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  • The Defector

  • Apollo Murders, Book 2
  • By: Chris Hadfield
  • Narrated by: Ray Porter
  • Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (30 ratings)

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The Defector

By: Chris Hadfield
Narrated by: Ray Porter
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Publisher's Summary

From the author of the international bestselling thriller The Apollo Murders: a supersonic hunt for a shadowy Soviet defector known only as 'Grief'.

Israel, late 1973. As the Yom Kippur War flares into life, a state-of-the-art Soviet MIG fighter is racing at breakneck speed over the arid scrublands below...and promptly disappears.

It soon becomes clear to Israeli intelligence that the pilot is a defector, desperate to come over to the US side. Houston Flight Controller and former test pilot Kaz Zemeckis is charged with bringing the pilot and his plane to the highly secret Area 51, in the Nevada desert. But every defection carries with it a risk. It soon becomes clear that 'Grief' has the technical ability, and now the opportunity, to gain access to the treasures of the Nevada Test Range - either a prototype stealth fighter or the NERVA nuclear rocket engine. Or both.

For Chris Hadfield's second heart-stopping thriller, we move from Space to another rich and exciting part of Chris's professional CV: his time as the top test pilot in both the US Air Force and the US Navy, and as a Cold War pilot intercepting armed Soviet bombers in North American airspace. Just as Gregg Hurwitz called The Apollo Murders 'an explosive thriller by a writer who has actually been to space and back', here we have a matchless thriller and the nerve-shredding rush of aerial combat, as told by one of the world's top fighter pilots.

©2023 Chris Hadfield (P)2023 Hachette Audio

What listeners say about The Defector

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Great storytelling

I really enjoyed how you heard all the hints come through the reading but you only put it together close to the end. Very cool storytelling

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  • Overall
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A worthy successor to “The Apollo Murders”

The story kept me engaged and the attention to detail was fascinating.

As always, Ray’s narration was superb

Recommended!

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Loved it!

His non-fiction about his experiences as an astronaut is one of my favourite books. it's great to see his skill translate to fiction. Espionage/thrillers isn't my usual genre, but I can't wait for the next book!

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An outstanding book, held my interest thru every chapter.

An outstanding book. Held my interest throughout the entire book. It gave me some insight into base 51.

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Incredible!!!

I can’t wait to hear the next story!
It was supremely realistic and when it’s coming from a fighter pilot and astronaut you know you’re getting The Right Stuff

Hadfield writes a great thriller with interesting characters you do get attached to

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Such a fantastically tricky book

I saw the author on channel 10’s The Project, a great interview which introduced me to his books. Book 1 was really fantastic! I thoroughly recommend it. In this book, I really loved the plot twists, the only issue I had was that nothing happened with the Grief/Svetlana storyline, absolutely nothing, maybe it was written in as a red herring, I dunno. Anyway, this book was a great sequel to book 1. Ray Porter as always, is a wonderful narrator. I’m now really looking forward to the next book in this series.

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wonderful follow up

great second novel from the commander, can't want for more. slight blend with the first novel. fun technical details, excellent speculative fiction.

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Hard to keep my attention

I really struggled with my concentration with this book.
It seemed to me that it followed a set pattern, I did finish the book but I really struggled to get into it

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