Please let this all be fiction.

Before I downloaded the book, I saw where another reviewer warned that it takes about 9 hours to get into it. That was VERY helpful info. I easily could have put it aside those first hours. I kept at it because of the warning and I'm very glad I did.

Hayes takes his time setting up the characters and the scenario. The first part of the book sounds and feels like non-fiction. It's interesting - because of the history and insight it provides - but it can be a little dry. It really lays a foundation so you can understand what makes people who they are. And then it turns into a rip-roaring page-turner.

I normally don't go for thrillers, but this one is exceptional. There's an expert pacing to everything that keeps you engaged even when there's no action. Hayes has a way of foreshadowing that also keeps the ball rolling. The characters are well formed, flawed and interesting. There's enough history thrown in that sometimes the events feel entirely plausible. Perhaps that's what makes it so engaging - and terrifying.

It all adds up to one thing: this is definitely a credit-worthy summer read.

271 people found this helpful

LOVED IT (also please find my review helpful...)

What made the experience of listening to I Am Pilgrim the most enjoyable?

The plot twists are good and unexpected. I enjoyed the length because the characters and the plot have plenty of time to develop, and they do! The story is a thriller, and it is thoroughly modern. It had me from page one until the end, and I hope he follows it with another. I like the flawed main characters.

What other book might you compare I Am Pilgrim to and why?

Probably the first Le Carre I read. I was enthralled and thought I was learning a lot about crime and espionage. Who knows if any of it was right, but I believed it. Same here.

Which scene was your favorite?

I enjoyed the accents and the narration, but particularly liked the voice of the spy "the Whisperer". All of his scenes are nicely whispered.

If you could rename I Am Pilgrim, what would you call it?

Lordy I am not presumptuous enough to re-name someone's life work.

Any additional comments?

READ THIS BOOK. It is one of the best in the "long books that I wish hadn't ended" genre.

and please find this helpful!!!!

201 people found this helpful

Great story,great narration

The best thriller I have ever listened to or read.
I am 82 and have been reading mysteries and thrillers for over 60 years. The story is intense and so well narrated you can't stop listening.

102 people found this helpful

Smartest Novel I've Heard or Read in Long time

You have to hang with this for about 9 hours before things start rushing at a rapid pace. During the first 9, I almost gave up numerous times because it seems so scattered and disconnected with no plot. But, you should trust the author. It is all related and set-up for the show: the race to try to prevent a realistic terrorist threat to spread vaccine-busting small pox in the USA.

101 people found this helpful

I Am Cliche

What disappointed you about I Am Pilgrim?

I ran across I Am Pilgrim in an airport bookstore and was intrigued enough by the cover blurb to give it a chance even though self-proclaimed thrillers aren’t my typical fare. By the way, the book would be better titled “I Am Cliché.” At times, I almost laughed aloud at author’s continual reliance on every stereotype and cliché of the genre. (I am going to site some specifics, but none of them are spoilers, so feel free to read on.)
First, the guy is the best and he knows it (no doubt, in part, because everyone he associates with keeps telling him how good he is) even though he swings wildly between bragging (in one argument trying to convince a doubting superior to go along with his plan, he even says, “I am the best agent of my generation …”) and phony self-deprecation (such things as this are common: “I may not be as young or fit as I once was but …” and then he leaps across 18 feet of open space between two buildings, catches a gutter with one hand, and pulls himself up. So what was he like when he was young and fit?). The fake personal putdowns followed by miraculous actions get old fast.
Second, whenever there are multiple options (x number of bullets available, four filing cabinet drawers, 20 folders of information, a list of 10 names, etc.), he is always plunging into self-doubt, despair, and or depression just before he gets to the last option, which is, of course, the life saver. Used once, a writer can get away with it; used dozens of times, it works against itself.
Third, despite his expertise, a lot of plot advancement depends on bizarre coincidence – a purse spills all over the place, and the owner, our hero, and a third party gather everything together, but the last item rolling on the table is a perfume thingy. When he goes to hand it over, the purse owner comments out of nowhere that this is a specially mixed perfume that is rather strong. Our guy squirts a little on his wrist (normal behavior?) and notes, “Aha, spoiler deleted,” the same smell he caught in a hallway earlier in the story. Really?
Fourth, lame attempts at building suspense by withholding information for no reason. For example, he will say something like, “I stopped by the hardware store and left with a bag under my arm.” Then a few pages later, “I made sure to take the bag with me when I left the car.” Then, finally, I took out the _____ that I had purchased at the hardware store.” Yawn. Again, this may work once, but Hayes works it to death.
Fifth, the cliffhanger chapter ending. Again, a device many writers use, but it gets really overworked if one opts, as Hayes does, for dividing one’s work into dozens of tiny chapters (another annoying device suggesting that one suspects that one’s readers are unable to focus for more than two minutes at a time). True cliffhangers work occasionally, but trying to make, I-hung-up-the-phone style hangers work chapter after chapter is stretching the concept too far.
Sixth, vibes and omens: multiple times, our guy points out that he is rational but then is overcome with some sort of dream vision (even in the White House while speaking to the President), which later turns out to be true. Nonsense.
Seventh, stereotypes: black guys like the blues (so does our hero, of course, so this becomes a bonding thing), bad cops are all overweight and stuffed into uniforms or suits that are too small . . . .
Finally, the most egregious problem with the book, however, is the narrative point of view on which Hayes relies. Nothing is wrong with employing a first-person narrator, a favored point-of-view for many readers; however, it should go without saying anywhere beyond a tenth-grade creative writing course, that one of the challenges of first-person narration is that the narrator can relate only what he has done, seen, thinks, been told, etc., just as we all do in real life. Some writers get around this limitation by having multiple first person narrators speaking in different chapters or alternating between first person and third person in varying sections, but Hayes does not do this; he simply plunges ahead, defying reality, common sense, and believability. Whole chapters are devoted to what other characters have done, are doing, were thinking, etc., despite the utter impossibility of our guy knowing these things. An extreme but minor example: one character is racing to escape from a situation and tears out of a parking lot, and ten seconds later his pursuers arrive from another direction. Not only could our narrator not know this, nobody could, not even the pursued or the pursuers. Having the main character describe this type of thing is insanely bad writing, and Hayes does it for entire chapters at some points.
Unfortunately for me, I am one of those people who generally finish even badly written books once I start. Why? I don’t know. Masochism, possibly, or just a fascination with seeing how far the absurdity will go. In the case of I Am Pilgrim, it goes right to the end.

Which character – as performed by Christopher Ragland – was your favorite?

He does a nice job dealing with lousy material.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Boredom

83 people found this helpful

Wow

Would you consider the audio edition of I Am Pilgrim to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print but the reader had great voices for the characters and made a palatable difference in how it was presented.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The intricacies of the story were amazing and pulled the story together masterfully.

Any additional comments?

This is one of the best books I've every read. Such attention to detail and keeps the story going to the very end. Really great.

79 people found this helpful

Great story, great reading

I am Pilgrim is the thriller I have been looking for. It seems to me that the last decade has not produced very many great thrillers. Hayes' story I hope opens the door to a new wave of thrillers that don't rely too heavily on the protagonist having super human abilities. This story instead relies on old fashioned Ludlum style spycraft cunning.

What I liked here was the complexity of the tale. It weaves in and out of time, characters, plots, and it all hold together. I can't tell you how many authors I have read or listened to where the act of taking on multiple characters or timelines destroys what would have been pretty decent. Hayes pulls it off.

Ragland might be my new favorite narrator. I feel that he might have been a little too boyish for this character, but I gotta applaud him. First class story telling ability.

I highly recommend this book.

72 people found this helpful

Best audiobook this year

Would you listen to I Am Pilgrim again? Why?

It is complex thriller with a seemingly plausible plot. It is engaging, exciting and doesn't insult one's intelligence. I highly recommend and plan on listening to it again.

Who was your favorite character and why?

All of the characters were great.

What about Christopher Ragland’s performance did you like?

Just a damn good narrator.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It is suspensful.

Any additional comments?

I wish I listened to this audiobook on a nice long drive.

49 people found this helpful

Just finished... Sorry... Could listen to more.

So Terry Hayes is a compelling writer. This novel is intriguingly salted with micro mysteries... almost short who-dunits themselves. And yet they fuel the overarching story of espionage, medical suspense,cultural rigidity, and sectarian zealotry. Yeah, there's some cringe-worthy violence within this narrative. This is not a story for the weak, but yet it is also tenderly moving.

Christopher Ragland brings this cast alive with a sensitivity I would not have imagined from reading it as opposed to listening to his interpretation of this cast and particularly his revelation of The Pilgrim's growth.

But, above all, this is a crackling paced thriller fueled by the disequilibria foaming from today's crashing cultures. Uh-huh, this is a scary tale, but the fears here aren't irrational. Which is even creepier as we read news about glowing paradigms poised to crash into each other's towers of Babble. Hayes captures these absolutes, jams them into a covered cook-pot and cranks the temperature to BOOM!

Question: Is the universal default position of humankind set to hate? Hmmmm.... The jury's still out.

44 people found this helpful

Amazing!

Would you listen to I Am Pilgrim again? Why?

Well... Probably not. It was good enough the first time! It's pretty long, as well...

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Absolutely. This story has so many side and back stories (without being confusing) that all tie together in the end... It's a thrill ride from page one and never lets up, despite it being so long.

What does Christopher Ragland bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

This guy is AMAZING... His vast number of voices are incredible - and believable. I love that he could do so many accents.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If I could have - but it was a little too long for that. I hated to turn it off each time, but it gave me something to look forward to, as well :)

Any additional comments?

I am not typically a government/military thriller reader but this book was so well done that I will wait with eager anticipation for the sequel.

37 people found this helpful