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High Citadel

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High Citadel

By: Desmond Bagley
Narrated by: Paul Tyreman
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About this listen

Action thriller by the classic adventure writer set in the South American Andes.

When Tim O’Hara’s plane is hijacked and forced to crash land in the middle of the Andes, his troubles are only beginning. A heavily armed group of communist soldiers intent on killing one of his passengers – an influential political figure – have orders to leave no survivors. Isolated in the biting cold of the Andes, O’Hara’s party must fight for their lives with only the most primitive weapons…

©1965 Brockhurst Publications (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers Action & Adventure Classics Genre Fiction Military Mystery Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Political Suspense Thriller & Suspense Traditional Detectives War & Military Fiction Detective

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Critic reviews

'As long as meticulous craftsmanship and honest entertainment are valued, and as long as action, authenticity, and expertise still make up the strong framework of the good adventure/thriller, Desmond Bagley's books will surely be read.' REGINALD HILL, Twentieth Century Crime and Mystery Writers

'Bagley is a master storyteller.' DAILY MIRROR

'Mr Bagley has no equal at this sort of thing.' SUNDAY MIRROR

‘Bagley is one of the best.’ THE TIMES
Most relevant
One of my favourite books. Listened to lots of times.. Love a desmond bagley story

Great book

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made me remember all the outragous devices used by bagley in his comando comic style fiction . loved it although a little historucally dates.

great story from my childhood.

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Not my kind of read at all normally, but I found this very gripping. The narration was excellent.

Rattling Good Story

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A great performance on the Reading of the novel, vintage story would highly recommend the novel

Great story well narrated. Escapism at its best

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I have always liked Bagley and had a old tape recording this is a great recording and can’t wait for the rest of the books be available to.

A great classic

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Bagley knew how to spin a completely enthralling tale. Listening to it again added another dimension. Well narrated and produced.

A blast from the past that has stood the test...

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Possibly biased here as I read every one of Desmond Bagley's books when I first started serious reading. They are as great today as they were then. Up there with Alistair MacLean.

Big nostalgia hit

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What made the experience of listening to High Citadel the most enjoyable?

It is nice to see some Desmond Bagley on Audible, and one has to remember that this book was written in 1965. I wish, given the time, that there was a note at the start to explain some of the background and political situation to this book as it would have helped to understand some of the background motives and real world context at that point in history. Regardless it still stands up today. Bagley's style of shear harsh reality, realistic, tough, gritty characters, without any 'unrealistic hollywood embellishments' still comes through today, and they add to an interesting and different storyline. It isn't Bagley's best book, he was still very much developing in this point of his career (this was his second book published), but it is definately worth the listen!

What was one of the most memorable moments of High Citadel?

For me, there was a period in the first few chapters where I thought the book was going. I'd never read it before. I was wrong, and pleasantly surprised with the outcome. I listened to the book in 45 mins chunks on my commute to and from work, and created my own cliffhangers!

What about Paul Tyreman’s performance did you like?

Tyreman has a pretty tall order in this book, lots of character and range of backgrounds and accents to cover. Generally he pulls them off. He isn't quite in the category of Rintoul, Longworth or the wonderfully read Matt Addis, but he does make a good attempt, and generally does a pretty good job. After a few chapters I was comfortable with his delivery.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, there were moving moments in the book, but I am not going to detail them and ruin the story.

Any additional comments?

Hopefully more of Desmond Bagley's books will make it here, especially the excellent Running Blind.

Brutal Bagley

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This is one of my favourite books and my favourite authors. A fast-paced story of underdogs, innovation, invention, and good over evil. This is one of the most exciting books I’ve ever read.

The performance in this particular case, however, is absolutely dreadful. Shocking American accents, emphasis in completely the wrong places, and a very good book: ruined.

A great book, ruined.

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I have read this book many times, but never listened to it. This audible experience has made the book come alive for me. I have thoroughly enjoyed this experience.

Excellent

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