• First Strike

  • A Thriller
  • By: Ben Coes
  • Narrated by: Peter Hermann
  • Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (5,272 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
First Strike  By  cover art

First Strike

By: Ben Coes
Narrated by: Peter Hermann
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.24

Buy for $20.24

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Deep within the Pentagon, a covert multibillion arms-for-influence program was created. The objective was to protect the United States and its allies from terrorist acts by secretly enabling a handpicked man to emerge as the most powerful leader in the Middle East. But the charismatic Tristan Nazir double-crosses America, twisting the program for his own violent ends to create ISIS. Now America is at great risk.

Elite operative Dewey Andreas is sent to Syria to retrieve details about the source of ISIS' funding, but his cover is blown midoperation, and chaos erupts in the streets of Damascus. Trapped and outnumbered, Dewey manages to send proof of the awful truth - unknown at even the highest levels in the government - that ISIS' munitions were indeed provided by America itself.

This information arrives in time to for the US to cut off a final arms shipment before it reaches ISIS. But the vicious Nazir is far from finished. He launches a bold strike into the heart of America, sending a terrorist cell to take over a dorm at Columbia University, capturing hundreds of college students as hostages. For every hour that the shipment of weapons is withheld, the terrorists will publicly execute one student. The potential loss of life is intolerable. A frontal assault is impossible. Releasing the shipment is unthinkable. There is nowhere to turn.

In a situation with no solutions, there remains only one option: Dewey Andreas.

©2016 Ben Coes (P)2016 Macmillan Audio

What listeners say about First Strike

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,882
  • 4 Stars
    1,100
  • 3 Stars
    193
  • 2 Stars
    55
  • 1 Stars
    42
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,784
  • 4 Stars
    854
  • 3 Stars
    140
  • 2 Stars
    25
  • 1 Stars
    21
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,495
  • 4 Stars
    1,012
  • 3 Stars
    204
  • 2 Stars
    62
  • 1 Stars
    39

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Ben Coes keeps getting BETTER & BETTER!

Any additional comments?

I'm only about 1/2 way done with this book and had to write a review in defense of some ratings that were left early on. I don't know how anyone could have left poor ratings early this morning only hours after the release of this book with no explanation why. I was really expecting a DUD!
I must say this (in my opinion) and again I'm not done, is probably the best in the Dewey Andreas series. Since I started listening this book has captured my attention and won't let go. I have refused to answer my phone because I don't want to stop listening. IT'S THAT GOOD!
I'm not going to recap the story since you can read the summary yourself and to state anymore that that would spoil this fantastic book for someone else. The action is nonstop and believable. I think it is obvious from the writing that the author has experience in combat situations and his writing demonstrates this. I am so impressed with this book I just can't say enough about it.

Peter Hermann did a Fantastic job narrating this as well as the other books in this series.

In my opinion this is probably the BEST action packed book so far this year!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
If you found this review helpful please indicate so. Thank You.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

66 people found this helpful

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

Best espionage thriller in a long, long time!

Congratulations, Shelley, you got the first review of this wonderful book! First Strike is Ben Coes' sixth novel in the Dewey Andras series. Every one has been terrific, but this one is special in the amount of sheer suspense it delivers. First Strike is a must read page turner that should not be missed. Peter Hermann does a wonderful job of narration. I RECOMMEND this book without reservation.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

29 people found this helpful

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

His best book ever

I have listened to all of the Dewey Andreas series and this was the best one ever. I could not quit listening. It was full of twists and turns, different stories happening all over the world, but all tied together. It was his best thriller ever. I will recommend this to all my friends as a great summer read. Can't wait for the next one!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

15 people found this helpful

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

Great thriller

Dewey comes through again. This book was fourteen hours but I barely noticed the passing of time. The action started around chapter three and never let up.
I would recommend this book but I suggest that anyone who can should read the book for themselves. The narrator really ruined the enjoyment of the book. He had a problem with too much saliva. He swallowed constantly from about a third into the book until the end. It was annoying and sometimes nauseating. The acoustics were not good either. It seemed as though they decided to read the book in someones kitchen rather than a sound room. It ruined what was really a very good book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

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

Another Great Book That'll Keep you Wanting More

If you could sum up First Strike in three words, what would they be?

Twists and Turns.

What was one of the most memorable moments of First Strike?

Being Stuck Alive in that tunnel, WOW, great story!

What does Peter Hermann bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

As always, great narrator

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Dewey, a human being ???? A real person with feelings??

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

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

a riveting story but to much gore. excellent perfo

great story very current. too many gory details (some hard to believe).excellent reading. I just purchased another Ben Coes book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

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

Departing from the herd on this one, sadly!

Any additional comments?

I see all of the positives and I realize I am squarely in the minority. I also start by saying I have enjoyed the Dewey Andreas series from the beginning and I think Ben Coes is a good writer.... make that excellent.
I am not sure what, overall, left the book seriously lacking for me. I start however with the, in my opinion, HORRIBLE narration. Peter Hermann is not a narrator I have previously taken note of, but if this is an example of his standard work, I will absolutely avoid books read by him. Most annoying to me was a constant barrage of nose, throat, and mouth sounds. I wanted to send the man a loaf of bread to dry his mouth and an appointment to see an otolaryngologist. There was a constant wet mouthed lip smacking that drove me nuts.
Most annoying to me was a constant breathy nasal exhalation that was supposed to either make the character sound contemplative or tough, I am not sure which. But imagine the sound a disgusting guy makes when trying to blow his nose without a handkerchief while holding one nostril closed. And this was done for both male and female characters, good and bad. Sometimes only at the end of exclaimed sentences, but in the more annoying cases in a halting (nose exhale)... cadence, between groupings (nose exhale)... of deeply contemplated (nose exhale)... words (nose exhale)... in a single sentence (nose exhale).
I even considered that this might be an actual mannerism of the narrator but it was not present during the "narrator" portions. It only seemed to appear when specific characters were "speaking".
Add in portions of the book where it sounded like Hermann was sucking on a breath mint or throat lozenge while speaking and inconsistent attempts at foreign dialects for various characters, the narration made me repeatedly want to stop listening. In fact, it got so bad that at one point I put this one away and switched to the newest Vince Flynn book just to take a break.
Not wanting to be a critical jerk that nit picks (which I likely am since I seriously understand nose blowing sounds would be the least obnoxious trait I would have were I the narrator) I considered the real problem might be that I listen on a high def audio device using ear buds. However, when I switched to a lower quality Bluetooth speaker, my perception did not improve. I only moderate that by noting that once you hear something, it is very difficult to stop hearing it much like a bad smell may linger in your nose long after the offending source has been removed.
So, buried somewhere in that diatribe is a compliment. That is to say, I kept going back so the story or the characters or something held my interest. I confess that I fast forwarded a number of times where the author explored the history and motivations of the terrorists or the political calculations and reasoning of the characters (usually the terrorists but not always). A little is fine, but it was my feeling there was more of that than action making the story feel more like a psychological review of an event than an after action report of it.
All in all, not the finest work of Ben Coes but it had enough of something to keep me coming back every time I turned it off and said I was done. For that reason alone I really have to give it a better score (on the story and overall, not the performance) than my immediate gut reaction says to give it. And again... I am CLEARLY a minority viewpoint here and realize it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

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

Dewey does it again

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

YES!!!!

What does Peter Hermann bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Narrator one of the best in the industry. Love the interactions between characters during tense times

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The type of book makes my long walks very enjoyable. I think people do think that I am nuts when suddenly they hear me laughing or pumping a fist up in the air. GO Dewey:-)

Any additional comments?

Dewey Andreas belongs right there with the likes of Mitch Rapp, John Wells, Gabriel Allon Scot Harvath, Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers. ALL GREAT!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

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

Best Yet

Very good story line. Very thought provoking to anyone who thinks that this can never happen here. I was a little disappointed at how the story came to the final conclusion very quickly. I expected more interaction between Duey and the extremists. can not wait for the next installment.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

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

fantastically fantastical

easily the best book of year Ben Coes brings everything to the table with this book and the narrator certainly does not disappoint

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful