Horse Under Water
Penguin Modern Classics
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Horse Under Water
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Narrated by:
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James Lailey
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By:
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Len Deighton
About this listen
A sunken U-boat has lain undisturbed on the Atlantic ocean floor since the Second World War - until now. Inside its rusting hull, among the corpses of top-rank Nazis, lie secrets people will kill to obtain.
The sequel to Len Deighton's game-changing debut The IPCRESS File, Horse Under Water sees its nameless, laconic narrator sent from fogbound London to the Algarve, where he must dive through layers of deceit in a place rotten with betrayals.
©1962 Len Deighton (P)2021 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"The poet of the spy story." (Sunday Times)
What listeners say about Horse Under Water
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Tina Baxter
- 08-08-24
Dive deep!
Fascinating stuff. With lots of twists and turns. Great characters good middling and bad. Always enjoy LD.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- J. Arbuckle
- 22-03-23
Beautifully written and read
Classic spy fiction, brilliantly plotted, and superbly narrated with modulation and cadence reminiscent of Michael Caine’s performance in the Ipcress file.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Mr. Clark Gillies
- 07-10-21
Good story, but very lacking
Len Deighton I have always found a struggle to get through when it comes to his books, but the audible version of his books are simply fascinating and James Lailey simply keeps you hooked for the whole time.
Having watched the three Michael Caine movies of the "unnamed British agent" (affectionately known as Harry Palmer) I started to make my way through the books, and after listening to Funeral in Berlin and Billion Dollar Brain, I turned my attention to Horse Under Water.
This one I was going totally blind into, so had no idea about the plot in any way.
The story starts off very strong, with our hero in Morocco setting up a deal that could see a government coup happening in Portugal, with him going back to London saying that financing will be required.
The UK Government can not be seen to directly finance a counter government group, so a plan is made to salvage money that is thought to be inside a sunken German U-Boat off the Portugal coast.
After a few weeks of training to dive our hero goes to Portugal, and after weeks of searching nothing has been found, but a entry in the ships log written in ball point pen makes our hero suspicious that all is not what it appears.
After this the plot shifts from a spy-thriller to more of a murder mystery story as a murder takes place during one dive and our hero is almost blown up when he gets into his car.
All in all a good story, but just not as gripping as Funeral in Berlin and very lacking compared to Billion Dollar Brain.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Shakyapada
- 28-05-22
Enjoyable
Wonderful narration, slightly confusing plot though, but still enjoyable. Would read another just for the humour, great descriptions and narration
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- GC
- 28-03-25
Intriguing
A well narrated post war story line of international undercover intrigue in the recovery of ..?
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- j aitken
- 16-04-23
excellent
gripping, top quality fiction. as for the narration, i could listen to this guy read the telephone directory and enjoy it.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Reece
- 10-06-23
Harry palmer book 2
At fast the narrators attempt to replicate the voice of Micheal Caine was annoying but if you slow it down just a touch then it works to bring the book alive
Ultimately I loved it
On to the next one
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Simontpt
- 13-04-22
Rivering
This is so well written with descriptive phrases that stick in the memory for life.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ray Woodward
- 16-02-24
Classic Deighton - superb period character and flawless plotlines
If all you know about Harry Palmer is Michael Caine’s portrayal then think again. Len Deighton’s answer to James Bond is the perfect blend of cynic and idealist in a crumbling post-war Europe that’s still feeling the pain of all out war and still has dictators ruling the Iberian peninsular. James Lailey’s reading borrows from Caine’s vocal patterns but his range captures all characters and he makes them come alive. Horse Under Water was never made into a movie, its plot, locations and subject matter would have made it problematic in many ways but in many ways it resonates as strongly today an when Deighton submitted the manuscript for publication. Very highly recommended.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jacky
- 15-05-22
Great Story brilliant narration
A story of twists and turns well written with humour and wonderful descriptions The narrator was outstanding, probably the best I have heard on audible. His ability with accents was so good. An absorbing listen for a long Journey UK to Spain. Highly recommended.
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2 people found this helpful