• Birth of an Assassin

  • By: Rik Stone
  • Narrated by: Dennis Kleinman
  • Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (26 ratings)

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Birth of an Assassin  By  cover art

Birth of an Assassin

By: Rik Stone
Narrated by: Dennis Kleinman
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Publisher's summary

Amidst a murky underworld of flesh-trafficking, prostitution, and institutionalized corruption, elite soldier Jez Kornfeld is thrown into a world where nothing is what it seems, nobody can be trusted, and everything can be violently torn from him.

Ordered to disperse and arrest a crowd of Jewish demonstrators in Red Square, Jez is dismayed to find his sisters in their ranks. He sneaks them from under the noses of the secret police, but in doing so he has put his own security at risk; he has to get them out of the USSR. They cross into the Ukraine to a port on the Black Sea and he bribes passage for them from Soviet soil. Jez is happy in the knowledge that his sisters are safe, but he is unaware that his every move has been observed and that he has set in motion a chain of events that will plunge his life into a headlong battle to stay alive.

©2013 Rik Stone (P)2015 Rik Stone

What listeners say about Birth of an Assassin

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Forget Red Sparrow, read Birth of an Assassin

There are some books that the suspense keeps me gripped, and I have to know what happens next. Other stories I love because I enjoy being in the company of the characters. I’m in no hurry to get to the end, in fact, I hope it never comes. That’s how I felt about Jez.

When a story has problems, they stand out like stones, easy and clear to see, but when it doesn’t, it’s like watching a river. It flows and is hard to point a single piece of moving water and say, ‘that’s what made it great.’ This story is like a flowing river. Easy to follow and enjoyable. Forget Red Sparrow, read Birth of an Assassin.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

action, treason, corruption, friendship, and love

Just after WWII, Jez Kornfeld, a young Jew whose maximum aspiration in life is joining the army, is wrongly led to the KGB headquarters when asking for the Red Army. He makes a good impression there and has a successful career. But in helping his family he will lose part of the privileges he had, and soon he will be involved in a case of prostitution and corruption, in which his own life will be in danger.

It took me a while to get into the story, but once I did I was hooked. This is an action packed thriller with interesting characters and an amazing plot, always moving forward, and with several twists and turns. This was not my typical book and I was afraid that I could have troubles to enjoy it, but I absolutely loved it.

We fist meet a fifteen year old Jez, still so young and full of illusions. His main goal in life is joining the army. The novel covers around twenty years, and in that time we witness a profound evolution in Jez. From that naive boy who joined the army, Jez became a real assassin, killing more easily each time. There will be a point which seems of no return for him, and he will have to challenge his wishes and beliefs.

There is a nemesis in this book, an evil character which will try to end Jez. He has his weak points too, he is human; but I really enjoyed how wicked he was, while still keeping it real.

And there is love too in this book. Yes, this book has it all! As you know, I am not keen on romance per say, but when it is so seamlessly intertwined with a story, and although important, it is kept on a second plane, I think it can give an extra layer of depth to the story. Here it helps to complete Jez's picture and makes the story more polished.

Dennis Kleinman's style perfectly suited the book. His voice and performance made me feel I was a witness to the story. He trapped me into it and I could not let it go. His interpretations were also spot on but I missed some more variety of voices. Sadly all characters sounded the same except for women. This is the only drawback for me, since all the other aspects of the narration were superb and the audio production was perfect.

As I have previously said, this book has it all: action, treason, corruption, friendship, and love. It is very well written and will delight everyone, even those who are not into military thrillers. I am looking forward to books two and three.

Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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Listener received this title free

The birth of a great book

I really enjoyed this book. The author has a way of writing that draws you in from the first page and doesn't let up until the last. I like the way that you never know what to expect or what is going to happen next, other than plenty of of action to keep you hooked and invested in the story.
The one thing Jez has wanted to do all his life is join the army. One commanding officer sees his potential and he quickly rises up throughout the ranks, until one fateful day he has to make a choice that will change his life and career path for ever. He chooses his family over his country and his one time good friend and greatest supporter washes his of him leaving him to his fate. When someone starts trafficking young girls Jez is sent to investigate and he quickly realises someone is copying his play book exactly, is this a coincidence or does someone known what he did? Then the bodies start to pile up and it looks like Jez is going to take the blame for it, unless he can clear his name and keep a witness alive long brought to prove his innocence.
It was quite a different narrator very American sounding but I like him.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
Listener received this title free

Assassin's Revenge

A Jewish boy dreams of becoming a soldier in Russia. He achieves his dream only to be faced with antisemitism in the military. A corrupt captain tries everything to discredit him, and failing, to murder him. This also is a failure. This story never slows down in a kill or be killed world. I was gifted this from the author.

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    5 out of 5 stars

unusual and fascinating

a very very good story it's not an easy one it will wreck you a little and it will pain you a lot but it's a wonderful book it's enjoyable and incredible and wonderful it was written in a very special manner that I liked
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very well done

I was sucked into the story from the beginning. Both the author and the performer did an excellent job of portraying the love that was enough to cause someone to perform an act of treason. I will definitely have to check out the rest in the series. I was given a free copy of this audio in return for an unbiased review.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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this book was given to me for review

good cook and narrated well. suspense and love all in one place. enjoyed this book.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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the details and character development excellent

the careful details and understanding the environment is incredible. Excellent character development without losing the exciting action. Slow to start but hang on the pace increases exponentially.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The people who survived

This book was enjoyable and interesting. I found it to be well written and narrated.

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Gripping Story, Awesome Narration!

I was pulled into this book by Rik Stone from the very beginning. There is so much going on with this book from the action, the treason, the motivation, love, and corruption. I absolutely loved the twists in the book. The historical descriptions also added to the book. I thought the narration was really well done by Dennis Kleinman. Both the author and narrator were new to me. I requested this review copy audiobook and have voluntarily written this review. I would listen to more books by this author and narrator.

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