The Hades Factor

A Covert-One Novel

By: Robert Ludlum, Gayle Lynds

Narrated by: Michael Prichard

Length: 15 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

In the first installment of an exciting new series from Robert Ludlum, a teenage girl in Atlanta, an Army major in California, and a homeless man in Boston all die a horrible and painful sudden death from the devastating effects of an unknown virus. Lt. Col. Jonathan Smith, a combat doctor attached to the United States Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases, is assigned to solve the mystery of the virus' abrupt appearance. But as the death count rapidly mounts by the dozens, hundreds, thousands - in America, and around the world - Smith finds himself trapped in a maelstrom of mystery and danger.

Hardly knowing where to turn or whom to trust, Smith assembles a ragtag private team to aid him in his search for the truth behind the deadly virus - a quest that will lead them to the highest levels and darkest corners of the globe.

©2000 by Myn Pyn LLC (P)2000 by Audio Renaissance, an Imprint of Renaissance Media, Inc.

Story great, narrator mispronounces

I listened to this story a couple of years and wanted my own copy to listen to again since story is interesting and exciting. (I love medical thrillers about unknown diseases). However, I was disappointed when the narrator, mispronounced Fort Detrick and USAMRIID (I verified this with a co-worker who used to work at the Pentagon). Since both were frequently mentioned, it was annoying. I'd recommend Books on Tape's version read by Michael Pritchard before this version.

great story when it came out but is old now narrat

great story when it came out but is old now narration was great three star

great book!

I love anything from Robert ludlum. I got hooked listening to his books when i used to drive over the road. you'll like the characters and the exciting flow from continent to continent. this is the first in a series and i think there are 4 books so far . go ahead and get this book

we're not all butchers

As I was listening to this I was under the misapprehension that Dean Koontz had written it. He didn't and that explains the failings of this book. The basic premise is imaginative but mostly the story follows a blue print cops and robbers type story line. The super heroes are usually super but often incredibly stupid. It got annoying.

Mr. Ludlum may have a poor opinion of humanity. Read this and you might think there are thousands of wealthy and productive men and women out there willing to kill millions of innocents just to make a few billions.

Anyway, I still enjoyed the book. The characters are fun and interesting and the book flows nicely. The narrator, Paul Michael does a nice job and I rarely thought about the narration, just the story.

This book is great for SIGMA fans!

I was so sad when I finished Baldacci's SIGMA series, but with extreme luck I stumbled onto this series. A little different but I promise it won't disappoint!

Good Book, Marginal Editorial Work

Where does The Hades Factor rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is a good book but one of the few books that had very poor editorial work. I counted seven areas where the sentences were repeated. I did not like the initial part of the book narration, like the narrator was trying to get me to understand what he was saying instead of letting me listen.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Yes, initial narration was slow and seven areas were repeated.

Robert Ludlum is a Baws

What made the experience of listening to The Hades Factor the most enjoyable?

I truly enjoy almost any book written by/with Robert Ludlum... many people criticize his styles. However I have always found his books rich with character, cleverly written and always exciting. And sometimes downright funny.

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed the medical information and theme of the story, it actually got me interested in fields i knew very little about and i ended up taking more classes in biology because of it.

What does Michael Prichard bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His voice is mesmerizing, i grew up listening to his books and Michael Prichard has one of the finest voices of these times.

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

absolutely i would find myself procrastinating so i could listen more.

Any additional comments?

This series but especially this book is one of the best written by Ludlum and a true send off to a great writer. R.I.P.

too many audio repeats

there are an awful lot of sentence repeats.

better editing is needed. however, a great story and excellent performance.

Loved the storyline

It was a perfect audiobook to bring along for my trip. I enjoyed the storyline and the building of expectation of what to come in the covert one series

2nd narrator nothing like first

I actually had purchased this audio book a few years ago- the original narrator (Paul Michael) was amazing - this narrator is horrible and for some reason there are parts where he repeats the same phrase