V2

A Novel of World War II

By: Robert Harris

Narrated by: David Rintoul

Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times Best Seller

From the best-selling author of Fatherland and Munich comes a WWII thriller about a German rocket engineer, a former actress turned British spy, and the Nazi rocket program.

The first rocket will take five minutes to hit London. You have six minutes to stop the second.

Rudi Graf is an engineer who always dreamed of sending rockets to the moon. But instead, he finds himself working alongside Wernher von Braun, launching V2 rockets at London for the Nazis from a bleak seaside town in occupied Holland. As the SS increases its scrutiny of the project, Graf, an engineer more than a soldier, has to muster all of his willpower to toe the party line. And when rumors of a defector circulate through the German ranks, Graf becomes a prime suspect.

Meanwhile, Kay Caton-Walsh, a young English intelligence officer, is living through the turmoil of war. After she and her lover, an RAF officer, are caught in a V2 attack, she volunteers to ship out for newly liberated Belgium. Armed with little more than a slide rule and a few equations, Kay and her colleagues hope to locate and destroy the launch sites. But at this stage in the war, it’s hard to know who, if anyone, she can trust.

As the death toll soars, these twin stories play out against the background of the German missile campaign during the Second World War. And what the listener comes to understand is that Kay’s and Graf’s destinies are on a collision course.

©2020 Robert Harris (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Engrossing.... Harris brings the past to life through vivid characterizations and clever plotting. Fans of superior historical fiction will be rewarded." (Publishers Weekly)

"A veteran historical novelist homes in on one of Hitler’s last desperate hopes.... [An] enjoyable thriller with plenty of well-researched historical nuggets." (Kirkus Reviews)

"[An] historical-fiction master.... Crosscutting between those launching the rockets and those on the receiving end proves to be a superb narrative device.... [This] novel combines fascinating technical detail with a wartime drama that finds human ambiguity on both sides of the battlefield." (Booklist)

WW2 historical fiction at it's best!

interested in rocketry since my early years, a friend gave me this book.Iit was a fascinating read that kept my attention from start finish. Well performed and an excellent story very true to the facts of the time frame. It gave great insight to what could have been going through people's minds at the time. Highly recommended.

Interesting listen

I really enjoyed the back and forth and series of events between Kay and Dr. Graff and how one chapter would be the English side of events and the next would be the German side of events. You begin to feel bad for and root for Kay and the same for Dr. Graff. Great listen

Harris delivers again

Robert Harris is one of the best historical fiction writers today and he delivers again. The twin stories of the German scientist and the British WAC officer is nuanced and gripping. Though we know how this story ends, Harris never rushes and keeps the characters real. His portrayal of VonBraun is delicious.

not just another WWII story…

but an interesting treatment of science and technology and how they are used by individuals and states

Interesting but hard to folllow

Appreciated the historical setting obviously a work that represented lot of research. Found myself lost at some points. But overall I enjoy the works of Harris.

War is Never a Bore, This Book Gets a High Score

I was thoroughly enthralled with this story, and I must say clearly awakened to the role.of the V2 rocket in a way I didn't expect prior to this excellent work. The science and mechanics of the V2 program are integral enough to this narrative to appease the want of those details while used as an excellent thread to bind the bifricated narratives that run parralell in the book. As a History teacher bi likewise find the clear time demarcations valuable, drawn with an exactness rare to such fictional works.

This fills in an interesting piece of history

This was a very interesting book that I have been curious about for a long time. It was well narrated and was well worth the time to listen to while driving. I had an elderly friend who just recently died who worked with Von Braun in her early days after he came to the U.S. to continue his "rocket experiments." She described the same personality that this book does...that he was flamboyant and larger than life. This book nicely interweaved both sides of the struggle...Allies and German and I especially enjoyed the very ending. This is a well-done book and I will seek out other works by the author.

8 chapters in

And every chapter has felt the same as the previous one. At some point this story needs to move forward. Agree with previous reviewers that said this is stuck between genres

Subpar, for Harris

All in all I enjoyed V2. However, the characters were too ordinary, and the plot wasn’t the least bit suspenseful. V2 reads like a 2nd or 3rd draft of an idea Harris was sitting on for years - it lacks the depth and consistency of his previous novel, Fatherland. Nevertheless, the writing is good, and the narration is excellent. There’s also some interesting talk about rockets.
Recommended, without urgency.

Good story, great narration

David Rintoul's narration is so excellent he can make a bad story pretty good. But this is a good story that Rintoul makes into a great audio book. I just wish it were a little longer.