Great story - Terrible narration.

Little slow to start off but that's typical with all great espionage. Clancy is well know for his attention to detail and it first it seems a little overwhelming but later it makes for perfect story telling.

The narrator is absolutely the worst I've heard. Very boring and very disinterested. He has 2 voices, an American and a Russian. Regardless of man, woman or child. It's incredibly hard follow as the stops and pauses don't follow and is read in a dis-jointed fashion. As others have said, slip this book or wait for another narrator.

I'll be returning this book.

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2 people found this helpful

Great story average narrator

I’ve loved this story since I was a teenager and have read the book several times. The story is exciting, at times the pace slows but picks right up again. The narrator really let this down though - a bit monotonous, awful at doing voices to distinguish between characters and if I was Russian I think I’d be mortally offended by the accent.

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Captivating

I thought having seen the movie I’d be disappointed at the end by either versions but I can honestly say I don’t know which is better, the movie or the book.

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fantastic story

fantastic story.
felt the reader was a little monotone and unenthusiastic.
now to watch the movie

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3rd time listening to and 6th time in total.

Great book and great performance. I don't know if I have combined listened and read to a book as often as this one. The reader isn't as good as some that have been used for audio books in this series but is still higher quality than you would normally expect for any other audio book.

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1 person found this helpful

Red October. Classic in every sense of the word.

Truly the gold standard in action spy adventure drama-themed storytelling. Unfortunately, the quality of the performance is a bit of a double-edged sword. While this version is far cleaner and a much clearer, better-recorded narration than one I have heard recorded with a different narrator. The actual performance is not as impressive. Sure in many passages both narrators read in similar ways. But it is the little things that make it a performance. Like being able to correctly pronounce Russian names and cities. Speaking like a Russian talking English. These are small things that really stand out. Check out any of Michael Prichard's performances of other Tom Clancy novels and you will see what I am talking about. But Red October is the flagship of the Tom Clancy fleet. Fail to read it at your peril.

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Exceptional

For a novel 34 years old it comes across as non fiction even today. The Cold War maybe over but this one feels you are in the moment. Fast paced, plausible and well written. This had me hooked from the moment I started listening.
The narration is perfectly pitched and adds to the action. A great way to pass the time.

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My favourite story

Read the paper back three times, listened to this audio version 4 times, and watched the movie more than 10 times.

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exhilarating book

Engaging and fast passed with fantastic characters and storyline. certainly not something to put on the background while half concentrating to something else though, at times can take a bit of concentration.

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great book terrible narration

great book ruined by narration cant even get pronounciation right on main characters names despite a plethora if other examples

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