Dramatic true story at its best
When you have finished listening to The Dark Art, your first question will be, “How did Edward Follis get out alive?” Follis’ job as a Drug Enforcement Administration undercover agent was to root out the most dangerous drug smugglers in the world, from L.A. to Mexico, Afghanistan, Burma, Thailand, Lebanon, Hawaii. Just about anywhere a major drug operation was discovered. In his undercover role, the agent befriended drug lords, ate and slept in their homes, traveled with terrorists into the most deadly regions, had a revolver pressed to the back of his head, and was targeted for assassination. Follis’ true first-person account would be numbing enough for a reader. But the audiobook version, featuring acclaimed narrator Ray Porter, will have listeners cringing at the dramatic replay of Follis’ undercover missions in desolate and hostile environments. Listeners will often catch themselves believing they are hearing the voice of Edward Follis himself, because of Porter’s perfect characterization of the DEA agent. With Porter, you can feel Follis’ fears, apprehension and seeming hopelessness—his resignation that he has only seconds to live. He survived. And what a story he has to tell.