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The Partisan

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The Partisan

By: Patrick Worrall
Narrated by: Ben Allen
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

It is the summer of 1961, and the brutal Cold War between East and West is becoming ever more perilous.

Two young prodigies from either side of the Iron Curtain, Yulia and Michael, meet at a chess tournament in London. They don't know it, but they are about to compete in the deadliest game ever played.

Shadowing them is Greta, a ruthless resistance fighter who grew up the hard way in the forests of Lithuania, but who is now hunting down some of the most dangerous men in the world.

Men who are also on the radar of Vassily, perhaps the Soviet Union's greatest spymaster. A man of cunning and influence, Vassily was Yulia's minder during her visit to the West, but even he could not foresee the consequences of her meeting Michael.

When the world is accelerating towards an inevitable and catastrophic conflict, what can just four people do to prevent it?

Epic in scope, The Partisan is a thrill ride like no other, taking you from the hallowed halls of Cambridge to the grimy depths of the Moscow underworld, from 1960s London to the Eastern Front in the Second World War.

©2022 Patrick Worrall (P)2022 Penguin Audio Espionage Historical Political Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense Exciting Fiction England Cold War

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All stars
Most relevant  
Incredibly well written, researched and every character is simply stunning in their individuality and sense of self, no matter how small their part might be. Read this in conjunction with Freya Berry’s splendid the Dictator’s Wife, though set twenty years later it’s a brilliant foil to this stunning book.

Unbelievably great!

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Enjoyable in parts, but over-long, too many plot threads and temporal shifts. This, however, gave the excellent narrator a chance to show off his range of accents.

Tangled threads

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Found this one a struggle. Loved the three girls in the forests of Latvia, never really got a strong opinion on Great though. This modern issue of messing up the time line to the nth degree? Of course, juxtaposing similar threads of the underlying soul of the narrative not necessarily following the linear passage of time has always been been a trope, but over and over? Being disjointed and being subtle are two different things. ....... Surely?

More Divided Than The Soviet Empire

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What a great find! The narration to this first rate book is brilliant! Did not want it to finish, and was disappointed to find no other books written by this author on Audiobooks!

Fantastic novel and narration!

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A great first novel. Lots of moving parts gradually coming together to a satisfying conclusion. If you like Red Sparrow you would probably enjoy this. This is a richer more complicated story.

Excellent narration really added to the enjoyment.

A complex delight

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An engrossing tale elevated by superb narration. Ben Allen has a remarkable facility with accents.

A superbly narrated story

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I have never read or listened to any other work by this author but I’m so glad I came across this on the audible site.

The narration is excellent, characters well rounded and the story is brilliantly told - constantly moving you back and forth in these peoples lives. If never looses momentum and is engaging to the very end. Wish there were more.

A Cold War Gem

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Really interesting and gripping plot, with superb characters. Great narration brings to life one of the best espionage books of late, in my opinion.

Superbly written and narrated book

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This author has a lot of talent, and in parts the story is gripping and character development strong. However ultimately I lost track of who did what, when and why. It's perhaps just a bit too ambitious and by the end I'd lost track of the plot. The voice actor is excellent though and does a great job!!

very well written in parts but confusing to follow

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Snooze during any point in this beautifully narrated audiobook and you will lose track of events in the complex WW2/Cold War saga.
It’s good but a rather demanding read that’s really two books in one; there are lots of characters, in lots of countries, jumping backwards and forwards over a period of about 60 years.
It’s very history heavy, with thinly veiled Soviet personalities, but also includes Nazis, nuclear arms, a Romeo and Juliet love story, and the Lithuanian partisan of the title. Plus some chess.
I’d have liked a narrower focus and a little more fiction, as a number of interesting characters got lost in the melee.

Two books in one

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