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A Single Source
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
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A Single Source
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Summary
A gripping political thriller set in the heart of the Arab Spring, from the author of A Dying Breed.
Veteran BBC reporter William Carver is in Cairo - bang in the middle of the Arab Spring.
'The only story in the world' according to his editor. But it isn't - there's another story, more significant and potentially more dangerous, and if no one else is willing to tell it...then Carver will, whatever the consequences.
A Single Source tells two stories, which over a few tumultuous months come together to prove inextricably linked. There are the dramatic, world-changing events across North Africa and the Middle East, as protests led by a new generation of tech-savvy youngsters challenge the established order. Then there are two Eritrean brothers, desperate to make their way up from the Horn of Africa across the continent to a better life in Europe. The horrors they endure at the hands of people traffickers and others along the way test their endurance and humanity to its limit.
William Carver spots the Arab Spring early, aided by one of the infamous 'Listeners' at the BBC monitoring station in Caversham. He and his producer, Patrick, chase the story across North Africa before arriving in Egypt where the battle between the corrupt old order and the new will be both bloody and potentially definitive.
The world is watching, but its attention span is increasingly short. Carver knows the story is a complex one and, in the age of Facebook, Twitter and rolling news, difficult stories are getting harder to tell. If everyone is a reporter, then whom do you believe?
Critic reviews
"Topical, authoritative and gripping." (Charles Cumming)
"Tight, pacy and strong on atmosphere." (Michael Palin)
"Completely unputdownable - gripping." (Seb Emina)
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What listeners say about A Single Source
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Liz Randall
- 07-07-19
excellent
good story once again superbly narrated by JK. He makes the characters seem so real with his different voices.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Franniep
- 09-03-22
A bit puzzling
This is such a good listen. I marginally preferred A Dying Breed, which is brilliant, but this is definitely in the same mould. My only reservation was the way the the story ended so very abruptly - I wondered whether I had inadvertently skipped a chapter or two and had to re-listen to the last 3 chapters. It was as though Peter Hanington had run out of juice on the final lap. It's puzzling given the overall quality of the writing and I still look forward to downloading the next William Carver book.
The narration was very slightly flawed by rather dubious Scottish and Northern Irish accents but otherwise was great.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- H
- 02-08-22
Outstanding in every way
Brilliant narrator and terrific story - a great new writer and hopefully he will give us more!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ferg
- 03-10-22
Great series
Loving this series. Great characters and plot. Narration is spot on. Mick Herron meets Le Carrie
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- kay appleton
- 21-01-22
Great read Excellent narration good inflections
I've read two of this authors books can't wait to start the last in thr trilogy of the main character William Carver. Jonathan Keeble is an excellent reader he distinguishes between all characters so well even male and female
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- saar byrne
- 06-07-20
Pace and punch. Recommended
I listened to the first book and thought it had great pace, engaging storyline and excellent narration. I thought it 5 star. This was even better.
Carver becomes a bit more nuanced here, vulnerabilities are made more prevalent. The addition of the brothers and how they fit was clever but also added depth.
I recommend it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bethy
- 13-05-19
Simply outstanding.
Great plot, strong & believable characters. Very well narated, capturing the characters amd tension of the plot. Would thoroughly recommend.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Diana Brighouse
- 28-08-22
Should be on school current affairs curriculum
Possibly not outstanding modern literature, but a compelling story encompassing the arms trade, investigative journalism, and people trafficking. I would recommend it particularly to right wing politicians as they might find it educational.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- mr
- 11-06-21
Very Good but not quite a 5
Good topicality and decent characters, also interesting on some of the "ways of life" of foreign correspondents, but let down slightly by predictability and (to me) a slightly plodding cynical but really a modern liberal worthiness
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Boatqueen
- 13-08-19
A riveting and convincing thriller
Investigative radio journalist with a dogged determination to find the truth in the shady world of bent arms trading against the backdrop of the Arab spring.
Along the way, Hanington tells heart rending stories of extraordinary people trying to lead or seek decent lives destroyed by the greed and indifference of those in power.
I like the way the plot unfolds, sometimes predictably, and sometimes surprisingly, restoring hope when you think all is lost.
Also found myself wanting to know more about Eritrea (had no idea about the thousands of historical buildings and also lots of art deco as remnant of Italian occupation during Mussolini's era).
Superb narration, as expected, from Keeble; the reason I started listening to the first book in the series.
A great second book in the William Carver series. Looking forward to the third.
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