Robert Ludlums The Altman Code, Robert Ludlum
Robert Ludlums The Altman Code, Robert Ludlum
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Robert Ludlum's The Altman Code
A Covert-One Novel

Author: Robert Ludlum, Gayle Lynds

Narrator: Don Leslie

Abridged: 6 hr 11 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/01/2003


Synopsis

The thrilling fourth volume in the bestselling Covert-One series

On the dark waterside docks of Shanghai, a photographer is recording cargo being secretly loaded when he's brutally killed and his camera destroyed. Two weeks later, on the dangerous high seas, the U.S. Navy covertly tracks a Chinese cargo ship rumored to carry tons of chemicals for Saddam Hussein to create new biological weapons. The president cannot let the ship reach Iraq. At the same time, he doesn't want the navy to attack and board it either, because decades of negotiations with China have at long last yielded a landmark human rights agreement that China is willing to sign. Fighting to keep the agreement on track, the president orders the head of Covert-One to find proof of what the Chinese ship is ferrying. Under cover of a medical conference, operative Col. Jon Smith is sent to Taiwan to rendezvous with another agent who has acquired the ship's true manifest. But the second agent is murdered, the proof is destroyed, and Smith is left only with a verbal message--the president's biological father is still alive, held prisoner by the Chinese for fifty years. Racing against the clock, Smith uncovers the truth about the ship, a truth that probes the deepest secrets of the Chinese ruling party and reveals a terrifying cabal whose diabolical plan thrusts the world to the very brink of war.

About Robert Ludlum

Robert Ludlum (1927-2001) was the author of 25 thriller novels, including The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum--the books on which the international hit movies were based--and The Sigma Protocol. He was also the creator of the Covert-One series. Born in New York City, Ludlum received a B.A. from Wesleyan University, and before becoming an author, he was a United States Marine, a theater actor and producer.

About Gayle Lynds

Gayle Lynds is the bestselling, award-winning author of several international espionage thrillers, including Masquerade, The Coil, and The Last Spymaster. A member of the Association for Intelligence Officers, she is cofounder (with David Morrell) of ITW (International Thriller Writers). She lives in Santa Barbara.

About Don Leslie

Don Leslie has appeared on and off Broadway as well as in many feature films and various episodic television shows. He is an accomplished audiobook narrator and also voices commercials, on-air narrations, video games, and movie trailers.  Don's audiobook credits include reading more than forty audiobooks, several of which have won Earphones awards.  His narrations include Robert Ludlum's The Altman Code, Richard Conniff's The Ape in the Corner Office, and Orson Scott Card's Ender in Exile.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Louie the Mustache on October 01, 2023

I hadn’t read a Robert Ludlum novel in a long time, and when I received this book with the 100 thrillers from my librarian friend on eBay, I didn’t realize that this wasn’t a Ludlum novel either. Written by Gayle Lynds, I wasn’t clear as to why Robert Ludlum’s name was on this puppy at all, since he......more

Goodreads review by Steve on April 09, 2010

Like Tom Clancy, his fellow espionage/techno-thriller author, Ludlum has grown from being a single individual writer into something resembling a ‘cottage-industry’. No longer does he even have to write his own work, but he can simply come up with a plot (or concept) and let other writers take it fro......more

Goodreads review by Patrick on June 08, 2019

This was a fast paced, interesting read. It came down to the very end to see if war could be averted between the US and China. I'm not sure I could imagine this happening in today's environment. The hothead in charge would probably do something dumb that would ensure we went to war, but this had a r......more

Goodreads review by Ron on January 14, 2018

This is the fourth book in the series and this one is just as good as the previous books. There is a lot of action, drama, plot twists and unexpected turns. Unfortunately, there is no sex to speak of actual or implied. Still, it is a very good read and I am ready for the next one.......more

Goodreads review by Lee on April 20, 2023

I don’t know why I bothered. Predictable, ‘USA can do no wrong’ and dated. International politics changes fast. Also far too much of “just when he was about to be killed, the cavalry arrived…”......more


Quotes

“Ludlum is light years beyond his literary competition in piling plot twist upon plot twist, until the mesmerized reader is held captive...[He] dominates the field in strong, tightly plotted, adventure-drenched thrillers. Ludlum pulls out all the stops and dazzles his readers.” —Chicago Tribune

“Ludlum stuffs more surprises into his novels than any other six pack of thriller writers combined.” —The New York Times

“Reading a Ludlum novel is like watching a James Bond film.” —Entertainment Weekly

“Welcome to Robert Ludlum's world...fast pacing, tight plotting, international intrigue.” —The Plain Dealer

“Robert Ludlum is the master of gripping, fast-moving intrigue. He is unsurpassed at weaving a tapestry of stunningly diverse figures, then assembling them in a sequence so gripping that the reader's attention never wavers.” —The Daily Oklahoman

“Don't ever begin a Ludlum novel if you have to go to work the next day.” —Chicago Sun-Times

“If a Pulitzer Prize were awarded for escapist fiction, Robert Ludlum undoubtedly would have won it. Ten times over.” —Mobile Register

“An exciting medical-military thriller that moves at a rapid pace to its climax...an exciting new series.” —Midwest Book Review

“A pop hit...that should bounce right up the bestseller lists.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Gripping...robust writing and a breakneck pace.” —Boston Herald