Basil's War

By: Stephen Hunter

Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart

Basil St. Florian is an accomplished agent in the British Army, tasked with dozens of dangerous missions for crown and country across the globe. But his current mission, going undercover in Nazi-occupied France during World War II, might be his toughest assignment yet. He will be searching for an ecclesiastic manuscript that doesn't officially exist, one that genius professor Alan Turing believes may hold the key to a code that could prevent the death of millions and possibly even end the war.

St. Florian isn't the classic British special agent with a stiff upper lip - he is a swashbuckling, whisky-drinking cynic and thrill-seeker who resents having to leave Vivien Leigh's bed to set out on his crucial mission. Despite these proclivities, though, Basil's Army superiors know he's the best man for the job, carrying out his espionage with enough charm and quick wit to make any of his subjects lower their guards.

Action-packed and bursting with WWII-era intrigue (much of which has basis in fact), Basil's War is a classic espionage thriller from Pulitzer Prize-winning critic, essayist, and best-selling novelist Stephen Hunter.

©2021 Stephen Hunter (P)2021 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Great story and compelling characters.

Good mix of fact, fiction, and speculation. A small story of a huge conflict that shows how the war hung on every shoulder and every decision. Note: Narrator’s pace was glacial. Had to increase speed of narration to make it tolerable. He was going for a refined aristocrat, and just came off concussed. But this may be a personal taste issue. Listen to the sample and judge for yourself.

Not at all his usual

Rey clever, witty Basil St Florian, an SOE agent on an impossible assignment. A fun read.

Hugely entertaining

Full of great characters, excellent book by Hunter. Highly recommended to spy thriller fans and full of wry humor.

Totally different Hunter twist

Always interesting and intelligent, Mr Hunter writes a completely different tale on lesser known WWII matters of Brit spycraft.
Very well researched with a lot of careful “unveiling “, the subjects and plot always have surprises as one progresses to the end.
Somewhat thick and involved, the facts are shown , often in the vanacular as Mr . Hunter often does.
Worth listening to if just to see a mix of James Bond and Bob Lee Swagger come to life !

Delicious: Bertie Wooster if He Had a Brain

Stephen Hunter channels P.G. Wodehouse. What a master of different styles!
Yes, Bertie Wooster if he had a a Brain AND was also James Bond.
The language is exquisite, descriptions are lyrical, the values are both stiff upper lip and roguishly subversive.
The actionis exciting and the plot complex but clear.
Vivian Leigh is delightfully defamed.
Oh how I wish this were longer. Make this a series, Stephen, if it doesn’t distract you from Bob Lee.

I am eagerly waiting for the next Basil's story !!

I have read the kindle version of this story several times, while waiting for the next Bob Lee story. I am so happy with the Audible version of this story, with all the accent, the wits and overall performance. Absolutely entertaining. I am very much looking forward to the next story from Basil St Florian. My dream is to have Basil every June, and Bob Lee every December !!!! Long live Stephen, Bob Lee and Basil !!!!

A great author is a great author.

To begin I like this genre. Hunter writes a great story weaving in the mission preparation and character development into the story line. He brings in many different parts of history that we did gain knowledge of after the war, yet it only adds to the story.
Don't pass this one up if you're looking for more repeats of Bob Lee. This is a good listen. The narrator does a great job with british, german and french voices and is easy to follow. Good job all the way around.
Cheers

Excellent story performed well

This book is unlike any of Stephen Hunter’s previous books (except “The Spanish Gambit”, which it closely resembles).

The first 10 to 20 minutes are overblown British “stiff upper lip” and upper class insouciance. Then the book becomes a masterful tale of the intelligence “game“, with an intriguing cast of characters, mis-direction, and cat & mouse action. I highly recommend this book.

(Note: the German characters’ fear of being sent to the Russian Front might seem overblown. However, I don’t think it is, given that the book is set in early 1943, just after the colossal disaster at Stalingrad. Similarly, the mistrust & lack of real cooperation between the Abwehr and the SS as portrayed in the book is a matter of historical record.)

Pain Basil

Unbelievablely hard to give it a fair evaluation. I struggled between the accents, the storyline and the author's style. Nothing clicked. I couldn't decide if the was British and this type of story telling was expected or the author was spoofing and I just did not have the patience to tough it out. Love Stephen Hunter, just refused to ignore my irritation.

Don’t buy the audio version

The narration is so terrible I cannot judge the text. I don’t know if it is meant to be a comedy. I will get the written text and try again.