Perfect Narrator Gripping Adventure

Let me start by saying the performance of Peter Joyce is excellent and brings the story to life. If I had been asked I would never have called myself as a Buchan fan as having read the 39 Steps had found it awkwardly written and the plot unlikely. But now I am delighted to be a Buchan fan.
I do put the caveat that it is of its time and all the accepted social mores and manners that accompany that period.

This wonderful, fourth in the series, Sir Richard Hannay adventure, sees Hannay, ex-General and under-cover agent in WWI, now 42, dragged from his wife, child, and Cotswold farming existence, back into harness to help the rescue of three young hostages, taken so that the villain can, as well as furthering his craze for crime and stopping his activities being investigated, obtain complete mental control over his acolytes.

Well-written, witty and exciting, it shows again Buchan's great narrative and descriptive skills. In a few phrases he can convince one that one is with Hannay as he tramps through the Cotswold meadows, or stalks his enemy in the Highlands.

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Rip roaring period piece

I love the John Buchan Richard Hannah books. You need to remember when they were written in case some of the ideas are a bit much but they are great fun in their period context. Good narration. Maybe a bit long/ slow for some but very enjoyable nonetheless.

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Of its times

A ripping good yarn very much of its times. It also gives insight into what it was like to live in upper class society in those days. The description of life in the baronial Scottish Highlands was of particular interest as was his evident first hand knowledge of deer stalking, the terrain, the behaviour of deer and the Ghillies/ gamekeeper. Buchan was of course part of the politics of the day; he spent time as Gov Gen of Canada. From an ethical point of view loyalty and honour are considered an all or nothing qualities. In more recent adventure stories much is made of the moral weaknesses of both hero and villain.

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Interesting Stiry Line

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would if they liked boyish adventure or were interested in history or social history

What did you like best about this story?

It continues the adventures of Hannay and he has a realistic shaped life

Have you listened to any of Peter Joyce’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Peter Joyce plays it marvellously, his character is realistic and he hits the right tones for coin of phrase. I happily listened for hours at a time

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

If I had time yes

Any additional comments?

Loved it, not as thrilling as the others, but a good tale.

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8 people found this helpful

Good traditional simple romping thriller for most ages.

Love the traditional pro’s and sense of honour, with an unusually strong female character for the day.
Often claimed as a boy’s adventure author … I’m a lady in her 40’s and too enjoy his work. Clean, honourable fun and adventure.
Character References are stereotyped regarding classes and ‘foreigners’ from French to Arabs would not be acceptable for a current author (and rightly so on the whole), but this is a story of its time, written I believe by an honourable man of that time and class, and of historical value to understand the accepted ethical attitudes then.

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Great JB

This is good boys own stuff in my opinion and the reader criticising the upper class angle should remember when it was written.

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Refreshing to hear our language used fully!

I'd never heard of this book by Buchan so decided it was a must.
Peter Joyce has an excellent narrating accent, although his intonation is a little over-undulating.
Buchan's language is wonderful to listen to - full of words I remember from my childhood, but which are rarely used these days. English has always been known as a rich language, but sadly that richness is being depleted. If only we could go back to the English of Buchan's time, when descriptive and expressive words that we've lost were still in everyday use.
I need to listen to the story again as I tend to listen to audio books over many, many sessions, varying from a few minutes to perhaps 20 minutes, so it's not too conducive to following a complicated plot.

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2 people found this helpful

EXCELLENT

Very good but a bit slow in places. Set in an interesting time. Enjoyed ut.

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A world of coincidences

One of Dickens' characters suggested that coincidences were more likely to happen in London than anywhere else. This proves that coincidences are more likely to happen in a John Buchan novel.

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Horrible book!

Got this because my grandfather loved The 39 Steps by Buchan. Wish I hadn’t. The storyline stretches the willing suspension of disbelief beyond its limits. But even worse are the assumptions and prejudices that underpin what is ‘ heroic’ and ‘good’ in this tale. The cast of ‘good guys’ are all members of the British upper class whose ‘norms’ are the standard of decency and civilisation - military service, hunting, shooting and fishing skills and the well developed, stiff upper lip are the measures of character. The reuniting of a father and son, a key emotional moment in the book, reaches the apex of the truest expression of love and nobility when the child and his father, instead of ‘rushing to embrace’, shake hands and the father then kisses the top of the child’s head. (Ah, the heroic restraint displayed by such suppressed emotion.) The Irish are repulsive villains beneath their apparent good nature and hospitality. That’s their true national character even if the character expressing it is admitted to have a degree of prejudice. And dissidents are moral ignoramuses. I stayed with it as an exercise in understanding that same, lingering mentality in the same social class today. Feel a bit contaminated actually.

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