• The Increment

  • A Novel
  • By: David Ignatius
  • Narrated by: Dick Hill
  • Length: 13 hrs and 43 mins
  • 3.9 out of 5 stars (279 ratings)

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The Increment  By  cover art

The Increment

By: David Ignatius
Narrated by: Dick Hill
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Publisher's summary

From a hidden enclave in the maze of Tehran, an Iranian scientist who calls himself "Dr. Ali" sends an encrypted message to the CIA. It falls to Harry Pappas to decide if it's for real.

Dr. Ali sends more secrets of the Iranian bomb program to the agency, then panics. He's being followed, but he doesn't know who's onto him, and neither does Pappas. The White House is no help---they're looking for a pretext to attack Tehran. To get his agent out, Pappas turns to a secret British spy team known as "The Increment," whose operatives carry the modern version of the double-O "license to kill." But the real story here is infinitely more complicated than he understands, and to get to the bottom of it he must betray his own country.

The Increment is The Spy Who Came in from the Cold set in Iran, with a dose of Graham Greene's The Human Factor to highlight the subtleties of betrayal.

©2008 David Ignatius (P)2009 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A thinking person's thriller with a timely take on recent international politics." --- Kirkus Starred Review

What listeners say about The Increment

Average customer ratings
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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Unbelievable plot weakened by appalling narration

Can the voice of any author get through in a book read by Dick Hill? I had forgotten how appalling a narrator he is for any character other than a sleazy slum bag from New Jersey, or I would have avoided this one from the start. All his women wimp and whine. And how any editor worth his or her salt passed his attempts at British, German, and Middle Eastern accents in this particular book beggars belief. As does the plot and character development in The Increment . . . but that is a different matter.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

yet ANOTHER anti Bush book hidden in a thriller

fairly good narration and overall story, the author must not know that Bush is not president anymore, many people have this affliction, it is essentially a book that whines and complains about how a few good men in the CIA ,etc. are doing their best to give information against political pressure, as if this is a recent phenomenon

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8 people found this helpful

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

Good story, awful narration

Any additional comments?

Ignatius does a very credible job of crafting and telling his story, with characters who are believable and who matter. But the narration of this book detracted from the story rather than enhancing it. His attempt to alter his voice for different characters, while appreciated from a more skilled narrator, here was annoying, very off-key. And his voice was tuned to hyper-dramatic, which was irritating enough as his default persona, but was even worse in that he made even scene-setting or background explaining narrative sound breathless and urgent. Like an actor trying to perform stage directions.

The story is worth reading, but in this instance, not worth listening to.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Slow and boring

This is a predictable crime / espionage pot boiler made almost unbearable by a narrator who must be getting paid by the hour.
I downloaded it to my ipod and listened to it at double speed. Like this, it sounded normal.
David Ignatious's other books, particularly Blood Money is a much better experience

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great read

Suspenseful with an unexpected ending. After Body of Lies, I was waiting for another book by this author and this didn't disappoint.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Now this is a GREAT book. Fantastic reader.

If you like spy reads, this is for you. It starts with an email from Dr. Ali and goes full bore from there to the ending.Many twists and turns, makes you want to drive until the book is read. Dick Hill, the narrator, has given this book his all. He uses a different type of speaking for each character The combination of the author and the narrator make the book great. I read in the car. There were times I had to stop the narrative to digest the action. You will love this book.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

A Real Thriller

This is a well told and gripping story. Perhaps the corruption of one of the characters in the UK Secret Service is a little far fetched, but the story is well worth the listen.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

more interesting as time goes by

David Ignatius is my new favorite writer. This book was a fascinating story, made more so by recent events surrounding Stuxnet. Several of his books have made me think we're getting the real deal.

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1 person found this helpful

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

Great story but story presumption inconsistent with reality

one critique: Iran ABSOLUTELY had intention and commitment to make a nuclear weapon and much higher level of fissure material; also striking Iran to limit their nuclear capability BEFORE they develop a bomb IS THE ABSOLUTE CORRECT course of action.

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

Slow Start; Terrible Narratation

First - let's get the narration out of the way. From glancing over the other ratings, it is evident that listeners either love or hate the narrator, Dick Hill. I do not like his narrations at all. I recommend you listen to a sample of the book before buying it. Good grief, why Hill insist on making every main character a guy with a Boston accent? And the other characters, even at times the British ones, are for sure from the upper northeastern area of the US. it drives me mad.

The book's started out slow but I understand why. The author needed to give a lot of context to the before things really started moving. I really think I could have withstood it all had the narration not been so freakin horrible.

David Ignatius is a good writer. His books could be considered modern historical fiction. I would listen / read another one of his books, so long as Hill didn't narrate it.

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