I Am Pilgrim

By: Terry Hayes

Narrated by: Christopher Ragland

Length: 22 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

National Book Awards 2014: Crime/Thriller Book of the Year

Can you commit the perfect crime?

Pilgrim is the code name for a man who doesn't exist. The adopted son of a wealthy American family, he once headed up a secret espionage unit for US intelligence. Before he disappeared into anonymous retirement, he wrote the definitive book on forensic criminal investigation. But that book will come back to haunt him. It will help NYPD detective Ben Bradley track him down. And it will take him to a run-down New York hotel room where the body of a woman is found facedown in a bath of acid, her features erased, her teeth missing, her fingerprints gone. It is a textbook murder - and Pilgrim wrote the book.

What begins as an unusual and challenging investigation will become a terrifying race against time to save America from oblivion. Pilgrim will have to make a journey from a public beheading in Mecca to a deserted ruin on the Turkish coast via a Nazi death camp in Alsace and the barren wilderness of the Hindu Kush in search of the faceless man who would commit an appalling act of mass murder in the name of his god.

This is now the entire audiobook, not in two parts.

©2012 Terry Hayes (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Exceptional!

Truly a ‘Best in Genre’ book. I was listening with attention every step of the way!

Captivating

Great story, excellent performance.
Not normally my kind of read but I’ve got sucked in. Liked the ending as well.
Outstanding performance from the narrator, pleasant voice and everything. Great job .

How does this story end ?

I Am Pilgrim captures the interest of the listener. A combination of excellent story & gifted
Narration. Now, on tenterhooks we wait for the next volume to see how the story ends.

Great first volume

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes but wait for the second volume

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

Yes right up untill the end of the first volume

What about Christopher Ragland’s performance did you like?

Quite matter of fact but still engaging

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Builds tension nicely

Any additional comments?

When can I listen to the second volume before I forget what was happening ?
Not good enough to release half a book, especially when both volumes are available on
Audible.uk and itunes.

Keeps dragging you along without waiting for you to catch up

Found couldn’t turn this audio book off with its deep dives into back stories & intrigue throughout. A sense it would all work out but not easily, with each chapter came another twist, another clue through a dark pathway towards its final conclusion.

tip top

Well written. A great story that keeps you reading on and on for more info.

Can't wait for the rest and the ending

If you could sum up I Am Pilgrim, Volume 1 in three words, what would they be?

Tension suspense intrigue

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

Totally involved in the how why and what happens next

Have you listened to any of Christopher Ragland’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No first time

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Who is pilgrim?

Any additional comments?

When will volume 2 be released

Brilliant!!

Brilliantly narrated and captivating storyline … I highly recommend this book. It has your pulse racing. Worth the read.

Definitely a must listen

The narration is a bit over the top sometimes, but the story is brilliant. Highly recommended.

Surprisingly bland and cliched

What disappointed you about I Am Pilgrim, Volume 1?

Having read the generally positive reviews about the story, I was surprised at how dull and poorly written it is. This is just my opinion and perhaps I've been spoiled by reading a lot of John le Carre, etc recently (I really wasn't expecting a le Carre style thriller believe me), but I was amazed at the lack of imagination. The plot just feels like a bad action movie, filled with predictable events, endless cliches and cardboard cut-out characters...it came as no surprise when the events of 9/11 surfaced in the plot. It doesn't help that the main character has no discernible personality and continuously references his superior skills. I really wanted to like this book but found so much not to like - the wooden dialogue (which often just serves as exposition), cliched characters (with a long and fairly tedious back story to each one), cliched locations, strongly racist overtones (it's pretty clear the author does not like the middle-east), female characters who always seem to have great cleavage, 'wide, beautiful eyes' and 'a perfectly curved mouth' or some such. After a point I'm afraid I just couldn't listen to anymore. Maybe it gets significantly better later on, but I doubt it was ever going to swing it for me.

Would you ever listen to anything by Terry Hayes again?

Based on this, no

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Christopher Ragland?

I did find the narration fairly corny but to be honest it suits the style of the story, so I don't know that anyone else would do a better job. He does a particularly poor job with the female characters though!

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Irritation, and boredom at times. There were moments of interest but these were always let down by the poor characterisation.

Any additional comments?

I think it's unfair that the book is sold in two parts, especially given that it is not a great novel in the first place. That said, I couldn't get through part one anyway.