The Ambler Warning

A Novel

By: Robert Ludlum

Narrated by: Scott Sowers

Length: 16 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

"Welcome to Robert Ludlum's world...fast pacing, tight plotting, international intrigue." (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

In Robert Ludlum's The Ambler Warning, an agent breaks out of a top security institution where the government has kept him drugged for years only to discover that he's not the person he thinks he is.

On Parrish Island, a restricted island off the coast of Virginia, there is a little known and never visited psychiatric facility. There, far from prying eyes, the government stores former intelligence employees whose psychiatric state make them a danger to their own government, people whose ramblings might endanger ongoing operations or prove dangerously inconvenient.

One of these employees, former Consular Operations agent Hal Ambler, is kept heavily medicated and closely watched. But there's one difference between Hal and the other patients - Hal isn't crazy. With the help of a sympathetic nurse, Hal manages to first clear his mind of the drug-induced haze and then pulls off a daring escape. Free, he's out to discover who stashed him there and why - but the world he returns to isn't the one he remembers.

Friends and longtime associates don't remember him, there are no official records of Hal Ambler, and when he first sees himself in the mirror, the face that looks back at him is not the one he knows as his own.

©2005 Myn Pyn, LLC (P)2005 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC

Critic reviews

"Ludlum packs more suspense into his novels than any other six-pack of thriller writers combined." (The New York Times)

Ambler without a “Warning”

Story has technical statistical dialogues that run tangent to the story line that causes loss of interest. The story could easily be abridged by 1/3 to make it more interesting.

slow jumps all over

this book is slow in a lot of spots jumps all over the place not one of ludlums better titles tbh kept going to other books and coming back just to finish this bore

Captivating

The story was excellent but not to pick on the reader they should have sprung for a woman for some of the parts. He was fine with the male parts but he can't do a woman at all. I have to say I got less than half way through and I would stop the car and listen for a while.

Excellent

Awesome plot and performance. Keeps you guessing every minute. Very unpredictable open till the very end.

Typical spy mystery

A good book but there seemed to be an unending "more of the same" pattern. The end was disappointing in that it ended quickly without full explanation. Almost like the writer got tired and wanted to get it over with. If you like suspense novels, you may enjoy it anyway.

Good book, bad narrator

The book was really good and would have recieved 5 stars had it not been for the narrator. This guy's voice just did not work for me, esecially after listening to other Ludlum books. If you can get past his nasal, feminine voice its a good book.

Excellent ride

While the narration did seem to ramble at times, it all gave depth to the background of Hal. I, for one, enjoyed the ride. It took only a minute amount of concentration to keep up with the longer story and for those who love to take time, the ending was well worth the time spent understanding. It would not be worth the ride if you've already gotten to the end via the abridged version.

very suspenseful

Not a huge fan of how it ended....very abrupt. Good read though. Wish there was a sequel....

Long but captivating

I'm a fan of the Da Vinci Code et. all and was looking for a suspenseful listen when purchasing this book. At first the narrator seemed to be lying on his couch reading what would seem to be a very intreguing start to the novel. Eventually the character count increased and the male narrator was able to fit the parts of all characters, whether they had a foreign accent or female tone. Fairly unique storyline about a man who tries to seek out his erased identity. At times I expected too much and did not feel as though I was given the full explanation as to the main characters (Hal Ambler) past, but Ludlum gets by this by giving the listener what they need to hear in order to figure it out. Interesting twist to top off the ending which was a relief from occasional slow middle. I usually like longer storylines with more detail, but this one could have been clipped a bit to reduce losing focus. Overall it was a good read with enough suspense to satisfy my satiation for it.

The Ambler Warning

First Rate! Well crafted mystery, murder, spy novel. Ludlum at his best. I'll miss him.