Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • Operation Relentless

  • The Hunt for the Richest, Deadliest Criminal in History
  • By: Damien Lewis
  • Narrated by: Greg Wagland
  • Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (469 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Operation Relentless cover art

Operation Relentless

By: Damien Lewis
Narrated by: Greg Wagland
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £15.99

Buy Now for £15.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

SAS Great Escapes cover art
Ghost cover art
First into Action cover art
Edge of Apocalypse cover art
Sting of the Drone cover art
Across an Angry Sea cover art
The Hunt cover art
The Rescue cover art
Killing Zone cover art
Eye of the Storm cover art
The Eden Plague cover art
My Friend the Mercenary cover art
Drone cover art
Cry Havoc cover art
Hunting LeRoux cover art
Spider Shepherd: SAS cover art

Summary

The new best-seller from the author of Zero Six Bravo.

By 2007 Viktor Bout had become the world's foremost arms dealer. Known as the 'Merchant of Death' he was both "Public Enemy No. 1" to the global intelligence agencies and a ruthless criminal worth around six billion dollars.

For years Bout had eluded capture, meanwhile building up a labyrinthine network of airlines selling weapons to order to dictators, rebels, despots and terror groups worldwide. He was hunted by the CIA, NSA, MI6, as well sought by the United Nations for being their top global sanctions buster. Holed up in Moscow - from where he ran a suite of offices selling anything from AK47s to state-of-the-art helicopter gunships and anti-aircraft missiles - he was shielded by a Russian state that was a partner in his dark dealings. In short, Bout appeared utterly invulnerable and beyond any hope of capture.

Step forward former SAS man Mike Snow. After serving in the Regiment, Snow had worked as a bush pilot in Africa, where he'd got to know Bout well. Via its own secretive, shadow network, Snow was approached by the US DEA, the Drugs Enforcement Agency. The DEA agents had one question for him: was Snow able to get to Viktor Bout?

This is the incredible tale of Operation Relentless, the top-secret mission that Snow and a handful of DEA operatives launched to entrap Viktor Bout - a story that ranges from the steamy jungles of Colombia to the ice-bound streets of Moscow, and from horrific bloodshed and tyranny in the Congo, to a snatch operation like no other. It may read like an implausible thriller, but every word of Operation Relentless is true.

©2017 Damien Lewis (P)2017 WF Howes Ltd

Critic reviews

" The Night Manager meets Narcos." (Saul David)
"To catch this criminal took incredible courage and skill. This is James Bond meets Jason Bourne." (Bear Grylls"

What listeners say about Operation Relentless

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    220
  • 4 Stars
    158
  • 3 Stars
    61
  • 2 Stars
    16
  • 1 Stars
    14
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    223
  • 4 Stars
    139
  • 3 Stars
    42
  • 2 Stars
    12
  • 1 Stars
    11
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    210
  • 4 Stars
    125
  • 3 Stars
    61
  • 2 Stars
    15
  • 1 Stars
    9

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

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

Interesting but it left me with doubts.

I spent hours online checking these details out and I'm not 100% convinced that this isn't an example of entraping a competitor in a dirty business.
The other players in the game are no angels.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

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

You know what you're getting

If you've read/listened to the excellent Zero Six Bravo and Damien Lewis' books on the special forces during the Second World War, then you know what to expect from his latest offering; an extraordinary story of bravery, fast-paced action and history made not just readable but exciting.

Operation Relentless is very much in the same vein.

Without giving anything away, as the quote on the frontispiece says 'The Night Manager meets Narcos' is pretty apt. If you've ever enjoyed any of Wilbur Smith's works, you can add that to the mix too. The key feature and the most important point of course with most of Lewis' books...is that they're not ficton.

Ben Waddams

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

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

captivating and enlightening

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. the author created a great narrative and paced the details well. I particularly enjoyed the narrator Greg. his pitch, pace and accents made the book even more enjoyable. really good account is a true story. One which in parts had you saying out loud. You couldn't make this up.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

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

Good story, painful to listen to.

Book didn't quite live up to the whizzy previews. The narrator used a most annoying intonation and I wondered at times whether the book was being read by a computer.

With the right narrator, this could have been far more enjoyable.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

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

so so not Mr Lewis's usual standard

not bad

bit hard going at times, kinda boring after a while

narration is ok . ended up feeling a bit sorry for Victor bout typical American double standards sting operation.

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
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

interesting.

interesting but quite hard going during some parts. amazing what goes on and this gives a great insight. well performed.

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
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

truly terrible

what an awful book so boring it is mostly technical jargon about flying plans waited 10 chapters for something to happen and got so bored wait I quit

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

Really interesting story

I was intrigued about this story for a few years. I still remember clearly the time when Raul Reyes, the FARC second in command was killed in Ecuador and the Colombian government find a large number of USBs and laptops loaded with key information about their operations.

Operation Relentless happened just days after the killing of Raul Reyes and multiple news agencies in South and Central America mentioned that this was possible due to the information contained in these laptops.

I really wanted to know the true story behind those events. Great story!

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

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

Gripping story, well read.

This was a great story from start to finish.

The accents were a little off at times especially that of the King of Sting who seemed to have a Chinese accent!

However, overall I highly recommend the book.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

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

very very good! I couldn't put it down

awesome book and superbly narrated. I would drive for longer than needed just to get more time to listen

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful