Sandy

A most interesting earlier Shute. Written in 1942 and kept under wraps till the end of WW11. Britian (and the Commonwealth and Territories) were 'on their own' and I expect it was written to inspire hope.

In this story Britian is getting ready for a German Invasion, many European people had escaped to England to support the war effort, and the German Army was heading into Russia.The Air raids on London had started.

This is a story of a commando raid proposed by a couple of Navy blokes who really want to do more and are supported by a third man (Army Intellegence) who privately wants to give hope to the people of Brittany.

It is a good story and, although perhaps based on Shute's knowlege and experience to some extent, it is written as popular fiction.

While Nevil Shute is better known for his later stories, 'On The Beach' and 'A Town like Alice' , this one sits well along with his 'Pied Piper' as good war time stories about individuals.

John Tring is to be congratulated for his efforts in giving his Grandfather a new 'voice'.
This is an accessable account that reflects Guard's jounalistic approach, rather than a dry piece of academic history.

My own opinion is the narrator fails to do justice to the text in so important a work.
Where a even a slight pause to indicate a new paragraih or chapter would seem appropriate, the narrative continues. This is most noticeable when there is a shift from actual description of an event to a broader change in activity. For me this did detract from the account. Perhaps this is an editing problem.

I also expect that a considerable amount of material has been omitted, which may be available through UP 's own archives.
Harold Guard's astute observations of events as he actually experienced them is complimented by his similar well reasoned comments regarding some of the high profile people he came in contact with during his postings.
What I most appreciated though was the immediacy of Guard's accounts of events as they were occuring and his reporting style. The descripion of his activity and time as the Japanese pushed through Malaya and Singapore fell, was more poignant for his restraint. This is also true of his reports and observations in New Guinea and Northern and Central Australia.
A small pdf with photos and maps would be a great asset. This is especially so for the aircraft the Air Forces were flying .

I do highly recommend this and suggest also looking at a hard copy.

this is better after knowing more about the series. Try 'The Labyrinth Makers' or 'The Hour of the Donkey'.

Post Korean War and very much the Cold War. The USSR have really infiltrated the British Intellegence. France is making a mess in Algeria and does have a strong grassroots Communist Party.
Fred Clinton is using a double agent to get crucial hard copy evidence of USSR thinking during the Hungarian Uprising and the Suez conflict which also reveals another highly placed double agent. While both the French and British know of the USSR thinking, the US does not and, it was an election year!

Its complicated.

The double agent used to call Aubrey back to the fold is having his own crisis. His ruminations and plans take up a lot of time as the plot slowly unwinds. He desperately wants out of the mess he is in. Hence this is not a good book to enter the series. It is slow and it helps if you know a little of what was happening in the world at the time it is set.

Think John Buchan rather than John LeCarre, and very possibly a romantic version of actual events. Price had a few mates in the Intelligence. So.... 'interesting'.

A few minor quirks with the narration and generally well read by Tim Goodman
The story does move between past and present and a couple of times where there was no break it became a 'huh?' moment. Nothing that really mattered too much as the gist quickly became obvious.

A light enjoyable story. Well yes there are murders or odd accidents. Some good quips from Arthur and enjoyable repartee. It was fun to revist "Orpheus in the Underworld" by Offenbach, which was being rehearsed while peculiar sudden deaths occurred. I actually downloaded a medley from the Operetta to remind me of some of the cheeky tunes..Christopher Fowler's writing was evocative as well as giving the atmosphere of London's streets noirish shadows and fog.

The solution to the deaths/murders was a little contrived and "no" it did not really spoil the listen overall.

Beautifully written, delightfully understated, with a gentle humour Joshua Slocum recounts his great adventure.

The days of sail are being replaced by steam and one man rebuilds a small small sailing ship and sails alone around the world. Throughout he honours his sloop The Spray and recounts her charm in calm and tempest alike.

While a few have indeed followed his lead, this is a great listen to a book recounting the voyage completed before 1900.

Just awesome

written in 1989, this is the last book.

Character development being more Price's style, we meet a much older David Audley who has been called back to Europe. With two of his protegee as subordinates he is sent to locate an ex R and D person who seems to hold some vital information.

"The Hour of the Donkey", introduces Audley's father and alludes to R and D during WW11. "A New Kind of War" brings David Audley into focus, at the end of WW11.

R&D is a little like a Think Tank that is placed above MI5 and MI6 and Special Branch.
However it is still the situation that the full story is not given to it's Field Workers. And David has to call on some old contacts as things go belly up.

This stage play adapted to a story by Charles Osborne is great fun.

Hugh Fraser reads well.

It would be great to hear this as a play with full cast. Better still, to sit in a theatre to watch perhaps.
None the less, it did come alive with Hugh Fraser reading. I could see the stage sets. the costumes and the action.

I wonder if Agatha Christie was a much better playwrighter than novelist.

I wonder too if we will ever get to hear her "Mousetrap" or perhaps that will always mean a trip to London!
If you enjoy Agatha Christie at all, this is worth the dollars or a credit.

and the Royalists on the old battlegrounds. English Civil War.

Do not expect Martin Cruze-Smith or even LeCarre, and you could get a palatable dose of
interesting history. As well as 'Spy vs Spy'
English polies not wanting a rightful heir to collect his millions and no one telling anyone what the game is really about.
A story about those Rusky and the KGB. Curious CIA operatives. Spanish gold robbed from South America and stolen again by the Russians during or after the Spanish Civil War. And yes a little about cunning and good luck. Cromwell's.

interesting listen.

Be warned though, Simon Schatzberger does American English poorly. That is the three stars rating. The story is quite enjoyable,and Schatzberger is good with the British English and narrative.

Apart from some excellent references for the Arthurian mystery, there are lovely little references to Tolkien too. If you know your Hobbits and how Bilbo came to find the One Ring, then you can appreciate that there is a double trick being played. As an aside, Anthony Price was the first jouno to review 'Lord of the Rings'.

This is Cold War and it seems the Americans (allies) do not want the British to know what they are up to in the UK.Yet they also want help. It ia lighthearted look at the maxim 'enemies of my enemies are my friends' and in this period no one believes the CIA.

In order of writing this is the 6th book (1975) in the series. It seems to me though that each novel is a stand alone.

The stories in the series dip back and forward through time and follow different characters.
After doing my usual search I did find the chronological order of writing.

(1971) The Labyrinth Makers;
The Alamut Ambush (1972)
Colonel Butler's Wolf (1972)
October Men (1973)
(1975) Other Paths to Glory
Our Man in Camelot (1975)
War Game (1977)
The '44 Vintage (1978)
Tomorrow's Ghost (1979)
The Hour of the Donkey (1980)
Soldier No More (1981)
The Old Vengeful (1982)
Gunner Kelly (1983)
Sion Crossing (1984)
Here Be Monsters (1985)
For the Good of the State (1986)
A New Kind of War (1987)
A Prospect of Vengeance (1988)
The Memory Trap (1989

I also learned there are a few good entry points, so I started at 'The Hour of the Donkey' and it does really seem that each is a stand alone story.

As Audible has all 19 books, this one is also a good starting point. Simon Schatzsberger does read very well and I am following the books he reads, first.
As a series I really like them, because they do move in time and central characters.
I did enjoy 'The Labyrinth Makers' more than 'Other Paths to Glory' that won the Gold Dagger..
My expectation is that after hearing all 19 I am likely to go back, and yes I do anticipate I will be following Anthony Price for quite a while.

Even though the stories are fiction, I think many of the events described in the stories are based in history. They cover World War1 and 11 and the Cold War period.

This was downloaded because of Stephen Baxter having worked with Arthur C Clarke.

And I was interested too as I had just listened to Shada (Douglas Adams). I loved that.
I may love this as a video. As an audio it left me cold.

Unless a person is sight impaired, there are DVD of most of the older Doctor.