Buckle up

I still remember this cover from when I read it so many years ago - High Citadel - the first Desmond Bagley I read and gradually I got to read the rest of the 16 thrillers he wrote. 
So when I saw 'High citadel' as an eAudio, I thought time to give the story a second glance.
The plot is classic adventure thriller, from the era of Alistair MacLean and Geoffrey Jenkins (who I should probably tap into again too),arch-typical action plot complete with a gritty, tormented hero and his love interest, a gang of foreign villains and a crew of supporting cast member passengers - the dastardly co-pilot, the kindly elderly couple, the drunken brash businessman, the history professor, the old man with a heart problem...you get the idea. 
Outnumbered and outgunned, alcohol-soaked worn-out ex-fighter pilot Tim O'Hara must save himself and the lives of his passengers when his aircraft crashes on the side of an Andes mountain range in a fictional South American dictator state. He has to deal with an assorted, eclectic group of characters to survive in the freezing thin air at altitude while attempting to outwit and outplay a squad of communist sympathetic soldiers who have gone to a lot of trouble to attempt to kidnap one of those passengers.

Is it predictable? In places but then there are also the twists that keep you page turning or listening.
Desmond wrote 'High citadel' in 1965, so it's now more than 50 years old, so you need to put aside some of that sixties staging and political thinking. Desmond Bagley loved military history and war games, which is obviously where some of the scenes for the story were conceived.
It and 'Snow tiger' are the most memorable to me. I must have read it in the 80s and now years later I could remember most of the plot.
Well worth the 11.5 hours listening time.

The time has come

Got a spare hour or two?
The first five George R.R. Martin books of the "A song of ice and fire" (what many people recognise as "Game of thrones") has been released by Oakhill/Ulverscroft on audio CD - all 202 - two hundred and two - hours of narration.

Winter is coming. Such is the stern motto of House Stark, the northernmost of the fiefdoms that owe allegiance to King Robert Baratheon in far-off King's Landing. There Eddard Stark of Winterfell rules in Robert's name. There his family dwells in peace and comfort: his proud wife, Catelyn; his sons Robb, Brandon, and Rickon; his daughters Sansa and Arya; and his bastard son, Jon Snow. Far to the north, behind the towering Wall, lie savage Wildings and worse--unnatural things relegated to myth during the centuries-long summer, but proving all too real and all too deadly in the turning of the season. Yet a more immediate threat lurks to the south, where Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King, has died under mysterious circumstances. Now Robert is riding north to Winterfell, bringing his queen, the lovely but cold Cersei, his son, the cruel, vain glorious Prince Joffrey, and the queen's brothers Jaime and Tyrion of the powerful and wealthy House Lannister--the first a swordsman without equal, the second a dwarf whose stunted stature belies a brilliant mind. All are heading for Winterfell and a fateful encounter that will change the course of kingdoms. Meanwhile, across the Narrow Sea, Prince Viserys, heir of the fallen House Targaryen, which once ruled all of Westeros, schemes to reclaim the throne with an army of barbarian Dothraki--whose loyalty he will purchase in the only coin left to him: his beautiful yet innocent sister, Daenerys.

An entire monumental cycle of books: 1. "A game of thrones", 2. "A clash of kings", 3. "A storm of swords" (3.1 "Steel & snow" and 3.2 "Blood & gold), 4. "A feast of crows" and 5. "A dance with dragons" (5.1 "Dreams & dust" and 5.2 "After the feast") epic high fantasy with a multitude of characters.