Night over Water

By: Ken Follett

Narrated by: Tom Casaletto

Length: 14 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

On a bright September morning in 1939, two days after Britain declares war on Germany, a group of privileged but desperate people gather in Southhampton to board the largest, most luxurious airliner ever built - the Pan American Clipper - bound for New York.

The passengers include a fascist English aristocrat fleeing with his family and a fortune in jewels; a German scientist escaping from the Nazis; a murderer under FBI escort; a beautiful young woman heading for a new life; and a handsome, charming, unscrupulous thief.

They will be in the air for 30 hours, soothed by the carpeted lounges, the curtained beds, the gourmet dining room, and the endless champagne. But once inside the flying palace, there is no escape. Over the Atlantic, the Clipper's passengers are gripped by mounting fear and tension as their journey reaches the point of no return.

©1991 Ken Follett (P)1991 Brilliance Audio

Critic reviews

"Follet soars to a thoroughly satisfying ending with aeronautical precision." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Tom Casaletto's glib performance makes this seemingly endless journey fly by with ease. His many accents are first-rate." ( AudioFile)

War; Family and Truth

A very entertaining book. Was really surprise with the flow of the plot- no history listen just a fun narrative.

Classic Follett

This is a good read. Great history about the times and about the Clipper. He spins a good story with multiple characters as always. It had more than his usual amount of sex which seemed overdone but otherwise, it was enjoyable.

Unexpectedly good!

Would you listen to Night over Water again? Why?

yes, I feel I missed many details a the begining while I was getting to know each character. I always like re reading a good book, it is amazing how much more you can pick up on.

What did you like best about this story?

the complex and interweaving characters

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

no, first time, but excellent narration

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes, but far to long!

Classic Ken Follet. Horrible accents.

As always Ken Follett writes beautifully. You know the characters like old friends by the end. The narrator though, no idea where he is from but his accents are truly wretched. Even just a classic cockney sounds like a lisp it was quite funny at times. But it certainly doesn't take away from the story, excellent book.

Great story

I loved the story. Very captivating and well written. The narrator was hard to listen to and didn't fit the style, but his accents were very good.)

Great book especially if you like hearing about the era of World War 2 and the Greatest Generation.

Great story line and character development. You can enhance the description of the landmark and planes by using google to search the image data base. You find cutaway drawings of the Yankee Clipper.

Great story

Historically creditable, informative, suspenseful,
Hard to put down, thorough, complex, educational.
We really enjoyed it

Entertaining

I enjoy listening to Ken Follett’s novels, but this one was a little predictable. The narrator was excellent.

Reliably Great

Ken Follett is one of those author you can count on for a great read. You don't need to read the jacket for the story line to know it will be riveting.

Average story, horrible narrator

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would change the narrator. The performance and editing were atrocious. The reading pace was unnatural. It was too fast on 1x speed, too slow on half speed. It almost sounded like it was rushed. Transitions between sentences were sometimes abrupt. Even the voices for a character changed, sometimes even within the same minute. It was obvious the character parts were read separately and then edited together to piece together the narration. While that may be the right process, the process was not executed well, it should be (mostly) transparent to the listener.

Would you be willing to try another one of Tom Casaletto’s performances?

Definitely not.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Possibly.