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Westwind
- Narrated by: Ian Rankin, Julian Rhind-Tutt
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
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Westwind
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Summary
Europe, 1990. As the US begins to pull out its troops in a tide of isolationism, Britain is torn between its loyalties to the USA and its continental neighbours.
In America, a space shuttle crashes on landing, killing all but one of the crew on-board: a British man named Mike Dreyfuss, who will become vilified by the US press and protesters.
Halfway across the world, Martin Hepton, an English ground control technician watches as they lose contact with the most advanced satellite in Europe. A colleague of Hepton's who suspects something strange is going on is signed off sick, and never comes back.
Hepton decides to investigate his friend's suspicions and his trail leads him to Dreyfuss, MI6, the American military, and back to his former girlfriend, Jill, who is an up-and-coming journalist with the contacts and the courage to cover the story.
But there is much more at stake than anyone realises - and many more people on their trail than they can possibly evade....
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What listeners say about Westwind
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Andy
- 29-03-20
Ok
A rerelease of an old book a bit dated, but can be viewed as nostalgic
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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
- Mr.S.A.Windsor
- 03-08-20
Not Rebus but.....
Loved it. Great story and remarkable that it is current considering written a long time ago. Great read.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mike
- 02-03-21
echoes of Ian Fleming and moonraker and others
couldn't help but see similarities between this plot and other similar tales however I enjoyed it for all that. as others have said it is a bit far fetched and lacks credibility but its fast paced enough to paper over the cracks but then I enjoy rankin tales that don't involve rebus....
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
- critical friend
- 01-12-19
Early work by big name author shows its age
There is an explanation at the beginning by the author himself of how this work first published in 1990 came to have a 2019 imprint. Despite revisions and re-editing it is very much last century. Fascination with car central locking and name dropping now deceased models of cars as a shorthand for status and style remains and will bemuse readers who haven't heard of them.
There are some clever plot twists, but several main characters have improbable survival and although there is a satisfying tying up of story threads, I thought that the ending was rushed and again mired in hacking and satellite surveillance being novel and wondrous.
Someone wanting to complete their collection of
Ian Rankin's work may be interested to see the formative stage evident here. It is a different genre than the one in which Rankin made his name and is an illustration of how such stories can become outdated and trite.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Alastair Davidson
- 09-12-19
An updated story
The author starts with an explanation about the evolution of the story/book. It turns out it was written many moons ago but recently updated.
It is a good story and well presented but it feels dated.
This updating of old work is becoming more popular and I’m not sure if is a good idea.
Come on Ian let us have a new story in context.
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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
- Paul
- 03-06-20
Enthralled
In the prologue Ian explains the history of this book and how it was either rejected or ignored in the shops in the late 20th century. I began to think I’d maybe got a dud. But within a few minutes I was hooked. Yes it was set over 20 years ago with references to old technology but it was a fast paced thriller which kept me on the edge of my seat. Buy it, listen to it and you won’t be disappointed.
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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
- anna
- 03-02-22
Scary
I found this book quite exciting but scary because it could so nearly be true. Well written and so believable.
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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
- Phil Dudman
- 26-11-20
Eerily close to our current reality
While in places bizarre and far fetched the central plot of intrigue and sinister power games rings rather true at the moment. Set in the 80s there's plenty of nostalgia to get lost in too.
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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
- L C
- 29-07-20
Increasingly good!
After an initially slow start, it picked up pace to become increasingly enthralling and the characters became robust enough for one to invest in.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Adam PIerce
- 11-01-20
A good listen
Some of the vocabulary is a bit dated but if you can see past that it's a good paced read. If the ending a little abrupt
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