Six Days of the Condor

By: James Grady

Narrated by: Nick Sullivan

Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

When CIA operative Malcolm, code-named Condor, discovers his colleagues butchered in a blood-spattered office, he realizes that only an oversight by the assassins has saved his life. He contacts CIA headquarters for help, but when an attempted rendezvous goes wrong, it quickly becomes clear that no one can be trusted.

Malcolm disappears into the streets of Washington, hoping to evade the killers long enough to unravel the conspiracy - but will that be enough to save his life?

BONUS AUDIO: Includes an exclusive introduction written and read by author James Grady.

©2008 James Grady (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

Top 100 "Killer Thrillers" (NPR)

100 Must-Read Thrillers (International Thriller Writers)

This Story has Aged Well

Sometimes the movie (3 Days of the Condor) is almost as good as the book. In this case, and In some ways, the movie is better: more complex, grittier. Still, this is an excellent first novel by James Grady (Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 is another best seller) that is fast, taut and well written.

Good

I had seen the series before I listened to the story. Slightly different, but the series really was superb. I kept seeing the characters in my mind. Loved it.

I could be a spy!!!

Where does Six Days of the Condor rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Its in the upper 25%. The story is fairly intense and Condor is quite creative. The narrator adds a lot to the overall rating. Four stars on the story because the ending wasn't as tight as the rest of the story. Nick Sullivan was five stars on this one.

What did you like best about this story?

It feeds my middle-aged male fantasy. Condor reads spy novels; I read spy novels. Condor is being chased by assassins; I might be chased by an assassin...hey...it could happen. Condor, armed with his spy novel education, surprises the spy world by outsmarting them repeatedly; I might outsmart a spy....well you get the picture.

Which character – as performed by Nick Sullivan – was your favorite?

The old man and Wendy.

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

I have two:1) The worst bad day at work ever...2) I am soooo calling HR when this is over.

Any additional comments?

The book is set in the 70's which levels the playing field for Condor and forces the writer to be more creative. Modern books sometimes get carried away with technology. Also, in modern spy novels you can overcome any plot problem with some new spy tech "the public doesn't know exists" which can make writers lazy. Condor's solutions were actually inventive and didn't employ the far-fetched tricks in some of our modern stories.

This is largely a macho wetdream

Didn't care for the narrative style right off the bat. Then came the rather explicit sex scenes that were entirely a man's image of a woman's sexual experience. That's where I chose to find something else to read.

The Deep State 1975 Style

I loved it!! Better than the movie . I couldn’t help seeing Robert Redford as Malcolm.

What do I know?

They made a movie out of it so it must be better than I thought. I liked the concept and the beginning. It lost me when the couple happened to be driving in an area that happened to have 2 bad men who happened to hear her yell his name and happened to shoot her....I guess it was part of the story but too many coincidences for me. By the end of the book I was wondering why he was doing everything he was doing except for the book, which is guess is a good enough reason except it became unbelievable to me and more of a "oh sure that would happen" kind of a feeling. Maybe there are people out there just like Condor and I know nothing.

great story!

Any additional comments?

This is a terrific story and I enjoyed the update in the prologue about how the story was viewed as factual by the Soviets who then set up a special department themselves. The narrator was fine but not exceptional.

Gripping story, great performance

Loved the story. It still holds up.
The performance is well done with done with lots of distinctive character voices.

Too many weak plot points

Somewhat entertaining listen but lots of weak and distracting plot points that undermine the story.

Great book!

Even though it’s dated in terms of technology, the story is still excellent (and it’s kind of fun to remember how we functioned back before cell phones and computers). An “everyman” swept into a situation beyond his capabilities desperately trying to keep his head above water and stay alive. The movie was good and since it’s been decades since I saw it, decided to pick up the audiobook on sale—great choice. Well worth the price and likely worth a full credit. Author’s foreword was very entertaining.