The 4 Phase Man [Mass Market Paperback]

Richard Steinberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 27, 2001

The last man standing...

At the height of the cold war, a few elite secret agents earned the title of "4 Phase Man." From Berlin to the Middle East, only two of them survived....

The first man in...

Once he was a man with a family and a home. Then Gerald Goldman rose through the ranks of the CIA with his ability to survive in any situation, and to kill. Now he is called Xenos, the outsider, the exile. But Xenos has just come in from the cold, searching for a missing young man and finding an astounding conspiracy to co-opt the United States government.

Between a tough and beautiful U.S. congresswoman who is being forced to betray her country and a deep-cover spy who is aiming at the second-highest office in the land, Xenos finds himself at war. And standing against him is the one man as deadly as Xenos himself: the only other 4 Phase Man in the world....

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Counterterrorism expert Steinberg (Nobody's Safe) imagines a time in the near future when the Chinese are counting down the final days of a silent coup d'?tat: they aim to seize control of the U.S. by secreting a mole in the Oval Office. Modern-day superspy Gerald Goldman--aka Xenos Filotimo--is a former four-phase man, a vestigial breed of mythic CIA lone wolf trained to carry out all four skills of covert operations: intelligence-gathering, electronic warfare, counterintelligence and assassination. A decade after supposedly dying in an auto accident, Goldman is induced to come out from where he's hiding--on Corsica--to find his Corsican benefactor's brother, who is missing in New York. The trail inadvertently places Goldman in the middle of a blackmail-kidnapping involving the children of Valerie Alvarez, a congresswoman pursuing an inquiry that threatens to expose "Apple Blossom"--the code name of the Chinese conspiracy. It becomes apparent to Goldman that "Apple Blossom" is run by Colin Meadows, the only other remaining four-phase man. Continent-hopping, machine-gun-popping brinksmanship ensues between these two former-compatriots-turned-bitter-rivals, representing good and evil, respectively. There is an overdone subplot about Goldman's long-lost relationship with his father (who disinherited him); this diversion and other corny philosophical passages, apparently intended to build empathy for Goldman, slow the narrative pace. Meanwhile, however, entertaining subplots summoning up the Chinese mastermind and the ambitious, preppy Washington traitors work well. And Steinberg fans will applaud the mano a mano ending. (Apr.) FYI: Steinberg's novel The Gemini Man is being developed for film by producer Steven Haft.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

A "4 Phase Man" is a spy adept at all four key aspects of the business: intelligence gathering, counterintelligence, electronic warfare, and assassination. With the end of the cold war, only two of these "jacks of the Trade" are still alive. "Canvas," born Colin Meadows, has leased his talents to the men behind a far-reaching Chinese plot to neutralize the U.S. government. "Xenos," neJerry Goldman, has retired to Corsica after being betrayed by his army handlers in Afghanistan. His protectors, the Corsican Brotherhood, accidentally brush up against the Chinese and reactivate Xenos to take revenge. What follows is an action-packed outbreak of high-powered violence that spreads across Europe to the U.S. In this updated James Bond story, the lead characters are so seemingly invincible that they resemble cartoon superheroes. What saves the novel from terminal one-dimensionality is Xenos' father, a pacifist rabbi who abhors his son's life as a hired killer. This is a fast-moving thriller of the paranoid-political subgenre with an unexpected but welcome sheen of theological insight. George Needham
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (February 27, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553583204
• ISBN-13: 978-0553583205
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,000,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 4Phase rescues the genre!, April 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The 4 Phase Man (Hardcover)

This is Rick Steinberg's best, by far. Steinberg, author of Gemini Man and Nobody's Safe, sharpens his storytelling ability with every new novel. That Steinberg works in the espionage genre is all to that ailing genre's benefit. Stagnant since 1991, the field has been groping for gravitas, and Steinberg provides it in generous helpings.

4Phase man offers rich characterization--the best, in fact, that Steinberg has yet crafted--and a complex yet plausible storyline. And given the weekly headline revelations of the Chinese Connection to the present presidential administration, his storyline gets more plausible by the day.

In short, 4Phase is a riveting and satisfying read, woven with powerful, sinewy prose and populated with memorable characters who, we hope, will return in a sequel. 4Phase is a must-read for anyone who wants to peer into the future of the thriller in America. A bright future it is, as long as Steinberg keeps spinning tales!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In a word...WOW, April 20, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The 4 Phase Man (Hardcover)

Both men are former black ops agents who left the government to forge destinies of their own. They are all that are left of the elite 4 phase men and know they are each other's equal in every way that counts to survive. Jerry "Xenos" Goldman lives in self-imposed exile on the Mediterranean Isle of Corsica. He struggles to find a way to live with the guilt caused by the fact that he is responsible for multitudes of deaths in government sanctioned activities. Colin "Canvas" Meadows has become a mercenary selling himself to the highest bidder, which this time happens to be the Peoples Republic of China.

The Chinese government knows that their nation cannot be the dominant world power through overt acts of aggression. However, after a quarter of a century of patient planning, they believe they can not only neutralize but assimilate their most deadly opponent on the global scale. Nobody's Safe from this plot. They have recruited and turned a charismatic young American, highly placed in government circles, who wants their help in getting him elected President of the United States. Canvas must insure that the Chinese plan works flawlessly so that their Manchurian Candidate becomes the free world leader. Xenos must stop his former cohort and in turn destroy the plan.

THE 4 PHASE MAN is a powerful chilling political thriller that modernizes the classic MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE with the impact of modern communications and information technology. The two protagonists participate in the ultimate cat and mouse game. Though they are mirror images of one another in almost every way, their motives are dramatically different. Richard Steinberg has written an appealing but chilling tale that will provide him many accolades and bestow grandmaster status on him.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A winner....., March 17, 2001

By 

Yui-chan (Edison, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The 4 Phase Man (Mass Market Paperback)

This book was about an ex-soldier who's reality and nationalism was shattered in a startling revelation. He tries to let go of the past, but it soon catches up to him. He is asked to help a friend on a simple tracking job, but this job leads to an intricate conspiracy. I really liked the depth of this book, about warfare and how he realizes that he was just a pawn all his life. It goes on to talk about how he is haunted by the things he has done and is seeking forgiveness. This wasn't one of those shoot 'em up kind of books, although it did have many fast-paced action scenes in it, it actually had a very interesting story filled with sorrow and regret. I liked this book so much that I'm going to go and buy "The Gemini Man" which is also by Richard Steinberg.