I just finished the audiobook of Robert Ludlum’s The Tristan Betrayal, read by Paul Michael.

I have visited and spent three years living in the former Soviet Union. I also studied some Russian history at uni and did a lot of Russian politics for my masters. So I enjoyed the subject matter of the book very much. Ludlum paints a vivid picture of war-time Moscow after Stalin’s purges of the 30s and the fear is palpable. The monolith that is the Lubyanka features in the book, but it could have had more pages and depth.

The storyline itself is rather flimsy and predictable, but it is aided in the audiobook very much by Paul Michael’s reading. He’s a wonder with accents and he really brings the characters to life. It wasn’t half as enjoyable as the Bourne books, but the main character of Steven Metcalfe was slightly more believable than Jason Bourne. The relationship between Metcalfe and his mentor, Corky is very similar to that enjoyed between Bourne and Conklin.

I enjoyed listening to it and got hooked pretty quickly. I guess I’m a bit of a Ludlum fan – great for car journeys!