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Field of Blood

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Field of Blood

By: Gerald Seymour
Narrated by: John O'Mahony
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About this listen

Sean McNally has sworn his oath to the IRA. But then he'd turned his back on the violence and the hatred, and gone south to the Republic. Life was good, until they came for him to do one last job. But in its aftermath, McNally is captured and is facing a lifetime's imprisonment. Unless he dares think the unthinkable...and becomes a tout.

Lieutenant David Ferris hadn't wanted to join the army, but found himself in it anyway. In a cruel twist of fate, his path crosses that of Sean McNally's and he quickly becomes a pawn on the frontline of a brutally tense war of nerves. As McNally prepares to gives evidence, Ferris must confront his own destiny. Not only is his life at stake, but also that of the future of the entire command structure of the IRA....

©1985 Gerald Seymour (P)2014 Hodder & Stoughton Suspense Thriller & Suspense Destiny War

Critic reviews

"Genuinely exciting" ( The Times)
"Brilliant... moments that explode with heart-stopping suspense" ( New Yorker)
All stars
Most relevant
Again let down by the pronunciation of place names in Northern Ireland. If you need to know just ask...

Good story..

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This is incomparable to Harry’s Game. Don’t be gone to hold them up against each other.

HG was brilliant. This is brilliant.

Superb plotting and character development with no wastage on the lean descriptions here. Everyone is important. There are no herrings or sub plots. It’s all linked.

Gerald Seymour is my new hero. Everything I read is jaw dropping in drama. It connects me, leads me and lingers with me the whole unabridged hours I spend. I find it impossible to to partake in any other form of entertainment when I’m in one of these books.

The narration here is amazing. He deftly goes from officer class to child: it’s a beautiful thing.

My life is richer for this book.

Don’t judge in comparison: this is brilliant.

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This is one of very few books that I have read by Gerald Seymour but I can't imagine he has written many better. Field of Blood brings together the unlikely combination of a British Army Lieutenant and a low level IRA member facing prison for acts of terrorism. The two men are as diametrically opposite to each other as you can imagine in terms of background and resulting character but develop a tortured personal relationship once they are forced together.

The book is brutal and it is hard-faced but when dealing with this subject there is no other way. There is no great nobility in the IRA man. no great dignity in the family that he seeks to protect and his situation is understated as being between a rock and a hard place.

The tragic human suffering of a troubled Northern Ireland and the impacts they have on both the main characters and the long-suffering divided communities that make their homes there are described vividly. The de-humanisation of whole sections of society are reflected well in the narrative which is delivered superbly by John O'Mahoney.

This isn't an easy or comforting book to read given how well it reflects the awfulness of real-life for those who live through the problems in Ireland but it is a thoroughly rewarding read with moments of great tension and humanity and occasionally honour from unexpected sources.

Hard-faced, Brutal Excellence

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Where does Field of Blood rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of Gerald Seymour's best

What about John O'Mahoney’s performance did you like?

An excellent performance he voiced the different characters well. I will look out for other books narrated by him.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Nearly!!

Excellent listen

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Very enjoyable performance but the story was a bit ow at times and stretched credulity. well worth a listen though

enjoyable, gripping but slow at times

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