Eye of the Needle

Eric Lincoln's narration was phenomenal. The female voices and accents of the various characters was superb. Follett's descriptive style was so vivid it left me breathless. It felt like I was reading a screenplay of a movie about Nazi espionage and I was part of the action. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is new to audio books. Thanks to the Audible sale, I stumbled upon a gem. I would pay full price for this fabulous audio book.

Based on comparisons to other Ken Follett novels, this one simply falls short.

Based on an overall comparison rating it is average to decent.

The audio production is not very good at all. The narrator is good (he starts off reading to fast, but later falls into step)...

BUT... the character voices are delivered by different readers, many of whom are NOT good at all (especially scenes that are supposedly live conversation in the same room - they sound like cutaways to a bathroom - ACTUALLY - SEPARATE bathrooms!!) The production person should be looking for a new job!

Anyway, if you're a Follett nut, save this one till last. It starts slow and the character development is very slow. The last two hours are typical Follett - good.

Read the others, they are better. The other two Follett WWII novels are much better, Hornet Flight (my favorite) and Jackdaws.

Slight thumbs up.. but only so slightly.

There's been some carping about a book that, apparently, has been updated. So if you only care for one voice, well, that's too bad. I prefer to here a real woman's voice even if it has been cut into the original narrator. The editing is SO well done (love the effect that makes sounds over phone & radio voices 'tinny').
It so fast paced, you'd never know it was done dubbed in as a 2nd release (If in fact that's true... I don't know.)
Also, I think the fact that Follett made the bad guy/spy a complete character, with somewhat conflicted emotions I'm sure might also bother those who suffered at the hands of the very evil Nazis. The antagonist isn't doing this out of fear for their families (however I am NO apologist for the Nazis) many regular Germans lived in fear of the war machine & SS if they didn't follow orders but the majority were simply turning blind eye to pure evil.
The spy in this book was in it for his Fatherland (never said in those words) BUT he is portrayed BRIEFLY as sympathetic when having doubts about some killing that needs doing.
I call that a REAL rounded character not the cardboard cutouts that pass for most Nazis in 98% of stories with that setting.
He's still pure evil.
Make no mistake this book is the first, and shows that Follett indeed has the talent that leads to his ongoing illustrious career.
So download this and hang on. I was on the edge of my ..uh.. earphones or speakers the entire ride. It is gripping Follett couldn't have picked a better secret to have on the line. Wow!

I have no idea of the book is any good.... simply because there are so many people part of the narration (or at least it feels like they used a different person for every character)... the accents are so badly over the top.
And the audio sound is as if it was recorded through a can.
I was unable to listen to it for more then an hour.

I didn't like this as much as some as Ken Follett's other books, but it was still very good. It took a few hours to get into, but once he built up the plot it moved along at a good pace. This is the first audio book that I've listened to that has multiple narrators to represent the different characters, and it was weird at first but then I got used to it. The main narrator was excellent.

I generally do not like a tag-team of narrators, so this did take a bit of adjustment. But beyond that, there are times where Lincoln seems to be just trying to get words out as fast as he can - as if that will heighten suspense. He reads in a monotone, which makes him sound bored with the story, even in the parts where he is speed-talking. The story is vintage Follett, so it is a pity that Brilliance did not use either a better or better-directed reader.

An excellant Follett novel that I had a difficult time when I had to stop listening. The narrator, Eric Lincoln was very good and the supporting cast kept it interesting and more dramatic. Eye of the Needle is another Follett masterpiece that Follett fans will enjoy.

Fast-paced and still fresh 30 years after publication. Excellent narration.

Brilliant book! It's been a long time since I've actually found myself clapping as an audio book finished!

I enjoyed this book with the different narrators, however I didn't think it came close to The Dangerous Fortune.