Once A Pilgrim (John Carr, Book 1)
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Once A Pilgrim (John Carr, Book 1)
Buy Now for £12.99
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Narrated by:
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Joshua Manning
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By:
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James Deegan
About this listen
‘You couldn’t make it up. Brilliant.’
Jeffrey Archer
‘Decades of war has given James Deegan a natural ability to create a world that is incredibly realistic and exciting. This takes military fiction to a whole new level entirely. Deegan is a master’
Tom Marcus Mi5 Survellance officer, Author of Capture or Kill
‘Move over Andy McNab and Chris Ryan, there’s a new SAS veteran writing thrillers and he’s good. Very good.’
Stephen Leather
John Carr has recently left the SAS, after a long and distinguished career, and is now working for a Russian oligarch in the murky world of private security.
But an incident from his past – in which three terrorists were brutally killed – suddenly comes back to haunt him.
Tracked by a hitman out for revenge, John Carr is forced to step over the line to defend himself and his family. It’s a cruel and violent world – and one he thought he’d left behind.
But some wars never end.
Patriot Games meets Taken: In Once A Pilgrim, John Carr shows all the Reacher-esque hallmarks of a cold-blooded antihero doing what needs to be done, whatever the consequences.
JAMES DEEGAN MC is a fantastic new voice in the thriller genre, writing with unprecedented authority and authenticity.
‘Carr is a hero for our times’
Daily Mail
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Critic reviews
‘Inevitably Deegan will be compared to Andy McNab and Chris Ryan, but he adds his own brand of contemporary authenticity. Carr is a hero for our times.’
Daily Mail
‘Fans of Andy McNab will lap up ONCE A PILGRIM by SAS veteran James Deegan, a cracking page-turner’ DAILY EXPRESS
‘As close as it gets to the real thing’
Mark 'Billy' Billingham MBE . Former SAS Warrant Officer and star of TV's SAS Who Dares Wins
‘James Deegan write with masterful authority and unsurpassed experience as he transports the reader deep into the troubles of Northern Ireland – and then brings them back up to date with a dramatic bang. Uncertain times require certain people, and ex-SAS operator John Carr fits that bill. A tough, enigmatic man from the shadows, he is brought to life in this fast-paced, easy-reading thriller, and is bound to end up on screen. The character detail is credible but not clinical, and ONCE A PILGRIM will undoubtedly introduce James Deegan and John Carr as forces to be reckoned with.’
Chantelle Taylor, Combat Medic and author of Battleworn
‘authentic detail and heart stopping narrative grips you from the outset bringing the shadowy world of today’s special forces bursting in to life in a way that other authors of the genre couldn’t hope for….the best thriller I’ve read in years’
Major Chris Hunter QGM – Author of Eight Lives Down and Extreme Risk
‘exposes the raw with the reality. This is a gripping high intensity drama’
Bob Shepherd, ex SAS Warrant Officer and bestselling author
‘Move over Andy McNab and Chris Ryan, there’s a new SAS veteran writing thrillers and he’s good. Very good.’
Stephen Leather
'An impressive debut, that rates up there with Gerald Seymour and Fredrick Forsyth; blending a realistic vernacular of special forces soldiering to make a cracking read with page turning pace from start to finish.'
Stuart Tootal
From the excellent opening scenes in the Middle East and Northern Island this story and its hero John Carr take a hold of you. Deegan of course has the weight of experience on his side as one of our most experienced special forces operatives. This doesn't always translate perfectly into the ability to write about it in an engaging manner but right from the off he nails it. The representation of Belfast and its denizens has a brilliant swirl of atmosphere about it that i have rarely seen done so well. Deegan's writinng made me feel like it was me and not John Carr walking down the Falls Road alone late at night!
Carr himself is a great lead and I will definitely be following this series for a long time if this is going to be the standard. Now Scotland gets its very own Jack Reacher antihero though there is definitely a touch more grit and realism to this one. If I was to be picky I would say that while his lead is great Deegan isn't shy of using a cliche character or two , Russians and women on the periphery of the story seemed to suffer the most in this one not least from Carr himself. Carr is a soldier who has been through the worst of experiences and his attitudes do reflect that in some ways though he also shows some good old-fashioned antihero nobility at times. It's that mix that makes us love these characters so much.
The narration is extremely well suited to John Carr himself and there is a good range of voices and accents even if one or two of the Irish women do sound more butch than Carr himself! That's a very minor quibble though as Joshua Manning does a fine job behind the microphone particularly with Carr and some of the IRA nasties.
In all this one of those prize audiobooks where author, narrator and of course the lead man all come together to create something that's definitely greater than the sum of its parts.
Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts!
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Excellent!!
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9/10!
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Great apart from Dreadful Irish accents
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I really enjoyed John Carr as a character and, even though I haven’t been anywhere near the army, I felt an immediate comradery with him. A very likeable person and a very good book.
Gripping
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