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The Year of the Locust

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

A Financial Times Best Thriller of the Year 2023

If, like Kane, you're a Denied Access Area spy for the CIA, then boundaries have no meaning. Your function is to go in, do whatever is required, and get out again - by whatever means necessary. You know when to run, when to hide - and when to shoot.

But some places don't play by the rules. Some places are too dangerous, even for a man of Kane's experience. The badlands where the borders of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan meet are such a place - a place where violence is the only way to survive.

Kane travels there to exfiltrate a man with vital information for the safety of the West - but instead he meets an adversary who will take the world to the brink of extinction. A frightening, clever, vicious man with blood on his hands and vengeance in his heart...

‘Utterly gripping, elegantly written... most definitely worth the wait’ Observer
'Epic and immersive, new and unexpected... deep and compelling' Mail on Sunday
'Compare this with the thrillers written by Mr or Mrs Clinton, and you come away feeling that Hayes is the one who has more inside knowledge' Telegraph

Sunday Times bestseller, January 2024

©2023 Terry Hayes (P)2023 Penguin Audio

 Espionage International Mystery & Crime Mystery Spies & Politics Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Exciting Heartfelt Iran

Critic reviews

Worth the wait... an often captivating, mass-market adventure story that's mostly more treat than trick (James Owen)
Compare this with the thrillers written by Mr or Mrs Clinton, and you come away feeling that Hayes is the one who has more inside knowledge (Jake Kerridge)
'[Hayes] is brilliant at action and military technology' (John Dugdale)
Epic and immersive, new and unexpected, and his research into spycraft is deep and compelling
Brilliant on the way agents operate and how the US spies on the world
Compelling, nerve-jangling and breathlessly exciting... Totally immersive
An absolutely nail biter of a thriller
Move over Jason Bourne. CIA operative Kane redefines the smart but vulnerable bad ass super spy in this dazzling cat-and-mouse thriller where the entire globe is a chessboard, and everyone’s playing for keeps (Lisa Gardner)
Has all the cinematic sweep and verve as Hayes' debut... just as enthralling
With vivid descriptions, some terrific action sequences and lashings of suspense, the book ticks all the boxes necessary for a superior geopolitical thriller
All stars
Most relevant
Halfway through this novel I decided to buy I am Pilgrim I was enjoying it so much - real boys own, 007, with pace and excitement. But after some unbelievable antics and tech in part 3 - which were more reminiscent of an early Bond movie script - I began to struggle with it.
Then came part 4. Why the author chose this direction is anyone’s guess. It’s not just the change of genre but the sheer preposterousness of the storyline.
A real shame.

A spy thriller that morphs into the unbelievable and ridiculous

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This is not a sequel to I am Pilgrim. I think a lot of people are under that impression. You can read them separate or in any order.

And if you approach this book knowing that, and knowing it has some sci-Fi elements to it. I think you’ll enjoy it.

(Mini spoilers)

If you think you are getting another I am pilgrim, you do, for about the length of a normal spy book, getting an almost complete “prequel” to the second half of the book, where our protagonists now established, go off and do more stuff.

Normally a Sci-Fi would start i the strangest place and establish a backstory through flashbacks, why is our hero do heroic, ect. In this book, we don’t get that. We start in present day spy world. And once everyone is set in place, we continue into a second act with an almost separate story, 241.

So I can see why people are shocked and upset, as his first book was a classic, Anti terrorist, spy caper, and they wanted more of the same.

You do get that, and very much in Terry’s style. So if you like his previous book, and either enjoy sci-Fi as well as spy-Fi, or you have an open mind, you’ll like it.

If James Bond’s invisible car upset you when Piece Brosnan drove it in the naughties, you might need to give it a miss.

Spy-Fi

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I did not expect the fantastical elements - Terminator/Jack Reacher while chunks could have been books in themselves!

Very unexpected!

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Really enjoyed this. A little slow at the very beginning but turns into a major rollercoaster of a story. Thriller mixed with sci-fi but a great story. Really enjoyed listening to this. Liked the narrator, easy to listen to. Great story, can’t wait for the next one

What a journey…. Loved it

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I am half way through this book but have listened to enough to be able to solidly say that the extremely poor narration of this is totally spoiling what I suspect would have been a great book had I have just read it.

I chose it on the basis that I’d really enjoyed reading I Am Pilgrim several years ago, but I have been using Audible for the past 2 years so just took the book without listening to a sample.

To be fair, I’ve heard some pretty poor productions with irritating voice narrators, but you usually get used to them over time…but this one!!!

It is the most monotone dreary southern American accent and the narrator speaks with exactly the same melodic repeated pattern regardless whether he is taking about torture, suspense or love. He isn’t really able to differentiate the characters either.

The best thing I can say is that it helps me get to sleep really quickly.

I love Audible, but for this one I recommend you buy the book!!

Terrible Narration

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