Title: Robert Ludlum’s The Arctic Event
Author: James H. Cobb
Narrator: Jeff Woodman
Unabridged:
Number of CDs: 12
Number of Hours: 13
List Price: $39.98
Downloadable: www.audible.com
Abridged: N/A
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Publication Date: September 26, 2007
Hardback/Paperback: Format: Paperback, 400pp, Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, Copyright 2007
Synopsis: Lt. Col. Jon Smith, an army research doctor and secret agent attached to Covert-One, is tapped to lead a team to Wednesday Island, an icy patch of land between the northern coast of Canada and the Earth's magnetic Pole. There, the remains of a mysterious plane were discovered during a routine educational expedition. The plane seems to be a Russian spy plane, and the Russian government secretly revealed to the U.S. president that a lot of very dangerous anthrax may be on board. But Jon and his team aren't the only ones making their way to the plane. And when the members of the educational expedition slowly start disappearing and a team of Russian pirates take over the island, Jon's team will be lucky to get out alive.
Other Background: There’s something that confuses me. It seems that if you are a successful novelist like Robert Ludlum, you can still come out with new books even after you are dead. I guess it is sort of a life after death kind of thing…I hope he’s enjoying it even if I don’t understand it.
Here’s the thing…Robert Ludlum was reported dead in Naples, Florida of a heart attack on March 12, 2001. Yet his novels…Robert Ludlum’s “ta da”…continue to be published…written by someone else, of course. So Bobby boy may be gone but Jason Bourne continues alive and well, as does Ludlum’s “Covert One Series” which includes this one “…The Arctic Event”.
“The Bourne Legacy” and “The Bourne Betrayal” were written by Eric Van Lustbader. Authors of the “Covert One Series” include James H. Cobb, Gayle Lynds, and Patrick Larkin. Perhaps Robert Ludlum exercises editorial control over the material from some perch on high or simply relies on employing some kind of divine inspiration to influence the writers that are continuing his works.
If I can convince you of any of this, perhaps I can also interest you in the purchase of some rare new first edition novels by me. The covers are excellent. The content is light. I’m titling the first one “Audio Al’s Jason Bourne Meets the Covert One Series” by an as yet unselected writer. Delivery will be made promptly following my demise!
Anyway, I’ve read and listened to the Eric Van Lustbader books in the past and thought they were pretty good. So, I gave this one a shot too and I was not disappointed. The plot is suspenseful and offers some clever twists and turns. The characters are also well drawn and interesting.
Audio Sample: www.HachetteAudio.com , www.audible.com
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Discussion about this book or others in my journal -- by interested DUers -- is certainly welcomed.