The Paladin

By: David Ignatius

Narrated by: George Guidall

When a daring, high-tech CIA operation goes wrong and is disavowed, Michael Dunne sets out for revenge.

CIA operations officer Michael Dunne is tasked with infiltrating an Italian news organization that smells like a front for an enemy intelligence service. Headed by an American journalist, the self-styled bandits run a cyber operation unlike anything the CIA has seen before. Fast, slick, and indiscriminate, the group steals secrets from everywhere and anyone, and exploits them in ways the CIA can neither understand nor stop.

Dunne knows it’s illegal to run a covert op on an American citizen or journalist, but he has never refused an assignment and his boss has assured his protection. Soon after Dunne infiltrates the organization, however, his cover disintegrates. When news of the operation breaks and someone leaks that Dunne had an extramarital affair while on the job, the CIA leaves him to take the fall. Now a year later, fresh out of jail, Dunne sets out to hunt down and take vengeance on the people who destroyed his life.

©2020 David Ignatius (P)2020 Recorded Books

Great novel awful reading

the narration was so bad it broke the flow of the story and destroyed an otherwise excellent book

Good Suspense

The plot was great, the actor reading was terrific, with the french and Portuguese accents and discussions. There were lots of twists and turns and it kept me engaged, which I like. I will definitely try another one from this author.

Super listen

My first Ignatius and I’m thrilled with it. Clever, engaging, intelligent. Nicely textured reader, too.

Interesting but unsatisfying

Got really invested in the protagonist, the tragedy was heartbreaking. The bad guys were despicable and terrifying. But the denouement was very disappointing.

Excellent

Great story, Great Narration I'm a long time David Ignatius fan and this was terrific

Best Modern Spy Novel

I am typically not an avid reader of the Tom Clancy, tough-guy, salt-of-the-earth, military genre. I prefer Hemmingway or O'Connor. But, I love Mr. Ignatius' journalism. Anytime a journalist writes a novel about their beat, readers can expect a fictional representation of real culture. That is why I love this book. The flare and taste of the CIA culture and the bad guys they fight shine through. Granted, I have no clue if the representation is accurate to real life, but I damn sure hope it is. The Paladin brings you into a unique world and leaves your own slightly more intriguing.

Cyber Thriller, Sort of

The authors political viewpoint is made obvious and he belatedly jumps off the tRump bandwagon towards the end of the novel. It is timely due to current cyber attacks the country is experiencing. No condemnation of tRump as he did Obama. The mentions of those political figures is offhand but contributed to the overall tone.

A Keeper

Thoughly keep my attention all the way thru. The story line was excellent! I recommend this book!

plausible manipulation

good story, plausible example of public manipulation. the voices are not variable enough for believability. the key technology is also plausible.

Some potential but ehhh

The Paladin highlights the power of intelligence agencies to alter facts and destabilize their adversaries from the safety of a keyboard. Broadening this capability to non-stste actors opens a Pandora's box of frightening possibilities.

Unfortunately, The Paladin largely fails despite its potential. The main protagonist is at once a technical wizard, well experienced in the intelligence field, and a fool, who violates the basic rules of tradecraft and common sense. He is also protrayed as a technical oriented James Bond, beyond the reality of CIA case officers and specialists. This failure is compounded by the lack of character development, most are stereotypes at best or, worse, caricatures. I'll also hazard to guess that most intelligence officers do not have the powerful friends which the protagonist enjoys or stumbles upon.

Having read Ignatius' reporting and heard him at roundtables, he seems a sharp guy However, in llistening to his descriptions of hacking and media editing / creation, one gets the feeling that Ignatius is throwing around some jargon he understands and papering over what he doesn't,. I too am not an expert, but I did not find the technical descriptions convincing.

No spoilers. It's enough to say the ending is trite: the final page could've read "... and everyone lived happily ever after. The End." Finally, whether the reader agrees with the sentiment or not, the occasional disparaging references to MAGA did little to develop or advance the story. I'm glad to have picked up this title as a daily deal.