-
I Am Pilgrim
- A Thriller
- Narrated by: Christopher Ragland
- Length: 22 hrs and 41 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $34.99
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Last Days of Night
- A Novel
- By: Graham Moore
- Narrated by: Johnathan McClain
- Length: 13 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York, 1888. Gas lamps still flicker in the city streets, but the miracle of electric light is in its infancy. The person who controls the means to turn night into day will make history - and a vast fortune. A young untested lawyer named Paul Cravath, fresh out of Columbia Law School, takes a case that seems impossible to win. Paul's client, George Westinghouse, has been sued by Thomas Edison over a billion-dollar question: Who invented the lightbulb and holds the right to power the country?
-
-
Favorite book of 2016
- By Taryn on 12-19-16
By: Graham Moore
-
NOS4A2
- A Novel
- By: Joe Hill
- Narrated by: Kate Mulgrew
- Length: 19 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Victoria McQueen has an uncanny knack for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions. When she rides her bicycle over the rickety old covered bridge in the woods near her house, she always emerges in the places she needs to be. Vic doesn't tell anyone about her unusual ability, because she knows no one will believe her. She has trouble understanding it herself.
-
-
Narrator was OUTSTANDING!
- By B on 08-28-18
By: Joe Hill
-
The Quiet Game
- By: Greg Iles
- Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte
- Length: 20 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When former prosecutor Penn Cage returns to his hometown of Natchez, Mississippi, he doesn't find the peace he desperately craves. He finds that his own father is being blackmailed by a corrupt ex-cop. And when Penn investigates, he uncovers a murderous secret - and the small town's violent past.
-
-
Complex and Good Courtroom Drama!
- By R. Pontiflet on 02-09-15
By: Greg Iles
-
The Last Man
- A Novel
- By: Vince Flynn
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The four dead guards didn’t concern Mitch Rapp as much as the absence of the man they’d been paid to protect. Joe Rickman wasn’t just another foot soldier. For the last eight years Rickman had ran the CIA’s clandestine operations in Afghanistan. It was a murky job that involved working with virtually every disreputable figure in the Islamic Republic. More than a quarter billion dollars in cash had passed through Rickman’s hands during his tenure as the master of black ops and no one with a shred of sense wanted to know the details of how that money had been spent.
-
-
Great book, The return of modern day Mitch
- By AmazonCustomer on 11-19-12
By: Vince Flynn
-
Boy's Life
- By: Robert R. McCammon
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 20 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Zephyr, Alabama, is an idyllic hometown for eleven-year-old Cory Mackenson - a place where monsters swim the river deep and friends are forever. Then, one cold spring morning, Cory and his father witness a car plunge into a lake - and a desperate rescue attempt brings his father face-to-face with a terrible, haunting vision of death. As Cory struggles to understand his father's pain, his eyes are slowly opened to the forces of good and evil that surround him.
-
-
Remember when the Waltons made you feel good?
- By Marie on 04-03-18
-
The One Man
- A Novel
- By: Andrew Gross
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 12 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's 1944. Physics professor Alfred Mendel and his family are trying to flee Paris when they are caught and forced onto a train along with thousands of other Jewish families. At the other end of the long, torturous train ride, Alfred is separated from his family and sent to the men's camp, where all of his belongings are tossed on a roaring fire. His books, his papers, his life's work. The Nazis have no idea what they have just destroyed. And without that physical record, Alfred is one of only two people in the world with his particular knowledge.
-
-
Not just another Holocaust story
- By Marie on 01-24-17
By: Andrew Gross
-
The Last Days of Night
- A Novel
- By: Graham Moore
- Narrated by: Johnathan McClain
- Length: 13 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York, 1888. Gas lamps still flicker in the city streets, but the miracle of electric light is in its infancy. The person who controls the means to turn night into day will make history - and a vast fortune. A young untested lawyer named Paul Cravath, fresh out of Columbia Law School, takes a case that seems impossible to win. Paul's client, George Westinghouse, has been sued by Thomas Edison over a billion-dollar question: Who invented the lightbulb and holds the right to power the country?
-
-
Favorite book of 2016
- By Taryn on 12-19-16
By: Graham Moore
-
NOS4A2
- A Novel
- By: Joe Hill
- Narrated by: Kate Mulgrew
- Length: 19 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Victoria McQueen has an uncanny knack for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions. When she rides her bicycle over the rickety old covered bridge in the woods near her house, she always emerges in the places she needs to be. Vic doesn't tell anyone about her unusual ability, because she knows no one will believe her. She has trouble understanding it herself.
-
-
Narrator was OUTSTANDING!
- By B on 08-28-18
By: Joe Hill
-
The Quiet Game
- By: Greg Iles
- Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte
- Length: 20 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When former prosecutor Penn Cage returns to his hometown of Natchez, Mississippi, he doesn't find the peace he desperately craves. He finds that his own father is being blackmailed by a corrupt ex-cop. And when Penn investigates, he uncovers a murderous secret - and the small town's violent past.
-
-
Complex and Good Courtroom Drama!
- By R. Pontiflet on 02-09-15
By: Greg Iles
-
The Last Man
- A Novel
- By: Vince Flynn
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The four dead guards didn’t concern Mitch Rapp as much as the absence of the man they’d been paid to protect. Joe Rickman wasn’t just another foot soldier. For the last eight years Rickman had ran the CIA’s clandestine operations in Afghanistan. It was a murky job that involved working with virtually every disreputable figure in the Islamic Republic. More than a quarter billion dollars in cash had passed through Rickman’s hands during his tenure as the master of black ops and no one with a shred of sense wanted to know the details of how that money had been spent.
-
-
Great book, The return of modern day Mitch
- By AmazonCustomer on 11-19-12
By: Vince Flynn
-
Boy's Life
- By: Robert R. McCammon
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 20 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Zephyr, Alabama, is an idyllic hometown for eleven-year-old Cory Mackenson - a place where monsters swim the river deep and friends are forever. Then, one cold spring morning, Cory and his father witness a car plunge into a lake - and a desperate rescue attempt brings his father face-to-face with a terrible, haunting vision of death. As Cory struggles to understand his father's pain, his eyes are slowly opened to the forces of good and evil that surround him.
-
-
Remember when the Waltons made you feel good?
- By Marie on 04-03-18
-
The One Man
- A Novel
- By: Andrew Gross
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 12 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's 1944. Physics professor Alfred Mendel and his family are trying to flee Paris when they are caught and forced onto a train along with thousands of other Jewish families. At the other end of the long, torturous train ride, Alfred is separated from his family and sent to the men's camp, where all of his belongings are tossed on a roaring fire. His books, his papers, his life's work. The Nazis have no idea what they have just destroyed. And without that physical record, Alfred is one of only two people in the world with his particular knowledge.
-
-
Not just another Holocaust story
- By Marie on 01-24-17
By: Andrew Gross
-
Recursion
- A Novel
- By: Blake Crouch
- Narrated by: Jon Lindstrom, Abby Craden
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At first, it looks like a disease. An epidemic that spreads through no known means, driving its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived. But the force that’s sweeping the world is no pathogen. It’s just the first shock wave, unleashed by a stunning discovery - and what’s in jeopardy is not our minds but the very fabric of time itself. In New York City, Detective Barry Sutton is closing in on the truth - and in a remote laboratory, neuroscientist Helena Smith is unaware that she alone holds the key to this mystery...and the tools for fighting back.
-
-
The power of positive thinking
- By Michael G Kurilla on 12-29-19
By: Blake Crouch
-
Twisted Prey
- By: John Sandford
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lucas Davenport had crossed paths with her before. A rich psychopath, Taryn Grant had run successfully for the US Senate, where Lucas had predicted she'd fit right in. He was also convinced that she'd been responsible for three murders, though he'd never been able to prove it. Once a psychopath had gotten that kind of rush, though, he or she often needed another fix, so he figured he might be seeing her again. He was right.
-
-
A masterpiece!
- By Steven Allgood on 04-27-18
By: John Sandford
-
Rebecca
- By: Daphné du Maurier
- Narrated by: Anna Massey
- Length: 14 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.... The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady's maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at his massive country estate that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives - presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave.
-
-
Easily the best audiobook I have ever heard!
- By Kid at Heart on 11-10-18
-
The Killer Collective
- By: Barry Eisler
- Narrated by: Barry Eisler
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When a joint FBI-Seattle Police investigation of an international child pornography ring gets too close to certain powerful people, sex-crimes detective Livia Lone becomes the target of a hit that barely goes awry - a hit that had been offered to John Rain, a retired specialist in "natural causes." Suspecting the FBI itself was behind the attack, Livia reaches out to former Marine sniper Dox. Together, they assemble an ad hoc group to identify and neutralize the threat. There’s Rain. Rain’s estranged lover, Mossad agent and honeytrap specialist Delilah.
-
-
Could not put this down...
- By shelley on 02-02-19
By: Barry Eisler
-
Run Away
- By: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Steven Weber
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You've lost your daughter. She's addicted to drugs and to an abusive boyfriend. And she's made it clear that she doesn't want to be found. Then, by chance, you see her playing guitar in Central Park. But she's not the girl you remember. This woman is living on the edge, frightened, and clearly in trouble. You don't stop to think. You approach her, beg her to come home. She runs.
-
-
It's a nail biter!!!!
- By shelley on 03-20-19
By: Harlan Coben
-
Find Me
- Inland Empire, Book 1
- By: Anne Frasier
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Convicted serial killer Benjamin Fisher has finally offered to lead San Bernardino detective Daniel Ellis to the isolated graves of his victims. One catch: he'll only do it if FBI profiler Reni Fisher, his estranged daughter, accompanies them. As hard as it is to exhume her traumatic childhood, Reni can’t say no. She still feels complicit in her father’s crimes.
-
-
Nature vs nurture...
- By shelley on 07-03-20
By: Anne Frasier
-
Pandemic
- The Extinction Files, Book 1
- By: A. G. Riddle
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 18 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Atlanta, Dr. Peyton Shaw is awakened by the phone call she has dreaded for years. As the CDC's leading epidemiologist, she's among the first responders to outbreaks around the world. It's a lonely and dangerous job, but it's her life - and she's good at it. This time she may have met her match. In Kenya, an Ebola-like pathogen has infected two Americans. One lies at death's door. With the clock ticking, Peyton assembles her team and joins personnel from the Kenyan Ministry of Health and the WHO.
-
-
Please End. I ended it with 15 mins left!
- By Amazon Customer on 09-21-17
By: A. G. Riddle
-
Trust No One
- With Bonus Audio Short Story, "The Awakening," a Prelude
- By: Gregg Hurwitz
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over the past two decades, Nick Horrigan has built a quiet, safe life for himself, living as much under the radar as possible. But all of that shatters when, in the middle of the night, a SWAT team bursts into his apartment, grabs him and drags him to a waiting helicopter. A terrorist - someone Nick has never heard of - has seized control of a nuclear reactor, threatening to blow it up. And the only person he’ll talk to is Nick, promising to tell Nick the truth behind the events that shattered his life twenty years ago.
-
-
2020 Release BS
- By Amazon Customer on 10-12-20
By: Gregg Hurwitz
-
The Lions of Lucerne
- By: Brad Thor
- Narrated by: Armand Schultz
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the snow-covered slopes of Utah, the unthinkable has just become a nightmarish reality: thirty Secret Service agents have been viciously executed and the vacationing president of the United States kidnapped by one of the most lethal terrorist organizations in the Middle East - the Fatah Revolutionary Council. But surviving agent and ex-Navy SEAL Scot Harvath doesn't believe the Fatah Revolutionary Council is responsible for the attack.
-
-
Great Scott Harvath
- By Carol on 11-18-12
By: Brad Thor
-
Red Sparrow
- A Novel
- By: Jason Matthews
- Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb
- Length: 17 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drafted against her will to become a "Sparrow" - a trained seductress in the service, Russian intelligence officer Dominika Egorova is assigned to operate against Nathaniel Nash, a first-tour CIA officer who handles the CIA's most sensitive penetration of Russian intelligence. The two young intelligence officers, trained in their respective spy schools, collide in a charged atmosphere of tradecraft, deception, and inevitably, a forbidden spiral of carnal attraction that threatens their careers and the security of America's valuable mole in Moscow.
-
-
Good Spy Novel (with a few quirks)
- By Aaron on 01-12-14
By: Jason Matthews
-
The Chemist
- By: Stephenie Meyer
- Narrated by: Ellen Archer
- Length: 17 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
She used to work for the US government, but very few people ever knew that. An expert in her field, she was one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn't even have a name. And when they decided she was a liability, they came for her without warning. Now she rarely stays in the same place or uses the same name for long. They've killed the only other person she trusted, but something she knows still poses a threat. They want her dead, and soon.
-
-
Great premise
- By OhHappyDay on 07-14-17
By: Stephenie Meyer
-
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- The Millennium Series, Book 1
- By: Stieg Larsson, Reg Keeland - translator
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why we think it’s a great listen: How do you one-up a book that’s already a global literary phenomenon? Hire Simon Vance to (flawlessly) interpret the loves, lives, and murders of Sweden’s cold and secret-filled world. A spellbinding amalgam of murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue. It's about the disappearance 40 years ago of Harriet Vanger, a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden.
-
-
A Classic Mystery with Wonderful Characters
- By Robert on 12-22-08
By: Stieg Larsson, and others
Publisher's Summary
The astonishing story of one man's breakneck race against time…and an implacable enemy.
An anonymous young woman murdered in a run-down hotel, all identifying characteristics dissolved by acid.
A father publicly beheaded in the blistering heat of a Saudi Arabian public square.
A notorious Syrian biotech expert found eyeless in a Damascus junkyard.
Smoldering human remains on a remote mountainside in Afghanistan.
A flawless plot to commit an appalling crime against humanity.
One path links them all, and only one man can make the journey.
Pilgrim.
Featured Article: 45+ Quotes to Help You Make Peace with—and Take Charge of—Change
Reeling from change? Or ready to make some changes in your life? These wise words from authors just might give you the comfort or boost you need. Their words reflect the nature of change and the swirl of feelings surrounding it—from fear to exhilaration. In this collection, you'll find gentle reminders that change will keep happening and reassurance that you can handle it. When you face it and embrace it, change can enrich your life in unexpected ways.
More from the same
What listeners say about I Am Pilgrim
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Stanley Charloff
- 01-20-15
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- clifford
- 07-29-15
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.
71 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kindle Customer
- 08-12-15
Scary real scenario!!
I am Pilgrim" is a superbly crafted first novel by Terry Hayes. It is both a murder mystery and a top notch spy/terrorism novel. The first part of the book seems to drag a little, but the ending more than makes up for that. A seemingly unconnected series of events at the outset is pulled together at the end, and I was not able to put the book down for the last few hundred pages.
A woman is found murdered, face down in a bathtub of acid in a New York city hotel. Her teeth had been removed and the acid had eaten away her fingerprints and face, making identification of the body almost impossible. The room was sprayed with industrial disinfectant and wiped clean of fingerprints, destroying any and all forensic evidence. Enter Scott Murdoch (or Peter Campbell or Brodie Wilson, we never find out what his real name was) who had written a book on investigative procedures under the pen name of Jude Garrett. The crime scene is right out of his book, seemingly the perfect crime.
We get a little back story of Scott. Adopted by a wealthy family and given the best education possible, he did not seem to fit in and was always a loner. Possessed of high intelligence and great intuition, he was recruited by a covert branch of U.S. intelligence known as the Division. He quickly rose in the ranks and became the youngest director of the organization, known as the "Rider of the Blue." When the Division was dismantled, he tried to disappear and lead a "normal" life, but fate was not kind to Scott. All to soon he was brought back to the world he wanted to forget, and eventually the stakes were raised so high that it became an all or nothing proposition.
Meanwhile, half a world away in Saudi Arabia, a young boy watches his father beheaded in a public square for criticizing the royal family.The scene would be burned into his memory forever and set him on a path of retribution. At 16, he joined the muj in Afghanistan fighting the Soviet invaders, where he distinguished himself as a brave and noble fighter. The Saracen, as he would become known, was also extremely intelligent. When the war was over, he bought a fake death certificate and a new passport, taking on a completely different identity. He made his way to Lebanon where he attended and graduated medical school. He was then ready to begin his plan of retribution and devised a plan to devastate the United States and thus leave Israel and Saudi Arabia vulnerable.
The murder investigation becomes entwined with the terrorist plot, and Scott will have to use all of his skills to find the Saracen and stop the deaths of thousands of innocent lives. Thus the two loners are destined to meet. Two of the best for their individual causes, and only one would walk away.
I love how the book made use of everything. The old memories drudged up, the places visited, the murders, etcetera. They all came into play at some point during the events leading up to the climax Time seemed to stop for me as I neared the end of the book and the pages just kept turning. I looked at my clock and it was 4 am, but I still couldn't stop. The book was that good, and plausible too, which made it really scary. I found myself rooting for Scott, code named Pilgrim, as he was a character that it was hard not to like. As was said of him, "his heart was his weight." But I also felt for the Saracen. He was brave and brilliant, and if not for the terrible events of his childhood, he too could have been a great man. But they were destined to face off at the end in an epic game of chicken, and you'll have to read to find out who blinks first. Great book!!!
Christopher Ragland did an excellent job with different voices for each character, so the listener instantly knew who was speaking. He was simply a great narrator and fit this book like a glove. If you have ever been fortunate enough to have a tale told by a great story teller, you will know what I mean. If not, buy this audio book and find out. Fantastic job!!!
28 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jonathan M
- 09-16-15
Fantastic
What a lovely discovery. I am a fan of Terry's screenwriting and this book is a fantastic and well written yarn that manages to entertain on every level. Nuanced characters, dynamic plotting and well turned language. Enjoy it!
20 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- B.J.
- 08-08-14
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.
270 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sarah
- 07-18-14
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- John
- 01-01-15
As good as they get
After you read this be prepared to be let down by any book you read.
In my opinion the best spy book ever written.
25 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- MARK J. PATTON
- 08-08-17
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
81 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Greg
- 11-10-14
On par with Tom Clancy or Vince Flynn
If you could sum up I Am Pilgrim in three words, what would they be?
Entertaining. Enlightening. Compelling.
What about Christopher Ragland’s performance did you like?
Superb; Outstanding. Easy to listen to. The cadence of his reading, and his timing and intonations, dignify the story and make it even more compelling. His womens’ voices actually sound like women. I was slightly off-put by Ragland's attempts to effect the voice of a dangerous, experienced operative in his mid-thirties, as he does in this book’s many first-person passages, because his voice’s timbre sounds like that of a 22-year-old. This was by no means a deal breaker, for his narration is in all other regards so much better than other narrators'.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No, but it had a "deliciousness" of its own, and deserves savoring.
Any additional comments?
One of my favorites. Get This Book!
33 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ted
- 12-14-17
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