Run Before the Wind

By: Stuart Woods

Narrated by: Rick Holmes, John Keating

Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Will Lee ran from a life of Southern wealth and privilege to spend a peaceful summer on the coast of Ireland. But there is no peace in this beautiful, troubled land....

Restless and dissatisfied, Will dreams of shipbuilding and sailing on crystal-blue waters. Then an explosion of senseless violence drags the young American drifter into a lethal game of terror and revenge. Now Will Lee must run for his life from a bloody past that is not his own.

©1983 Stuart Woods (P)2012 Recorded Books

Trip to Ireland

I read Stuart Woods "Chief" and was impressed with the quality of writing and story telling. This is book two in the series of the Lee family. This book drops a generation to Will Lee Jr. He is drinking and not pulling effort into his law school studies, so decides to take time off from school and visit his maternal grandfather in Ireland. The story takes place mainly in Cork in southern Ireland. Woods does provide a good deal of information about the country side. The opening of the book grabs your attention but you will have to wait to the end of the book to find out what happed. Will meets an English couple and helps them with the building of a sail boat for a cross Atlantic race. The story is suspenseful, with information about Irish politics of the 1970's and the IRA terrorist attack's against the English. There is some romance and humor in the story. Will has a lifetime habit of not finishing anything he starts so part of the story is will he finish the boat, run away when the situation get tough, will Will and Connie get married, will he grow up into a man? John Keating did a great job with the narration and all the accents.

OUTSTANDING

Where does Run Before the Wind rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 10%

What other book might you compare Run Before the Wind to and why?

Compared favorably to Chiefs which may be the best book I've ever listened to.

What about Rick Holmes and John Keating ’s performance did you like?

I liked them a lot.

If you could rename Run Before the Wind, what would you call it?

Nothing comes to mind!

Any additional comments?

I had listened to all of the Will Lee series prior to listen to this. As far as I know the audio version of this one had not been available until fairly recently. The Will Lee series is one of my all time favorites, and I have listened to audio books constantly for close to 20 years.

Frequent Listner

I started this series with Chiefs of course and have listened to many of Stuarts Stone B. series books, however I have to say this book is my absolute favorite. The story kept me engaged, I loved how the characters were developed and intertwined. The only thing about the book I didn't care much for was the ending and the closing one way or another of Will's and Connie's relationship. I was rooting for them to get back together, but alas, it appears not to be so in this book. I guess I'm on to the next book to see.

A minor dissapointment

Well narrated, but I have no love of sailing and my knowledge of 1970's Irish rebellion is spotty. But even in all my ignorance, I found the plot lines predictable and pretty dull. I chose this book because I was delighted to find that Woods had written a series on Will Lee. This one focuses on a year during law school where Will hangs out in Ireland and goes from being a boy to a man. Romance and tragedy about, but he comes out stronger for it all in the end.

Great reading - suspenseful - easy listening

Where does Run Before the Wind rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

At the top

What was one of the most memorable moments of Run Before the Wind?

How the readers interchanged accents

Which character – as performed by Rick Holmes and John Keating – was your favorite?

Maive

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

I listened to the entire book non-stop on my drive to the beach, a total of 16 hours. Great book.

Worst I Didn’t Return

This book was the worst I didn’t return. It was entertaining for the most part. To much dumb though. I lie to my girlfriends and fxxx around. I later have sex with my best friends wife and then I complain about the women not wanting me. Huh. The appear to not have circuit breakers or GFI breakers in the writers world and this kills people. Huh. And on and on. But still it kept me entertained enough not to return it. The narrator was great and I think that’s what saved it for me.

Question earlier grades

Where does Run Before the Wind rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I puzzle why others who read this story could grade it so low. It was definitely not a Stone Barrington bed romp. It had character, believable sequences and story lines. It was a complete departure from Stuart Woods other fiction and was extremely believable. I wish he'd pursue this avenue more in the future. The bed romps are getting old.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Will Lee without a doubt. He was believable.

What does Rick Holmes and John Keating bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I felt like was was a witness while listening.

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

Will's maiden voyage, finding himself.

Not Woods best

Would you try another book from Stuart Woods and/or Rick Holmes and John Keating ?

I've downloaded and listened to almost every Stuart Woods book but I found this one didn't hold my interest at all.

If you’ve listened to books by Stuart Woods before, how does this one compare?

Toward the bottom of the list.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Narrater was ok but he couldn't do much with the material.

Do you think Run Before the Wind needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No.

Any additional comments?

Even though some of Stuart Woods more recent Stone Barrington books have become rather blah and predictable, they are still more entertaining than this book.

A wonderful book.

I first read this book many years ago, and at least once in the intervening years. Now, after listening to it again, I have to say it’s one of my all time favorites. I’ve read many of Wood’s books over the years, but I think this is best.

Best woods book!

Slow start but I have listened to 65 Woods book, this is my favorite by far.