• The Breach

  • By: Patrick Lee
  • Narrated by: Jeff Gurner
  • Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (1,091 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Breach  By  cover art

The Breach

By: Patrick Lee
Narrated by: Jeff Gurner
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $22.49

Buy for $22.49

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Thirty years ago, in a facility buried beneath a vast Wyoming emptiness, an experiment gone awry accidentally opened a door. It is the world’s best-kept secret—and its most terrifying. Trying to regain his life in the Alaskan wilds, ex-con/ex-cop Travis Chase stumbles upon an impossible scene: a crashed 747 passenger jet filled with the murdered dead, including the wife of the [resident of the United States.

Though a nightmare of monumental proportions, it pales before the terror to come, as Chase is dragged into a battle for the future that revolves around an amazing artifact. Allied with a beautiful covert operative whose life he saved, Chase must now play the role he’s been destined for—a pawn of incomprehensible forces or humankind’s final hope—as the race toward Apocalypse begins in earnest. Because something is loose in the world. And doomsday is not only possible...it is inevitable.

©2010 Patrick Lee (P)2010 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"It's all here: brilliantly devious enemies; nifty, innovative gadgets and weaponry; hang-on-to-your-hat action; and razor-sharp plot twists aplenty." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Audacious and terrifying - and uncannily believable." (Lee Child)

More from the same

What listeners say about The Breach

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    533
  • 4 Stars
    362
  • 3 Stars
    133
  • 2 Stars
    49
  • 1 Stars
    14
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    539
  • 4 Stars
    245
  • 3 Stars
    60
  • 2 Stars
    14
  • 1 Stars
    7
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    451
  • 4 Stars
    259
  • 3 Stars
    97
  • 2 Stars
    37
  • 1 Stars
    15

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Good but with problems

This is a good page turner/book to read on a vacation. Basically put it's not the brightest of novels. The science fiction, while sound in the reality, is a little vague in terms of the why's and what's. But if you suspend your disbelief enough it all comes together in a nice wash of dumb euphoria.

There are 2 problems I had with the book:
1. the "good guys" speak and deduct like genius' that really only serve the plot which is slightly annoying. Some of their reasoning skills come down to the reader thinking, "really? because that's infering quite a bit and there are many more solutions that counter that. On top of their genius there are HUGE mistakes made that seem illogical for them to make. I won't spoil anything here but keep in mind, if you understand how a technology works why would you allow it to basicially work in the enemies favor?

2. The book, while trying to keep the female lead strong and intelligent fails to due so in most respects in order to keep the male lead the main protagonist. She says smart things and we are told she's smart, but then we have this male protagonist with zero experience in the things he's dealing with deducting for her and otherwise making her look dumb. He's always telling her what is happening and she's always dumbly following and saying, "I don't know, what do you think?" It comes across as chauvinistic in my opinion, and I'm male.

I'd recommend this to anyone who wants a quick fun read, but don't expect to remember this one as it's poor character development makes it forgettable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

24 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Unspeakably surprised; No regrets

I chose to buy this book for the sole reason that Jeff Gurner reads it. I had never heard of the author nor the particular title. I finished Jeff Gurner's other reads, namely Daemon and Freedom (TM), and was blown away by his performances. On that single criterion, I chose this title, along with the help of another reviewer which said the book was a wild ride.

Aside from the predictably fantastic narrator, the book was shorter than the other books I've purchased, by about half the length. That being said, the writing was extremely well paced, and I not once felt like it was moving more quickly than I thought comfortable, nor did it move too slowly. It's the kind of story I could see made into an action movie of some sort (though I don't think it's necessarily the right material for a boring Hollywood thriller).

Up until the very end, the book has several tight turns that completely change the game, and I have to admit that I couldn't see any of them coming. Everything that felt like a silly plot failure turns out to be accounted for, and I couldn't have asked for a better total experience.

Something that I couldn't gather from the description of the book on Audible: the story is a sci-fi one, where the plot is based around some fairly supernatural objects. Luckily, the sci-fi is coherently mixed into the real world, so that very little of the story feels so far fetched so as to render it too "out there".

Brilliant book. Absolutely loved it. Another slam-dunk performance for Mr. Gurner, and I must say that I'll be interested in anything else that the author, Patrick Lee, has to write.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic ride, wipes out at the finish

It's been a long time since a thriller had me this high strung. Crazy intense set pieces, like invisible gunmen or an impossible, horrific siege, place the reader in situations of abject helplessness and hopelessness. This book is the paper equivalent of a roller coaster. I vocally shouted at it at least twice.

This book is has strong sci-fi elements, and seems like it takes ideas from movies like Men in Black and Momento or video games like Half Life and Crysis.

Two caveats, though.

First, the book has a mild sex scene, constant language, and cringe inducing gore.

Second, the ending was atrocious. My wife and I both felt as if the resolution had gaping holes. It creates more questions than it answers. Maybe that is what the author wanted, but for me it just seemed incomplete or worse, silly. I'll instantly forgive Patrick Lee if there is a sequel, though.

With all that siad, I'm still giving it 5 stars for the wild ride.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

worth the wild ride

This is a good book. It takes you to a place and makes you a part of the action. The writing is good, the narration is good. If I were told the storyline beforehand I would not have given this book a chance, I am very glad that I did, it takes you from the start and keeps the interest going to the end. It is fantastic at times but for some reason it all works, again I think the author is a good at his craft. I would recomend this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Too short - but I guess that means it was good

I don't usually go for such short books - I listen to a lot of books, so length counts. I gave this one a try based on the reviews, and I liked it fine - but it was too short. Left me wanting more. I have seen complaints about the ending. Personally the ending took me totally by surprise, which was refreshing. Give it a listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Pleasant Surprise

What a find! A standout story, well narrated and tight, with an edge running through it and a twisty, complex plot that takes you right to last minute. I listen to most of my books at work,and while most of them are a pleasant distraction, this one grabbed me. I was impressed, and I think anyone who gets on board this ride will be as well.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Mildy surprised

It kept me guessing until the end. What a surprise. I would highly recommend it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great new series

The Breach starts a great new series for Patrick Lee. It and Ghost Country are an intersting new concept for the action sci-fi enthusiast. Travis Chase is a character you can really like. Both of these books are both highly recommended in my opinion. I am waiting for the third book to come out.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Good Performance, Good Ending, Some Flaws

This book fits nicely into a "good", "bad", and "ugly" framework.

1. The Good.

This is the first audiobook I have every purchased because I liked what the narrator did with another book. And I was not disappointed. Jeff Gurner is an excellent narrator.

The plot is original and interesting and contains a nice resolution of a traditional sci-fi paradox at the end. (I won't say which one so as to avoid spoilers.)

The ending was strong and gave me a lot to think about. This book actually has quite a lot of intellectual depth, although that does not come through until the end.

2. The Bad (or at least the "not so good").

The characters are so-so. Only two characters are anything more than props. The main character is introduced at the beginning as an ex-con who served significant time in jail and was definitely guilty. His character seemed kind of ambiguous and I did not realize until the end that this was intentional. The other main character -- a woman -- did not seem entirely plausible to me, but she was okay.

The book was non-stop action until the end. Some people might like this, but I found it a bit frenetic -- written for people with short attention spans. There is very little character development or relationship development.

The story has a mostly negative arc. Things start bad and generally get worse until shortly before the final resolution. There are some upticks along the way but, in general, the bad guys seem pretty much invincible until almost the end.

3. The Ugly

Shortly after the start we get a very unpleasant torture scene, For some reason torture seems to have become popular in modern sci-fi. And there is a lot of gratuitous violence throughout the book. I guess some people must like this, but if you prefer to do without graphic violence and senseless killing you might want to avoid this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Wildly imaginative

I'd call this a wildly imaginative thriller. Look into it if you like thrillers. And wild imagination.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful