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A Dying Breed
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 12 hrs and 53 mins
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A Dying Breed
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Summary
A debut novel in the vein of Greene and le Carré, A Dying Breed is a brilliant and gripping story of the politics of news reporting, intrigue and blood set between the dark halls of Whitehall, the shadowy corridors of the BBC and the perilous streets of Kabul, in the shadowy le Carré-esque world of foreign correspondents reporting from war zones around the world.
Carver, an old BBC hack, is warned off a story when a bomb goes off, killing a local official in Kabul, but his instincts tell him something isn't quite right, and he won't give up until he finds the truth. A junior producer sent out from London to control him is kidnapped, and as the story unravels it looks like there's collusion between the local consul, Whitehall and someone in the BBC to ensure the real story never sees the light of day.
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Critic reviews
"A Dying Breed is a deeply insightful, humane, funny and furious novel. This is both a timely reflection on how Britain does business and a belting good read." (A. L. Kennedy)
"A compelling read, and a great insider's view of life in broadcast journalism. I'm disappointed I am not to feature in the book: it is a brilliant read." (Evan Davis)
"Buy this book. Find a quiet place. Switch off your phone and devour it. Hanington's ability to wrap a story around the ghosts of truth is superb. He spins his tale with a true writer's gift. I loved every minute in this book's company." (Fi Glover, BBC Radio 4 presenter)
"Peter is that rare commodity in the journalistic fraternity...a natural storyteller. You really want to turn the pages. And that's what matters." (John Humphrys)
"A deeply intelligent, beautifully constructed story." (Will Gompertz, BBC arts editor)
"All journalists seem to think they can write great novels about journalism and 99% of those who try make a hash of it. Hanington is in the 1%. Having created believable characters caught up in the hell that is Afghanistan, he weaves a story that manages to excite, appall and instruct in equal measure. And it reveals one of the trade's most important differences: the chasm that exists between horizontal journalism and vertical journalism." (Roy Greenslade, Guardian and Evening Standard columnist and commentator)
"A Dying Breed is a gripping, fast-moving tale of shifting loyalties and creeping betrayal.... Hanington connects the inner-workings and skullduggery of the BBC's London headquarters to the quiet, menacing stillness of the deserts of Central Asia, where the story turns dramatically and violently in a heartbeat and builds to its tempestuous, thrilling conclusion.... A page turner from the first line - and full of insights, some chilling, some hilariously well-observed - into the murky worlds of the war on terror, the secret intelligence services, and the mainstream British news media." (Allan Little, former BBC foreign correspondent and chair of the Edinburgh International Book Festival)
What listeners say about A Dying Breed
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 17-12-19
Fantastic listen
Brilliant story line about journalism uncovering the truth in war. Great narration apart from the Italian accent!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- David
- 24-10-16
Loved it.
This is a book which starts slowly and builds to its finale. Peter Hanington has a gift for detailed description which expertely sets the scene. I really enjoyed listening to this book and couldn't wait to listen to it on long journeys in my car. I don't have much knowledge of journalism but Hanington makes it all so believable. The characters are very realistic and the plot is solid and well written . A special mention has to be reserved for the narrator. Jonathan Keeble just makes the characters of this book come alive with his narrative. Keebles voice and accents are the making of the production. If this was a book I would say that I couldn't put it down. Excellent. I would definitely recommend it and hope that we have another Peter Hanington / Jonathan Keeble book as soon as possible.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Birdie
- 11-09-20
A really good plot
I really enjoyed this story. I relistened to the first two chapters as I couldn’t work out where it was going but once I got into it I found it was such a brilliantly crafted story and I loved the narrator and his ability to portray the characters through their accents. A dying breed of journalist indeed- with skills that are often missing in this world of fast paced consumerism. In addition, the attention to detail, smells, sounds and overall description - I felt like I was there. I wish it had been longer!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- S. Fritchley
- 17-10-24
Brilliant!
I only chose this book because, having listened to another narrated by Jonathan Keeble, I was searching for more. It would not be my normal genre of choice. I am so glad that I did! I was completely hooked from about 2 minutes in and had to strictly ration myself so I didn't listen to it all at once! Not having actually read (as in a real book rather than audio) anything like this before, I can't really say if I would have enjoyed it so much in book form but I must not be unfair to the author - the story is brilliant, and superbly written, but without doubt the narration is what made it for me. Jonathan Keeble brought each and every character fully to life. He has an amazing range of voices and accents and I can't praise him highly enough. Suffice to say, I am just about to buy the other books in this series and will continue to look for other works by this author and this narrator, though not necessarily together!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Andrew Brown
- 24-02-17
A cracking thriller
A cracking thriller set in between the worlds of journalism and espionage, with suitably grubby protagonists and motivations.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 08-02-20
Fantastic!
Was hooked from the start. Really solid characters, excellent, believable storyline, now on the lookout for Peter Hannington’s next book. Highly recommended :)
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 08-02-20
Absolutely brilliant!
I couldn’t stop listening. The story grips you from the start and moves along at a really good pace. The narration was excellent and the story brilliant.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- John Hounsham
- 12-08-20
An unexpected Gem ....a great read
I was looking for an alternative to the usual ‘best selling’ thriller (for which read formulaic cliche-ridden ‘American style’ pot-boiler), when I stumbled upon this debut novel from an unknown author. I’m so glad that I took a chance on it, as it proved to be one of the best books that I’ve listened to in years. A darkly cynical (and totally believable) plot that interweaves personal & corporate greed & corruption into the politically unstable aftermath of the war in Afghanistan - all perfectly read by Jonathan Keeble, a skilled narrator who is able to bring to life a variety of English, American & Afghan characters (no easy feat!). What a pleasure to listen to such an intelligent and informed author with a personal style and superior grasp of the English language that for once lived up to the Audible ‘blurb’. Peter Hanington, in my opinion, is indeed of the ilk of an early John le Carre and Graham Green. More of this please.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Mr. D. F. Watts
- 30-08-16
Excellent and thoroughly engaging novel
It's hard to believe this is a first novel but given Hanington's experience and background he is clearly adept at telling a story. To any radio 4 fan and especially Today fans this also provides an entertaining insight into the inner workings of the BBC with believable characters and a somewhat cynical humour. I hope there are many more to follow.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- pauljjj
- 08-03-20
Cynical old journalist
I bought this on the off chance and was not disappointed. This is about a cynical old journalist who works in a cynical business. He is an unlovely character, a bit of an anti hero but I was rooting for him. I guess he is a stubborn person who would be a nightmare to manage. That said really good read so much so that I bought his second by this author.
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