Customer Reviews

Death and Honor (Honor Bound)

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I have considered the Argentina series of novels, perhaps, the best of WEB Griffin's work. Honor Bound and Blood and Honor are outstanding for action and history. This novel is a half-step lower in my estimation as the characters begin to show the inflation of ability and stature that we see in the Corps series. Cletus is now hobnobbing with Allen Dulles and Howard Hughes and privy to the greatest secrets of the war, like the Manhattan Project. In the Corps novels, Killer McCoy keeps adding more languages to his list. Still these are adventures and fiction and are all well done. The most fantastic plot twist in this novel, the real reason why Juan Peron supported the Nazis in WWII, turns out, in a typical Griffin coup, to be true. He adds a newspaper story from the present right at the end of the novel confirming the plot.

The story picks up when the last one in the series ends. Peter has returned from Germany and married Alicia. Cletus and Dorotea are married. The Nazi investigators who have come to Argentina to try to identify Clete's source in the Germany embassy are still there. The backstory fill-ins are not obtrusive here.

A new development then starts a new plot line. The German cultural attache defects to the FBI agent, Lieberman. This leads to a trip to California and a meeting with Howard Hughes. My mother-in-law was close to Hughes and the character depicted here is close to the Hughes that I knew. The caricature seen later in books and press accounts was not yet believable as Hughes was still squiring starlets around. The story moves fast although the character development, so powerful in Griffin's other novels, is a bit weaker here. The plot moves fast but the people are more cardboard than usual. I don't know if that is his son's influence. Whatever it is, the novel is enjoyable and I hope he keeps working.

I have read and still own at least 95% plus of Griffin's books. I may have missed one or two. I enjoy his style of writing e.g. story telling and the development of the characters. His ability to combine books make the reader look forward to the "next" book to see how the story and characters continue to develop. This book however falls short. While reading it I found myself wondering "should I continue"? The story telling became boring and gave me the impression many statements were included for the sole purpose of adding meaningless words to create more pages. In the last two or three books I have noticed a disconnect in the story telling. The story seems to bog down as if Griffin lost interest in the story line and kept writing to keep busy. I was really disappointed and I am not sure if I will look for or even care about his next novel. Sadly I must say "Not recommended".

Sad to say, but I have had negative things to say about the last four Griffin books before "Death and Honor" and this makes the fifth.

The qualities that once made Griffin books compelling, the mix of history and fiction simply isn't there any more. The characters which at one time had some depth and believability are now cardboard cutouts, whose dialog you can practically predict. The same is also even more true of the plots: you can see plot developments long in advance. Why bother reading the entire book when you already know what will happen to these boring, transparent characters early in the book?

W.E.B. Griffin has been collaborating lately with his son, William E. Butterworth IV. Obviously there is no way of knowing how their collaboration works. Who writes, who edits, none of that do we know. One thing I have developed an opinion of, however, is the success of the collaboration - there is none. It is a failure. This is the fifth deadly dull book in a row to emerge under the Griffin name.

I will not divulge many details of the story because it is always possible someone else may find the book readable. I did not: I gave up (in disgust, frankly) at page 246, when things became unbelievable to the point of being nonsensical. I'd love to describe the scene that did me in so you could laugh too without having to endure reading a single page of this book, but alas, that would be a major spoiler.

The story in short is that Cletus Frade, the long estranged son of a powerful Argentine military leader and entrepreneur was sent to Argentina by the WWII OSS to reunite with his father and to further the strategic interests of the United States. Frade, the elder, is conveniently dispatched and the son inherits all. Griffin has used this tactic of the rich young man frequently and it used to work. Having his characters wealthy enough to do anything helped tremendously when the character would have otherwise been a low-ranking military officer having trouble making economic ends meet.

With Cletus Frade (and others in the last few books), Griffin has worn out the device. Frade encounters or already knows almost every important, wealthy, powerful or famous person in the Western Hempisphere. Though a junior officer of the United States military, he is casually entrusted with secrets that in real life were entrusted to very few.

Frade is supposedly crossing swords with the Germans in wartime Argentina. In reality, the novel is deadly dull up through page 246 where I stopped. It is obvious that one or both of the authors are conciously trying to ape the work of someone like Alan Furst who written some powerfully evocative novels of WWII Eastern Europe. The emulation fails.

The reader is supposed to believe that Frade as an uncanny ability to find Germans who are intent on betraying their country. It doesn't fly. Likewise, the "enemies" Frade encounters are described as brilliant and dangerous, but turn out to be fools who don't even notice what Frade is doing.

As noted, I made it through page 246 of the book's 470 pages. I should have saved my time and stopped at about page 100 when it became apparent that this was going to be another Griffin dud, the fifth in a row, I am sorry to say.

The writing style is still okay, so if you're stuck at an airport or aren't a critical reader, it's possible you may enjoy this to some small degree. If you are a Griffin fan and remember the thrill of reading the much-awaited new novel from Griffin way back when, I think you will be disappointed.

Jerry

I have read pretty much all of W.E.B. Griffin's books, and greatly enjoyed his earlier works. I practically flew through The Corps series and the Brotherhood of War series -- real page turners, and I stayed up past 2 a.m. on several occasions because I was so caught up in the story.

Lately, however, disappointing is the kindest description of my reading experience. What used to come across as witty is now taken to the level of being hackneyed and trite. Any subtlety is long gone, tossed off in favor of hitting the reader over the head with the obvious. The characters have become ever more shallow, and the story lines more unbelievable, with a marked tendency toward including improbable, Zelig-like meetings with world figures.

I will not be seeking out the next Griffin book, like I did earlier in his career.

I have no idea what the first reviewer read. This new work from W.E.B. griffin is a long awaited sequel to the Honor Bound Series, which is one of the best in Mr. Griffin's many top notch thrillers. The book is as good as it gets and not only entertains but teaches as well. It reads as wonderful as anything the author wrote ten or even fifteen years ago. It is an old fashioned "can't put down" WW II historic novel. It has everything going for it and once again establishes that the "old master" is on top of his game.

I have read every book Griffin has published but I must now write that the past few have ended before the end of the book. He has left the reader hanging once again. What happened to the Froggers and their son? Did they give the information that was a main theme throughout the book? What was done with the map of the beach where the UBoat unloaded? There are many other questions which should have been answered but weren't.

It seems that Griffin has developed a template for his latest books and just fills in the lines, and when the required number of words are written he just stops.

I can understand him leaving us hanging in regard to the search for the smuggled money since it is an ongoing theme in this series, but I cannot understand ending before the details of this particular book are concluded.

Cletus, like the protagonist in Griffin's other books is wealthy, knows all the important people in the USA and overcomes all obstacles put in his way. This is a given when reading a Griffin book,and expected. Leaving the reader mystified as to what happens to the story line is a recent Griffin occurrence.

I'm wondering who is really writing his latest books?

Death and Honor is vaguely disappointing, although it's worth the read, it lacks the secondary story development of the three previous novels in the series i.e. the fleshing out of the characters and their families which raise W.E.B. Griffin's novels above being merely war or espionage stories. In particular the character development of Dorotéa is neglected to the point where the word 'bitchy' enters one's mind about the character.

I'm not sure why this is, certainly the father and son collaboration in writing The Shooters in the Presidential Agent Series which was released this Spring worked well and there was adequate secondary and back story development in that novel. However, Death and Honor is regretably a half step to a step below the other three novels in the series.

This new book in the Honor Bound series takes us back to the WWII OSS in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil and the US. For those of you who have already enjoyed the first three books in the Honor Bound series, this will be like visiting old friends, particularly Cletus Frade, his friends, and his merry band of tough warriors. The saga continues into 1943, with the Nazis looking for a place to hide after they lose the war. I love all of WEB Griffin's books and this book is no exception. It has lots of action, but not as much shooting as the Army and Marine books, as you would expect. The book presents insights into Howard Hughes' personality, new insights into FDR's and Juan Peron's personalities, and it provides a unique insight into starting up a new Argentinean airline (run by Cletus) in an era when Juan Trippe did not like competition for his Pan Am airline.

Another great read that I finished overnight, as soon as I got it. It has lots of good guys and bad guys, and you can usually tell the difference, but not always. If you read all of Griffin's books like I do, you expect him to provide enough background on the players to allow this to be read as a standalone book. Authors have to do this in order to capture new readers. I don't consider this a problem, because I usually go back and reread all the books in the series before a new one comes out. Griffin's books have become my favorite gift to people who enjoy great stories about great military people, while pointing out the bad in every group. He knows the military and intelligence communities, and he tells it like it is. I have tried to read every book he has written, if I can get them, and I will continue to do that. He is the best, and most realistic author around. Not only do you get a wonderful story, but you always learn something new about history and the people who make it.

when Griffin first hit the market in the mid 80's, I was totally enthralled. The last 4 books I have bought, I have been totally disattisified with. Since his son has entered the arena as co publisher, I have not enjoyed any of the work.

This book is the same as many of his latest. Heavy on repeating previously written segments of his prior books and little action. This book lacks any interest or action till the last 3 to 4 pages.

I am truly sorry to say that I have lost any interest in Mr. Butterworth.

Length:: 2:18 Mins

Other folks will tell you the story in this book. In this video I tell you why it is enjoyable, who would enjoy reading it, and who might not enjoy it. And, I don't ruin the story for you. Frank Derfler www.greatguybooks.com