The Defector cover art

The Defector

Apollo Murders, Book 2

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The Defector

By: Chris Hadfield
Narrated by: Ray Porter
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About this listen

From the author of the international bestselling thriller The Apollo Murders: a supersonic hunt for a shadowy Soviet defector known only as 'Grief'.

Israel, late 1973. As the Yom Kippur War flares into life, a state-of-the-art Soviet MIG fighter is racing at breakneck speed over the arid scrublands below...and promptly disappears.

It soon becomes clear to Israeli intelligence that the pilot is a defector, desperate to come over to the US side. Houston Flight Controller and former test pilot Kaz Zemeckis is charged with bringing the pilot and his plane to the highly secret Area 51, in the Nevada desert. But every defection carries with it a risk. It soon becomes clear that 'Grief' has the technical ability, and now the opportunity, to gain access to the treasures of the Nevada Test Range - either a prototype stealth fighter or the NERVA nuclear rocket engine. Or both.

For Chris Hadfield's second heart-stopping thriller, we move from Space to another rich and exciting part of Chris's professional CV: his time as the top test pilot in both the US Air Force and the US Navy, and as a Cold War pilot intercepting armed Soviet bombers in North American airspace. Just as Gregg Hurwitz called The Apollo Murders 'an explosive thriller by a writer who has actually been to space and back', here we have a matchless thriller and the nerve-shredding rush of aerial combat, as told by one of the world's top fighter pilots.

©2023 Chris Hadfield (P)2023 Hachette Audio
Action & Adventure Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Science Fiction Space Exploration Suspense Thriller & Suspense War & Military Air Force Exciting Middle East US Air Force Heartfelt Military Aviation War Soviet Union Interstellar Mystery

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All stars
Most relevant
excellent detailed gripping story from Chris Hadfield really enjoyed this book..narrator was good too

another excellent book from Commander Hadfield

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Interesting storyline with detailed descriptions of flying and technology with great story arc. Some really lyrical writing.

Absorbing, gripping and great narration

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In some ways even better than the first book. The detail of everything is so well done.

Both this and the previous book give a fair portrayal of the competency of the soviets, their inventiveness and ways of working - while subtly highlighting the grotesqueness of their ways.

Looking forward to the 3rd book.

Brilliant

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I liked this one allot. I would have liked to have seen more returning characters and the ones that did return seemed to have muted story lines.


Perhaps (and I hope) this is a set up for a third story where the US/USSR space projects really bring us (and perhaps a certain one eyed test pilot) into space.

fun!! would recommend!

A great sequel.

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It seems to me that novelists often struggle to craft a satisfying ending. This story is all about the ending. It really had me on the edge of my seat. Not much seems to happen in the preceding chapters and there is rather too much technical detail. That said, I like the overall idea behind the story and would recommend it. The narrator struggles a bit with female voices but overall the naration is top noch, with good use of accents and emphasis.

The adrenaline rush to the finish.

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