Legends

A Novel of Dissimulation

By: Robert Littell

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

It's a deadly dilemma for Martin Odum: both remembering and forgetting his past are dangerous options. A discharged CIA agent turned private detective, Odum is struggling through a labyrinth of memories from past identities, "legends", in CIA parlance. Is he really Martin Odum? Or is he Dante Pippen, IRA explosives specialist? Or Lincoln Dittmann, Civil War expert? Or another, hidden legend?

When Stella Kastner asks Odum to find her missing brother-in-law, Odum's ex-boss from the CIA shows up to order him off the case. Odum takes it anyway, embarking on a search that leads him around the world battling mortal danger and psychological disorientation.

©2005 Robert Littell (P)2005 The Audio Partners

Critic reviews

"Wonderful writing and a great sense of fun make this another winner." (Publishers Weekly)

Really complex mystery! Great read!

Littell writes incredibly complex story lines and this one even for him, is an enigma wrapped around half a dozen puzzles. I loved it from start to finish. There are multiple stories inside stories inside stories. Makes your brain itch. Great book!

OUTSTANDING

I have read this book twice and listened to it once. It's genius! Very pleased.

Great book.

One of the best books I've listened to, right up there with "The Company".

Authentic

Legends is great because of the quality of research, writing and characters. The narration was excellent with multiple voices and accents as well as perfect pronunciation of names and places. This was a thoroughly entertaining book - complex and very rich. I have listened to all of Littell's titles and recommend this one very highly.

Interesting, but the narrator

Book was interesting but the performance was average. It was too robotic but the story kept me intrigued.

Intricate personalities

Such detailed development of the story and the characters; loved it. I’ll look for others from Mr Littell

A bit slow...tough to listen to the narrator

I really enjoyed Robert Littell's THE COMPANY... so I thought I would try this book. Not a bad story... but seemed to drag on too slowly. Also, I found the narrator's voice a bit tough to listen to. If you haven't already... listen to THE COMPANY over this book.

Pointless violence

It’s awful. Pointless violence. Difficult to tell if there is a plot or even a tale. Could barely get thru the first 3 chapters. Droll delivery

Also didn't like the narrator treatment

I just finished Littell's The Company and the narrator did a wonderful job of giving each character his/her own voice, complete with vocal nuances. However, with Legends, I too am having a very hard time pushing through this audiobook as the narrator has, so far, awarded every foreign character with the same (or similar enough) Ricky Ricardo-esque accent. Additionally, the narrator tends to drag out the end of the last word in almost every sentence, which began to drive me nuts after several hours. The story, itself, seems pretty intriguing and it's a shame I'll have to shelve it for a bit.

Dry as Dust

What disappointed you about Legends?

It was boring and repetitive. Even the suspense, such as it was, was boring.

Would you ever listen to anything by Robert Littell again?

Possibly. It's the first book I've read by Littell. Even my favorite authors sometimes write books I don't care for. And a different narrator might have helped immensely.

How could the performance have been better?

Different narrator. Every sentence was declarative. They all sounded the same, even with the accents. Every character sounded the same, even those that he voiced differently.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Legends?

Every repetition. It seems like several whole passages were repeated. One small example is the description of how Fred dressed. We didn't need to hear twice about her pantsuit with the wide legs and frilly shirt. There were others. The book could probably have been cut by an hour by editing out all the needless repetition.

Any additional comments?

I wanted to read this because I am watching the television series. It's hard to see how one came from the other. Only the names are the same. The characters themselves are completely different. Sometimes it is a good thing to read the source novel, other times not so good. This was a not so good time.