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You Only Live Once
- A James Flynn Escapade, Book 1
- Narrated by: Chris Ciulla
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
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You Only Live Once
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Summary
From zero to hero....
James Flynn is an expert shot, a black belt in karate, fluent in four languages, and irresistible to women. He’s also a heavily medicated patient in a Los Angeles psychiatric hospital. Flynn believes his locked ward is the headquarters of Her Majesty’s Secret Service and that he is a secret agent with a license to kill.
When the hospital is acquired by a new HMO, Flynn is convinced that the Secret Service has been infiltrated by the enemy. He escapes to save the day, and in the process, Flynn kidnaps a young Hispanic orderly named Sancho.
This crazy day trip turns into a very real adventure when Flynn is mistaken for an actual secret agent. Paranoid delusions have suddenly become reality, and now it’s up to a mental patient and a terrified orderly to bring down an insecure, evil genius bent on world domination.
Includes a special bonus note from the author.
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What listeners say about You Only Live Once
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- C. A. Bailey
- 09-04-22
A Don Quixote, with spies rather than knights
A thoroughly enjoyable story about a Bond fantasist (a man in an asylum who literally believes he is Bond), who gets sucked into a spy-story adventure. This happens in 2 ways. Firstly, the hero continuously re-interprets the incidents of day-to-day life as if he were a secret agent, transforming the mundane into the dramatic. Secondly, his chivalry and his instinct for adventure really do lead to him interfering in a real-life criminal enterprise worthy of a Bond novel.
Unlike most Bond spoofs, there's a serious undertone to the story. The supposed "lunatic" is acting as he does out of a horrified rejection of the way the world actually functions. As Bond fantasies are a normal experience, and as the world is often disappointing, this is a comment on the human condition. The stubborn denial of reality does itself have an heroic quality. In fact, the novel is a re-telling of Cervantes' 17th century novel, Don Quixote, with Flynn in the place of Quixote. Both men are trying to live as protagonists in the heroic stories of their time - Quixote wants to be a knight fighting monsters, and Flynn wants to be a secret agent despatching super villains. Both stories ask whether the lunatic is not perhaps deeply sane, in his defiance of a reality both mundane and terrible.
This is great easy listening, a way to forget your everyday anxieties and concerns about life without denying that those anxieties and concerns do really exist. It's an amusing, well executed, Bond adventure, and pure fun. The narrator (and by extension, the central character) does an excellent Timothy Dalton impression.
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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
- D. C. Downer
- 02-11-21
Brilliant Fun!
I happened on this by accident & really enjoyed it. Humorous & quirky. I'm ready for the next one James ...... James Flynn 😉
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1 person found this helpful
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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
- MickeyJB
- 19-07-22
A nice change
A good alternative take on the popular 007 theme. Something different that is harmless. I do think it should be left there and no sequels though. Some of the narration can be a bit annoying at times but certainly don’t let that put you off listening.
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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
- james
- 07-11-22
brilliant 👏
Well worth listening too. Its very well done and funny. You need to get it.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 05-10-22
unexpected treat
picked up this book for my A to z challenge as my choice for Y. very unlike my normal choice of book and a bit of a whim pick.
found it genuinely amusing, non derivative satire. performance was very good and overall a nice easy listen. Story was fun and light and the nods to typical bond style fiction felt appropriate.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Roy Pether
- 08-08-22
Excellent
Very well written, novel idea and extremely funny with a brilliant narration by Chris Ciulla
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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
- Amazon Customer
- 06-07-22
love it!!!
Very funny and entertaining Can't wait for the next adventure. Really recommend. If you like Stephanie plum novels you'll love this. Great narrator, easy to listen to.
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1 person found this helpful
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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
- James
- 21-12-22
Don Quixote meets The man who knew too little
Passed the time well, tongue firmly in cheek well read not to long quite Enjoyable.
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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
- Miss Ah
- 22-07-23
Perfect escapism, huge amount of fun.
I didn’t have much hope for this one after reading negative reviews….
But I absolutely loved it, it’s so much fun, very well done and I laughed out loud a few times.
It’s perfect escapism.
I listened to it all in one day and bought the next one.
I’m a few chapters into book two and I’ve just bought the third.
### I’ve now listened to all four, each one is an absolute joy, very highly recommended.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- peter staley
- 18-05-22
loved it
The perfect satire of my favourite genre of book. Witty, fast paced, with all the right cliches. I loved it and I'm sure you will too.
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