The American

Ryan Kealey, Book 1

By: Andrew Britton

Narrated by: Christopher Lane

Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

At 33 Ryan Kealey has achieved more in his military and CIA career than most men can dream of in a lifetime. He's also seen the worst life has to offer and is lucky to have survived it. But being left alone with his demons is no longer an option. The CIA needs him badly, because the enemy they're facing is former U.S. soldier Jason March. Ryan knows all about March - he trained him. He knows they're dealing with one of the most ruthless assassins in the world, a master of many languages, an explosives expert, a superb sharpshooter who can disappear like a shadow and who is capable of crimes they cannot begin to imagine. And now, March has resurfaced on the global stage, aligning himself with a powerful Middle East terror network whose goal is nothing less than the total destruction of the United States.

Teaming up with beautiful and tenacious British-born agent Naomi Kharmai, Ryan intends to break every rule in order to hunt down his former pupil, whatever the cost to himself. As Ryan puts together the pieces of a terrifying puzzle, and as the elusive March taunts him, always staying one step ahead, he discovers the madman's crusade is personal as well as political - and Ryan himself is an unwitting pawn. With the clock ticking down and the fate of the country resting uneasily on his shoulders, Ryan is caught in a desperate game of cat-and-mouse with the most cunning opponent he's ever faced, one who will never stop until he's committed the ultimate act of evil - a man who is all the more deadly for being one of our own.

Public Domain (P)2006 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Decent Characters, Decent Plot, AWFUL Production

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I am willing to recommend the author. I wish I had read the paper version first because the narration ruined it for me.

Would you recommend The American to your friends? Why or why not?

Same as above. Production is also awful. Some added "effects" such as phone and radio dialog and listening to someone shout in another room are just plain poor and amateurish attempts to make this title better. That coupled with the terrible narration makes me want to tell readers not to waste your money on the audio book without first sampling. Buy the paper version or get a different narrator. I will not be purchasing any more of Britton's audio books without a change in narrator and production expertise.

Would you be willing to try another one of Christopher Lane’s performances?

Absolutely not. He is nasal, his voice sounds mucousy and cracks and pitches at odd places.

Was The American worth the listening time?

Again the story is entertaining but the narration is too painful to bother with.

Any additional comments?

Someone give Christopher Lane some Mucinex and a box of tissues.

Not too bad for a 1st book

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I liked the book in general. Although most of these types of book are fairly predictable, but still not too bad for a 1st release. Especially since the author was just 23 when released. Sad that he died so suddenly.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

So so

What aspect of Christopher Lane’s performance would you have changed?

I really didn't care for the narrator. He does a better job with female voices than male and he too monotone in most of it like he was just reading it and not acting.

Could you see The American being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Perhaps ... no clue

Any additional comments?

I'm pretty good and forcing myself to finish a book no matter how bad the book/narrator. Mr. Lane much, much better in the second book in the series. If you can make it through this one, you'll be pleased with the second one.

Great story-monotone narrator

It took me a while to get used to not falling asleep while driving due to the lack of inflection from the narrator. My first audio book by this narrator. Towards the end, I found it easier to stay engaged with the story and not be lulled into a hypnotic state. Going to go for the sequel.

Good thriller

Complaining that this book is formulaic is like complaining that there is too much guitar in country music. If you like the genre (and I do), you will like this book! Britton was a master of the genre from his first book!

Great story, way too much detail as it drags.

A wonderful chase story with many twists and turns. Great characters, but the detail in the book goes on and on. The author explains many situations to a degree that I found frustrating. It is a great book, with surprise? ending.

Good Start

Would you consider the audio edition of The American to be better than the print version?

can't compare. I haven't read print version

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Certainly kept me interested enough to want to keep coming back until finished

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

change in inflection as related to different characters. Seemed to get better as he went along.

Made Me Start Writing

This was one of the books that inspired me to write. Great story, great characters, good realism

Great book

Awesome book. Can’t wait to listen to the next one. Great narration through the entire book.

A little bit thrilling, but very predictable

Ryan Kealey is the classic spy hero. He is a bit of a bad boy, extremely skilled at almost EVERYTHING, smarter than everyone else, is a tough guy, anti-bureaucracy, all the ladies immediately are attracted to him, and several other clichés. Only in his early thirties, he has to come out of retirement to track his terrorist nemesis. In all of the government, Ryan is the only one having success in the hunt and his success is primarily through hunches and bit of information gleaned when killing and torturing. I spent the last 3 hours of the book trying to decide how the author was going to handle two key telegraphed plot twists that were going to set up the remainder of the series. Sure enough, I guessed the ending.
Being predictable and cliché does not have to prevent a book from being entertaining and exciting. Heck, I like Clive Cussler books. The American is OK in that respect. The specific terrorist hunt and chase are good. I was not buying the villain and terrorist conspiracy, but it is no worse than many other novels. I can see this book would be great for those that like a macho hero and they will enjoy it. I was not a fan of the narrator who worked hard to give recognizable voices to the individual characters. While I give him credit for this, many of the accents and speech cadences did not work for me.
A word of caution are about the female characters. Heck, I am a guy and they were still written way too much from a guy’s perspective. The girls all attracted to the moody Kealey. We hear about how stylish the women are dressed with perfectly coiffed (impractically so) and later Kealey says that one of the things he loves about his fiancee is that she never thinks about her appearance or spends any time looking in the mirror, but she is totally beautiful.
Finally, the book ends the immediate threat, but more than sets itself up for the next chapter. I meant chapter because this feels like an episode of a themed television show. It is a book that I would not feel bad reading on a long flight, but think there are way better series to get connected with for the long term.

Hated the finish

The storyline was good, character development good but I thought the ending was abrupt and unsatisfying