Never

A Novel

By: Ken Follett

Narrated by: January LaVoy

Length: 23 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times Best Seller

The new must-listen epic from master storyteller Ken Follett: more than a thriller, it’s an action-packed, globe-spanning drama set in the present day.

“A compelling story, and only too realistic.” (Lawrence H. Summers, former U.S. Treasury Secretary)

“Every catastrophe begins with a little problem that doesn’t get fixed.” So says Pauline Green, president of the United States, in Follett’s nerve-racking drama of international tension.

A shrinking oasis in the Sahara Desert; a stolen US Army drone; an uninhabited Japanese island; and one country’s secret stash of deadly chemical poisons: all these play roles in a relentlessly escalating crisis.

Struggling to prevent the outbreak of world war are a young woman intelligence officer; a spy working undercover with jihadists; a brilliant Chinese spymaster; and Pauline herself, beleaguered by a populist rival for the next president election.

Never is an extraordinary novel, full of heroines and villains, false prophets and elite warriors, jaded politicians and opportunistic revolutionaries. It brims with cautionary wisdom for our times, and delivers a visceral, heart-pounding story that transports listeners to the brink of the unimaginable.

©2021 Ken Follett (P)2021 Penguin Audio

I loved it!

The multiply layered stories and intrigue kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the book. I read several negative reviews and decided to ignore them since I almost always like Ken Follet's books. I'm glad I did. This is an excellent, thought-provoking book, probably because the threat of nuclear war is all too believable.

Real Life story that reflects the dire situation in the world

Pageturner, detailed and scarily realistic…
Covering very actual topics and threats our current world. Eye-opening…

Weak dialogue

I’m a big Ken Follett fan but this one wasn’t his best. The story was ok but the dialogue between the characters was very bad. It came off like it was written by someone who has never spoken to real people before and learned everything they know about people speaking to each other from watching a handful of sitcoms and network tv dramas.

a pause for thought

the scary part of this story is how close to reality it can come. Hurt pride, one upmanship, the inability to learn from the past instead of forming grudges that last for generations. We see these signs all around the world in race wars, religious wars, cyberwars, political agendas. How can we ever have true stable peace, when we can never get all sides to a common realistic negotiation table?

it was pretty good.

I would have liked to have seen the story line carry through a good while longer than the ending. it didn't really close anything up.

Never never

May it never be
Very realistic
Loved the other books but this one is eerily real
May the next novel have a happy ending

THE END?!?

I was not ready for it to end!! I have to collect myself before I review.

A book to make one pause...

This is not a book to be "enjoyed" in the usual sense of the word. It is a GREAT book, one to be savoured and pondered and remembered. It is one from which we can learn as human beings, all living on the same - and only - planet. Savoured might not be quite the right word. Just read, take it in, and ponder...think deeply....

Exciting

This is the first Ken Follett book I have read and boy was it exciting. It was a long book (26 hours) but it kept my interest the whole time. There are intermingled storylines. There is big action. There is an element of a love story (not heavy on the romance theme, just enough to get the point across). The ending blew me away!

Timely novel, narration soothing

Excellent narration, timely, character development so interesting would love to know Abdul and Kia’s end of story