As the credits continue to build up on our audible account, my brother and I often just pick best sellers to listen to. I was interested to see whether Bear Grylls could actually write a novel so it was with some intrepidation that I loaded it onto my ipod and started to listen…

[ratings]

When rating audiobooks, I have some criteria in order to evaluate the book. These are as follows ;

1. Narrator’s Voice – When I start to listen to a book, if I feel that the voice of the narrator engages me and draws me into the book then it is definitely a winner. If the voice doesn’t then I tend to stop the book almost instantly.
2. Sustainability – Does the story keep me engaged and wanting to listen. If the storyline means that I don’t really want to listen to the book then it gets removed from my ipod. If, however, I want to continue to listen even when I should be doing something else, then this is positive.
3. Graphic Content – Good books rely on a good story and lots of imagery. However, I don’t think you need to provide explicit gruesome content to make a storyline good. If there is excessive use of gruesome content or long boring descriptions of a hat that someone is wearing, then the book again goes on the ‘avoid this book’ list.

In order to replicate the reviewing sections of Audible, I plan to also comment on; Would I recommend the book, My favourite character, Like or dislike about the performance, Tag line for the book as a film, and then any additional comments. As well as seeing the review here you will also be able to find this on the book within audible.co.uk. With all that said – let’s get on with the review!

Ghost Flight could be classed as a military espionage thriller with the characters embarking and a seek and retrieve mission which leads them deep into the Amazon Jungle/Rainforest. Although I am no expert on black operations into the jungle, the storyline is very good with a good amount of realism thrown in – the author has obviously done his research! The plotline is well thought out and there is a central theme which is both believable and engaging. There are many ‘unsavory’ events within the book, but the graphic content is kept to the minimum avoiding the unnecessary gore, but still making you ‘feel’ the battles and interactions.

Performance – The narrator was easy to listen to and his voices changed to match the characters. For me, a let down with the performance was the use of certain ‘sound effects’. What do I mean by this? Well I am quite happy for the narration to say – ‘the motorbike sprang to life’ I don’t really then want to hear the narrator making motorbike sounds to support the statement. Although this are not continuous throughout the book it slightly make be cringe every time it happened. Apart from this, the book maintains a good atmosphere throughout and the narrator’s voice is easy to listen to.

Favourite Character – Although the main character, Will Jaeger is believable and enjoyable he is not my favourite. This accolade belongs to his female counterpart Irina Narov. She is cold and practical to the point of being ruthless. Her shot with the sniper rifle can only be classed as perfect and something that many players of Black Ops would be jealous of. The only disappointing parts in the book are when her frozen personality slips momentarily but these are far between…well maybe only once.

Tag Line – Not being the most creative person, this causes me some problems although the best I can come up with is – “Let sleeping planes lie…”.

Recommend this book? I would definitely recommend this book if you enjoy the military thriller genre. If a cuddle romance is more your scene then maybe avoid this book, although as a starter into the genre is it well worth a listen.

See the other books I have read and reviewed by checking out my Previous Reads and Reviews pages

You can keep up to date with my content by following me on Twitch, Twitter and Facebook. Of course any subscribers to my YouTube channel is always appreciated.