An old man lies dying during the rainy season in the Queensland outback. And in the night, slipping in and out of an opium sleep that drifts him towards death, he draws his listener into a tale that opens onto incredible horizons.
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"This book was a great hit, when Nevil Shute was at the height of popularity as an author. It's a wonderful adventure story set in Australia and in England. There's a supernatural element, as well - it's curious to see how Nevil Shute, writing in 1953, thought the world would have changed by 1980."
— Bea (4 out of 5 stars)
“Shute is an honest, exciting adventure writer who blends narrative gift with a fine power of description. [In the Wet] exhibits his talents at their provocative best.”
— New York Times“A novelist of intelligent and engaging quality, deservedly popular…Nevil Shute was, in brief, the sort of novelist who genuinely touches the imagination and feeling.”
— Times (London)" I ve read this three times now and i enjoy it more each time. Some of the story is rather confusing on first reading but Nevil anticipates a lot of the future with surprising foresight! Like all Nevil Shute books it is a really good story which keeps you guessing right up to the last minute. "
— Jill, 1/16/2014" A glance into the future of the British Empire using an airmail pilot as a spiritual "medium". "
— Curtiss, 10/2/2013" very enjoyable. Interesting characters and setting "
— Vicki, 9/13/2012" I had never heard of this book located in the outback of Australia during some rough and tumble times. The visuals are stunning thanks to Schute's adept descriptions of people, places and of a time. "
— Pip, 11/21/2010" Absolutely loved it!! Written/published in 1950s about the 1980s read in 2012. Fascinating. Riveting. Thought-provoking. "
— Peregrina651, 5/13/2009" Seems dated. About Queensland, redemption. "
— Alan, 2/24/2009" One of the most interesting books I have ever read. Full of ideas and a wonderful story. "
— Susan, 12/30/2008" A glance into the future of the British Empire using an airmail pilot as a spiritual "medium". "
— Curtiss, 6/10/2008" One of the most interesting books I have ever read. Full of ideas and a wonderful story. "
— Susan, 1/11/2008Nevil Shute (1899–1960) was an English novelist who wrote twenty-three novels and aeronautical engineer who spent his later years in Australia. He used his full name, Nevil Shute Norway, in his engineering career, and Nevil Shute as his pen name to protect his engineering career from any potential negative publicity in connection with his novels. He is most well-known for his novels On the Beach, a novel about post–nuclear war which is taught in high schools around the country and which was twice made into a movie, and A Town Like Alice, which was filmed as well as serialized for Australian television and dramatized for BBC radio, winning a Sony Award in 1998.
Norman Dietz is a writer, voice-over artist, and audiobook narrator. He has won numerous Earphones Awards and was named one of the fifty “Best Voices of the Century” by AudioFile magazine. He and his late wife, Sandra, transformed an abandoned ice-cream parlor into a playhouse, which served “the world’s best hot fudge sundaes” before and after performances. The founder of Theatre in the Works, he lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.