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The Matarese Circle  By  cover art

The Matarese Circle

By: Robert Ludlum
Narrated by: Michael Prichard
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Publisher's summary

Only two rival spies - and one mysterious woman - can stop them: Scofield, CIA, and Talaniekov, KGB. They share a genius for espionage - and a life of terror and explosive violence. Sworn enemies, they have vowed to terminate each other - yet now they must become allies. Because only they possess the brutal skills and ice-cold nerves vital to destroy an international circle of killers, the Matarese.

©1983 Robert Ludlum (P)2012 Random House

What listeners say about The Matarese Circle

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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Why is the recording so bad?

What disappointed you about The Matarese Circle?

This just came out, why does it sound like it was recorded from something that needed to be cranked? It sounds like it was recorded in a basement, inside a box, under a blanket.

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16 people found this helpful

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

Good book, horrible recording.

This audiobook sounds like a 1940s news reel. The reader's voice is tinny and flat, and he sounds like he has a lisp. (I can't tell if it's the reader or the recording.) It's very distracting.

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15 people found this helpful

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

Worst recording quality ever

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

no one because they cannot hear it

Would you be willing to try another book from Robert Ludlum? Why or why not?

of course

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Michael Prichard?

he's not very good, no voices, but that is not the problem.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

the RECORDING sparked disappointment.

Any additional comments?

You should REMOVE it from your library unless you can come up with a new recording. It sounds like it was recorded in the 40's. It is very difficult to hear

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10 people found this helpful

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

Give Michael Prichard a Break!!!

What made the experience of listening to The Matarese Circle the most enjoyable?

It's one of Ludlum's best. More of these should be available on Audible. It ain't all about Bourne.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Typical Ludlum pacing: first third procedural and a bit slow; second third gripping and better paced; final third all the stops come out.

What about Michael Prichard’s performance did you like?

I wrote this review to give a contrasting view on this narrator. MP is one of the old crowd in the narrator biz. That has plusses and minuses. He is a very reliable and articulate reader, usually. He may seem a little flat by today's standards, but so what? If Scott Brick is your ideal narrator, you probably won't like MP. And this is Robert Ludlum--if you think RL is Dostoyevsky or Dickens, MP's tone will seem wrong. Otherwise, what's the problem? This recording is pretty obviously a digitization of the original BOT recording; you can tell from the slightly muddy tone and the pitch changes at 45 minute intervals. That's the way it was back then. Audible decided to use what they had. Don't take that out on MP. He's one of the reasons this format even exists in the first place. Props to him for that.

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

Huh?

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6 people found this helpful

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

Expensive torture!

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I like most of Ludlum,'s novels. Some are better than others but I did enjoy them. A fan of Ludlum will like this story as well but not the audiobook.

What other book might you compare The Matarese Circle to and why?

Fairly similar to most of his earlier books.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator must hate Ludlum. There is no other way to explain the wooden performance.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Matarese Circle?

None. I want the same as the book.

Any additional comments?

True torture to listen. Absolutly appalling that one has to pay for this agony. If I had not read all of the Ludlum novels and just started with this audiobook, I would never again dream of reading or listening to another. In fact if this was an example of what to expect from an audiobook, Audible would be out of business.

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6 people found this helpful

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

Bad quality narration

I could not enjoy the book as the sound quality of narration was bad. Please fix it

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1 person found this helpful

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

Bad narration

Any additional comments?

I had to stop listening. The sound quality was bad, but tolerable. However, the narration made it unlistenable to me. It was read in a very monotone voice and made zero distinction between characters. The hard part was that he would read straight through different characters thoughts or words. This made it very difficult to follow. I've read several Ludlum books and generally enjoy them so I'm sure its a great story but this version is not one I would recommend

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1 person found this helpful

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

what a wild ride.

Great story. I love spy and intrigue stories. This one had it all. I listened to The Matarese Countdown first, so I kind of did it backwards. No regrets though. Listen to both books, I guarantee you will be in for a he'll of a great ride.

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1 person found this helpful

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

I couldn’t get past the terrible recording

I read this in paperback many years ago and thought I would revisited in audio form after all these years. The first thing I noticed is the terrible recording quality; the sound is poor, but the narrator also sounds awful. Maybe it’s just the quality of the recording, but it makes him sound like he’s got a lisp, which is very distracting. This is the most disappointing book I have experienced on Audible so far.

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

Typical Ludlum

Ludlum creates a complex world of characters and histories in spinning this yarn of a worldwide plot to dominate the planet that has been playing out for 70 years.

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