The Hades Factor

A Covert-One Novel

By: Robert Ludlum, Gayle Lynds

Narrated by: Michael Prichard

Length: 15 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

In the first installment of an exciting new series from Robert Ludlum, a teenage girl in Atlanta, an Army major in California, and a homeless man in Boston all die a horrible and painful sudden death from the devastating effects of an unknown virus. Lt. Col. Jonathan Smith, a combat doctor attached to the United States Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases, is assigned to solve the mystery of the virus' abrupt appearance. But as the death count rapidly mounts by the dozens, hundreds, thousands - in America, and around the world - Smith finds himself trapped in a maelstrom of mystery and danger.

Hardly knowing where to turn or whom to trust, Smith assembles a ragtag private team to aid him in his search for the truth behind the deadly virus - a quest that will lead them to the highest levels and darkest corners of the globe.

©2000 by Myn Pyn LLC (P)2000 by Audio Renaissance, an Imprint of Renaissance Media, Inc.

2nd narrator nothing like first

I actually had purchased this audio book a few years ago- the original narrator (Paul Michael) was amazing - this narrator is horrible and for some reason there are parts where he repeats the same phrase

Excellent

I found this book excellent. The story and the narrative entralled me. I absolutely loved it. After the begining, I thought that the story would end on a depressing note, but it did not. In fact, it made me eager to hear the next book by this author. And I absolutely loved the narrator, something I've never before felt. His voice was mesmorizing.

Veni, Vidi, Virus

A typical Ludlum potboiler - always a good read/listen, and the narrator does it justice, with an excellent ear for accents and tones. As usual with this type of book, startling flaws are scattered about – as an example, a high-level autopsy fails to identify the fact that the victim was coshed just before death. Notwithstanding, the rollicking pace makes this a good one to listen to while cruising through the traffic.

Not the usual Ludlum but still good

I am a die-hard Ludlum fan. I have been reading/listening to his books all my adult life. I usually find his intricate plots, twists and turns totally engaging. There were a few disappointing lapses in this book. For instance, the lead character drove a very distinctive sports car to the home of a computer guru friend without a thought that it was easily trackable. Hello?? Granted, this was a minor point, but it was quite unusual for Ludlum books and was disappointing. There were a few more like this that I won't mention and spoil anything. The audio had numerous sequences where phrases or even sentences were repeated. Didn't an editor listen to the final result? The narrator was pretty good but all his British accents sounded a lot like Cary Grant! Overall, this is a very enjoyable listen. It is the first of a the Covert One series and I really like to listen to series books in order and am glad I started this series. But it is not even in the same league as "The Parsifal Mosaic" or the Bourne series novels, all by Ludlum, which had much more developed characters and more intricate plots.

Good book / Performance ok

The story catches you right away and only has short times before taking you to the rollercoaster hills. The only thing I didn't like was where , at certain points, the performer repeated the same line twice. This happened numerous times throughout the book. It was a bit distracting but it was worth taking a listen to this good book.

scratchy monotone

I don't care for the reader's scratchy voice and monotonous drone, but otherwise, the story was entertaining.

Thumbs up

Very interesting book, I very much enjoy the story and the plot. The book unfold nicely and it kept you "hooked" from the very beginning. Well written, excellent job from the narrator.

Great

As good as all of the Covert One series!

A glimpse into the present

I don't want to give away the plot, but this story could have easily been plucked from recent headlines. If you can overlook some of the military inconsistencies, you will enjoy this book.

Disappointing

The story was predictable, and the writing left much to be desired. The reader used acronyms for many initialisms.