Praetorian [Mass Market Paperback]

Thomas Gifford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1994

Assigned by Churchill to cover a daring British commando raid to assassinate German Field March Erwin Rommel, American radio correspondent Rodger Goodwin is accused of treason when the mission is betrayed and all but Goodwin are killed. Reprint. K.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This espionage thriller by the author of The Assassini portrays an American journalist on a mission to kill German Field Marshall Rommel.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The author of The Assassini (Bantam, 1990) begins his latest novel in 1940s London with a love triangle that involves internationally renowned journalist Rodger Godwin, who cuckolds his old friend General Max Hood with the decorated hero's wife Cilla, a young actress. At Winston Churchill's request, Hood and Godwin embark on the ill-fated secret mission that gives the novel its title. Their goal is to kill Rommel in North Africa, but the men have been betrayed and fall victim to a Nazi ambush that only Godwin survives. Guilt and revenge drive him to pursue the traitor into a labyrinth of double-dealing. Based on an actual World War II desert mission, the narrative stimulates the reader with illicit romance, adventure, and a suspenseful plot, although some of the flashbacks are rather pedestrian and too long. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 12/92. --Mary Ellen Elsbernd, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland Heights
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Bantam (June 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553565028
• ISBN-13: 978-0553565027
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,170,206 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fun trip, August 3, 2000

By 

Kendall (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Praetorian (Mass Market Paperback)

I enjoyed this novel because it took me to a time and era that I enjoy reading about. There is a good mix of mystery, intrigue, love, and adultry not to mention a war or two. This novel did exactly what I expected it to do. It transported me to a diferent time and place and that is why I like to curl up with a good book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gifford's best. Not great literature, but fun nevertheless., December 29, 2004

By 

Richard Townlin (Bay Area, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Praetorian (Mass Market Paperback)

Gifford's books always sound so good based on their descriptions on the back cover, but I think his books have either been spectacularly average or a snore fest. Except for this one. This one is a guilty pleasure. Yeah, some of the characters are stereotypes (and some are so superfluous that they break up the narrative). Yeah, Cilla's mental state bouces back and forth and makes us wonder why every man falls for her. And yeah, it's a little long. And yet Gifford managed to make me care about the main characters by following their journey through the years. Gifford does a nice job of placing us in the time. You get a feeling for London in the 40's and Paris in the 20's. The mystery doesn't require a complete suspension of disbelief (like some of his other books do). Characters act because of real motivations, not because the story requires them to do so.
So yeah, if you're looking for a fun mystery/soap opera love story/war story with a historical flavor you can do a lot worse than this.

1 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Boring, tedious and oh so many words, July 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Praetorian (Mass Market Paperback)

Why write a 716 pages "thriller", which does not start "thrilling" until page 148 and even then is just one cliche after the other. The author being American the story is mainly about English people and the chararcters are all paper thin (Englishmen go to Eton and say "old chap", they dine in the Ritz, bla, bla). Who are reading these books? Housewives in Idaho who never had a chance to cross the state border? I gave up halfthrough and I will never know who the traitor was! Oh, gosh. Yawn, yawn. How about no stars at all..............