrong places. Other times, sentences or phrases are dropped into the recording in a way that makes the narrator's voice sound so different that you'd almost think it's a different person. It's distracting. I'm not faulting the narrator, but the editing of the production is just not very good. Otherwise it's an enjoyable listen.

9 people found this helpful

Well written, compellingly plotted

It's Buckley, so you can rightly expect pleasing prose. That alone is enough to recommend the book--it is satisfying to listen to Buckley's descriptive, engaging, stimulating writing. But I also enjoyed the realism of this spy thriller. The plot, unlike many in this genre, was believable. The world won't (immediately) end if the mission fails--but the consequences are very serious. The hero is not an unkillable ninja-assassin, but a smart, skilled, brave, but human spy. Interesting backstory that resonates at the end. If you want over-the-top fantasy in your spy thrillers, move along. If you want a very well-written, believable, and satisfying story, pick this one up.

17 people found this helpful

Enjoyable, but a somewhat dissappointing climax.

This is the first Blackford Oakes novel I've read/listened to so I didn't know what to expect. What I wanted was an enjoyable listen while I made some long car trips and I wasn't disappointed. The novel grabbed my attention and kept me wondering what was coming next. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that the novel moved along at a good clip--I was afraid that WFB might have some illusions of being a Tom Wolfe without the talent.

I liked the not unsurprising perspective Buckley brought to the early 50's when this novel takes place. While some of the spy details were over the top 007-type stuff, Buckley gave a good glimpse into the period and there was no nonsense about moral equivalence between the Soviets and the US which was of course still a popular perspective in the mid 70's when this novel was written.

What did however disappoint me was the way the plot came together for the climax of the novel. Without giving away anything, let me just say that Buckley created a situation in which the reader is expected to believe can only be resolved in one ingenious way which of course puts Oakes at grave risk. However, I could think of many ways to resolve the situation without any risk to Oakes and even accomplishing the purpose more effectively. This definitely took away from the climatic scene as I couldn't help but think it was too contrived.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book and will occasionally return to Oakes.

P.S. What others have said about the performance containing strange seconds of silence is true, but I really didn't find this detracted significantly from my enjoyment of the novel. In fact, after a while I stopped noticing it.

3 people found this helpful

Any idea where he went to school?

I could not get past a few chapters. The incessant inclusion of “Yale” really annoyed me.

1 person found this helpful

Early Audio

A literate and playful spy novel. The audio sounded as though it had been patched together and was uneven in quality, however, it was still easy to listen to and a fun story.

1 person found this helpful

Middling

The Cold war theme is dated,. The story gets off to a very slow start. half the book was useless exposition.

Great Story Lackluster Reading

W. F. Buckley's first novel was a treat. His command of the English language a delight to the mind. Unfortunately Mr. Bachmann's rendering of the tale needs a bit of work. It won't ruin the story but it may be distracting; it was for me.

A fun ride

OK, parts of the story are a bit contrived ... but this is a fictional thriller and do you really want to get bogged down with too much reality? Anyway, the contrivances are fun.

The criticisms that there are a few pauses in the narration seem hypercritical to me. The narrator does a very good job with men, upper-class British accents, and the superior, slightly smarmy, Yalie voices. He – and the story – move along well. Buckley's writing is, of course, highly articulate and the story is a good one.

Very poor audio experience

I was appalled by the complete amateurish production of this title. Ungainly pauses and breaks in the middle of sentences, audible splices and edits in the recording with uneven output levels rendered this light yet well written novel a frustrating experience. Very poor. You should be ashamed of this product offering!