The Year of the Locust

By: Terry Hayes

Narrated by: Jeff Harding

Brought to you by Penguin.

A Financial Times Best Thriller of the Year 2023

If, like Kane, you're a Denied Access Area spy for the CIA, then boundaries have no meaning. Your function is to go in, do whatever is required, and get out again - by whatever means necessary. You know when to run, when to hide - and when to shoot.

But some places don't play by the rules. Some places are too dangerous, even for a man of Kane's experience. The badlands where the borders of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan meet are such a place - a place where violence is the only way to survive.

Kane travels there to exfiltrate a man with vital information for the safety of the West - but instead he meets an adversary who will take the world to the brink of extinction. A frightening, clever, vicious man with blood on his hands and vengeance in his heart...

‘Utterly gripping, elegantly written... most definitely worth the wait’ Observer
'Epic and immersive, new and unexpected... deep and compelling' Mail on Sunday
'Compare this with the thrillers written by Mr or Mrs Clinton, and you come away feeling that Hayes is the one who has more inside knowledge' Telegraph

Sunday Times bestseller, January 2024

©2023 Terry Hayes (P)2023 Penguin Audio

New book from hayes

I thought it was a good story. A little strange throughout the middle but was worth a listen

Just amazing, gripping story

Really engaging, thoroughly enjoyed this follow on from I Am Pilgrim. Easy to listen to and great it so long

What a story

Great book. Twists and turns you can’t even describe. Wish I could wipe my memory and listen again

The narrator's voice was incredible. Love Terry Hayes books. There are many twists and turns. Loved the intrigue

Loved the book. Fantastically read. Enjoyed the descriptions by the author. The aithor does a lot of research whoch makes the story so much more believeable.

Unexpected Science Fiction story - good but not great.

After “I am Pilgrim” we waited excitedly for his next book. We expected to be mesmerised by this long awaited second book. Maybe had we known that it was a science fiction book earlier on we would have ‘suspended belief’ earlier on and would not have been as thrown by the numerous obvious impossibilities and errors that we encountered. As long as you realise that there are many such impossibilities-(and we are not talking of spores from another planet here which we realise is futuristic and “who knows what the future holds anyway” ) it is an absorbing listen - and kept us needing to know how it ended!

Almost like the author lost their way and didn’t know how to get back to where they thought they were going.

I found the story disjointed and almost 2 separate stories that barely connected. Nothing like I am pilgrim

The time travel

Story completely off the charts with the time travel interlude. Almost aborted the book at that stage as it plunged from harsh reality into some far fetched BS. Happy to have persevered as it all made for a very entertaining story. I see many complaints about the narrator. He may be an acquired taste but in my opinion delivers an outstanding performance.

Unexpected suspense

Story builds slowly to completely unexpected events. I was absolutely hooked and could not read/listen fast enough.

Gripping

Story was fast paced and interesting. Opens you up to another world of undercover activities.

Crisps and soda

In the style of many American stories, a single solo hero saves the whole world. Entertaining, but not as good as I am Pilgrim. It's a sci-fi fantasy book, not an espionage thriller. The southern accent of the narrator fits the hard boiled gung-ho story well.