Customer Reviews

The Fourth Order: A Novel

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I'm a Frey fan, but after reading all his novels I really can't tell one from the other. With exception of the Christian Gillette series, all storylines involve the same aspects. A supposedly young hot shot business exec who is smart enough to run a multi-billion dollar corporation yet stupid enough to continue to get involved with the same female character who ends up, for a lack of better word, screwing him at the end. I get so frustrated because halfway through any of Frey's books you can pretty much predict the outcome. Frey portrays his main character as strong willed and razor sharp while at the same time being brain dead. Frey needs to mix it up and change his plot around because I'm not interested in reading the same novel over and over and over again.

I'm surprised that this author has published 13 prior novels. While the sentences were serviceable, the paragraphs and chapters weren't if one is looking for good fiction. Neither the characters nor plot were credible. If this book is representative of his other work, I suspect his business pedigree matters more than his writing ability. For a really excellent thriller regarding business skullduggery and behind the scenes machinations, read Brian Haig's "Private Sector". Haig's creds are respectable, too. He retired as an Army colonel; when he writes about black units, one tends to believe he knows of what he speaks.

Virginia based Trafalgar Industries CFO Michael Rose strongly believes that his energy firm needs to diversify into other sectors. His target is Computer Information Systems, which he feels if successful will lead him to being the CEO at Trafalgar. He expected some opposition from within especially those who loathe him and the few who actually think it is a mistake to acquire anything outside the core mission. However, Michael is stunned with the hostile violent reaction of the CIS board.

Michael does not have the need to know who the prime customer of CIS is since 9/11 as this seemingly successful firm provides top secret assistance to the agents working at a deeply hidden federal program, I-4 (Immunity at the Fourth Order). I-4 known within as the Order detains, renditions, and tortures suspected terrorists and anyone linked even nebulously to terrorist groups; American citizens are not immune from this top secret Order who do not bother with obtaining permission from the courts. Rose soon finds his personal life in shambles when the police consider him the prime suspect in his cheating wife's murder; the Order does not mind collateral damage even if the innocent die.

This is an exciting conspiracy thriller, but leave your plausibly check outside as several key events especially the Order's plan and history seems stretched to the point of almost breaking the plot. Still the story line is fast-paced as Michael who plays hardball in business and in his personal life soon finds who is the major leagues as he is framed in several ways (not just with his wife's murder). Stephen Frey provides an entertaining tale that his fans will enjoy.

Harriet Klausner

I'm a big fan of Stephen Frey, but I have to say that this novel didn't really do it for me. Michael Rose is the CFO of Trafalgar Industries, and is the one in charge of Trafalgar's recent success with takeovers. His current target is CIS, a large Fortune 500 technology company, which is different because Trafalgar usually acquires manufacturing firms.

CIS is a "cutout" company, which means that the government has been funneling money through CIS to fund gray operations. The I-4 is doing everything in its power to stop the takeover, while Rose, and those backing him, are doing everything in their power to make sure Trafalgar succeeds.

Although Rose is the protagonist, I didn't find him likeable, especially how he handles his relationship with his children, and his attraction to Kat. I actually found his actions and thoughts despicable, and didn't relate to him at all. In addition, the whole concept of I-4 didn't sit well with me. Or, at least the torture chambers located around the US.
Overall, I found this novel disappointing.

It's been a while since a stand-alone work from Stephen Frey has been released. That state of affairs is remedied with THE FOURTH ORDER, a fast-paced and thoroughly readable potboiler (and that, from me, is a compliment) that continues the author's practice of piercing the complicated and complex veil of high finance.

The novel's protagonist is Michael Rose, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Trafalgar Industries, a major energy company that has gotten ever larger under his careful hand. Rose has set his hostile takeover sights upon Computer Information Systems (CIS), a large information technology company. What Rose doesn't know is that CIS is a "cutout," a company that is being used by the nation's intelligence services to funnel money off of the books in order to finance gray operations outside of Congress's oversight.

In this particular case, CIS is being manipulated by a shadowy government organization bent on combating terrorism by any means possible. If Rose is successful in his efforts to acquire CIS, then the revelations that would follow could not only cripple the fight against terrorism but also bring the government down. Rose accordingly must be stopped, either through manipulation or by murder.

As always, Frey does a masterful job of explaining the ins and outs of the financial world --- in this case, the steps to implementing your very own hostile takeover --- and has conceived a fanciful but nonetheless fascinating shadow organization answerable only to the president. If there is a flaw here, it's that things are wrapped up just a bit too quickly, almost as if Frey ran out paper or patience. A more thoughtful denouement might have served this exciting narrative better. This is a minor quibble though, considering that it is a riveting, engrossing read for the overwhelming majority of its pages.

Frey has established himself as one of the preeminent authors of financial thrillers, and THE FOURTH ORDER is the perfect place for those unfamiliar with his work to start. After reading it, leave room on your bookshelf for more.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

If you are major fan of Stephen Frey (as I am), you may have been a little disappointed by his last 2 books in the Christian Gillette series. While The Chairman: A Novel was perhaps his finest work, the subsequent sequels have been progressively worse. Finally, that downward spiral has been reversed with The Fourth Order.

This work is quite timely, addressing the issues of domestic spying and torture, it still works around the periphery of the world of high finance - Frey's trademark. Exciting and relatively unpredictable, I found it quite enjoyable. The characters were generally unrealistic, and the fact that the protagonist engages in an affair on the heals of his wife's murder made him quite unlikable. The overall plot, however, challenges the reader to walk the grey area of right and wrong in the quest to fight terrorism.

If the reader can get past the utter unbelievability of the characters, this book is well worth a read. Frey's best work since The Chairman: A Novel.

I very much enjoyed Stephen Frey's book. It was about the right length with just enough twist to make it interesting.

I truly believe those who gave this stinker more than one star were just being kind to the author. I did like some of his earlier books, but they did get tiresome after the reader noticed they were all basically the same plot. I guess he is capable of being a good writer, because I was absolutely furious that his protagonist SPOILER ALERT..... was actually hitting on a young woman when his wife was just killed and began seeing her even before and on the day of his wife's funeral. Give me a royal break.

Mr. Frey, this is your dumbest book to date, and I am truly sorry I didn't quit reading it sooner. I could tell it was a real mess at least half-way through. I believe you can do better, but the cover calls you "A Best Selling Author." I have many books by others not given the honor of BSA which are far, far superior to your efforts.

Left-leaning conspiracy drivel. Thank goodness I picked it up from the local library for free, so that I didn't contribute to the author. The premise is shaky, the story is choppy and bizarre. Frey has become another author more concerned with getting a book out into the market than writing a good book. If I could have rated this "zero" stars I would have.

Michael Rose is the 43-year-old CFO of Trafalgar Industries, a multinational conglomerate. He has a reputation for acquiring companies and has fueled Trafalgar's growth aggressively for ten years. His next target, CIS Industries will be his biggest acquisition yet.

But as soon as his plan becomes known, all hell breaks loose. Sheila, his wife, dies in a car accident on the way home from meeting her lover. Was it really an accident? Innocent people are being detained, interrogated, and tortured--but by whom and for what purpose? Is the beautiful woman named Kat who thrust her phone number into Michael's hand the night of Sheila's death merely attracted to a wealthy, handsome man--or part of someone's manipulation? What secrets are hidden with CIS that some would kill to protect--and others kill just as quickly to uncover?

Two opposing forces, both secret, both off the books. Is one good and the other evil? Or are both bad choices, but one must still choose the better of two evils? The reader is confronted with scenarios that may well be happening based on today's political scene.

Frey does a wonderful job of creating a strong story and keeping multiple plot lines weaving through one another. Unfortunately there is no one in the story that you can really root for. Michael, as the protagonist, spends too much time lying and thinking below the belt rather than with his brain for the reader to really empathize with his plight.

Armchair Interviews says: Strong story, however characters don't make you connect with them.