The Cruel Sea

By: Nicholas Monsarrat

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

Based on the author's own vivid experiences, The Cruel Sea is the nail-biting story of the crew of HMS Compass Rose, a corvette assigned to protect convoys during World War II.

Darting back and forth across the icy North Atlantic, Compass Rose played a deadly cat-and-mouse game with packs of German U-boats lying in wait beneath the ocean waves. Packed with tension and vivid descriptions of agonizing U-boat hunts, this tale of the most bitter and chilling campaign of the war tells of ordinary men who had to master their own fears before they could face a brutal menace - one that would strike without warning from the deep.

©1951 Nicholas Monsarrat (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Awesome performance, outstanding story

Great audio book. Narrator did a fantastic job! Story is great, a really good listen.

Not a bad way to learn more about the convoys....

What made the experience of listening to The Cruel Sea the most enjoyable?

I enjoyed the novel approach as the facts, figures, tons are well known... it's the hearts and souls who were there that make it interesting.

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

No

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The forgotten service... a lifeline

A terrific job all around

What a terrific book this is. I never would have read it if I didn't see it on an Audible 2 for 1 special. Great writing, characters, and narration. A terrific job all around.

Brilliant

First read this story about 45 years ago. It was(and is) a wonderful book. The narrator in this edition is excellent. The narration seemingly as effortless as it was seamless. If anything, the narration added greatly to the already great story. Bravo!

Accurate History

Even though “The Cruel Sea” is historical fiction about World War II and the war in the ocean, I found this book to be accurate. I haven’t really read anything about the war in the North Atlantic. It has always been ground combats. We often forget that World War II also took place in the water and the battle continued on way after the land ended. This book is more like a memorial for those seamen that lost their lives in the Atlantic. The battle of U-boats was technically specific where you forget that the story was made up.

Naval historical fiction at it's best

Montsarrat's writing is spare but stellar. This is a powerful portrayal of the ordinary men who gave extraordinary service shepherding convoys across the Atlantic during WWII.

Excellent insight into convoy escort duty

Outstanding insights into what daily life was like for the convoy escort sailors - highly recommended!
While fiction, I assume that most of the incidents actually happened to someone or other, so I assume that we can use this as a basis for what the sailors went through.

The story and characters are all highly plausible and Simon Vance's delivery is perfection itself. He really makes this book special; well done!

The book also follows the characters on their personal journey, as they adapt (or succumb) to the pressures of their jobs, or a better understanding of who they are. You really feel that you get to know some of the main characters.

If you want to play a game of this book, go to BoardGameGeek and download the solo print-and-play game Corvette Command by Alan Eagle and try escorting a few convoys. But try to take it seriously and remember the harrowing rescue scenes when you lose a mechantman...

Anyway, fascinating story and storytelling -- I just wish that more of Nicholas Monsarrat's convoy books were on Audible.

A Story of Men At Sea and Their Own Stories as Well

I believe this book to be the best and most comprehensive story of both men at sea and their own personal backgrounds of the Second World War. I read it many years ago when I was a much younger man, but this reading and listening have made the story a hundred times more meaningful and memorable than the first reading by a long shot. The Narrator and his most excellent narration added immeasurably to the story for me and I salute his performance a hundred times.

Excellent book

This book tells a story of an unheralded group but essential service during the war.

Heavy poetry

The Cruel Sea is a classic, with a powerful story on a heavy subject. The story conveys the tension, boredom, and terror experienced by the stoic crews both at sea and at home as the years of the war drag on. It is a beautiful work. I have listened to this audio version several times now.

Simon Vance's performance is extraordinary. He turned the book into poetry. A truly great audiobook.