The Tristan Betrayal [Mass Market Paperback]

Robert Ludlum (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 5, 2004

Moscow-a city under siege by hardcore Communists threatening to plunge the country back into Stalinist darkness. Into the heart of the firestorm, American ambassador Stephen Metcalf has been summoned to find the one man who controls the levers of power in absolute secrecy-an official known only as the Dirizhor. His support of the bloody coup will bring the entire world to the brink of nuclear war. Metcalfe is the only man with the cunning to reach him and to convince him to resist. It's up to Metcalf to change the course of history. He's done it before.

For Metcalf, returning to Russia is also a personal mission that will stretch across three continents and fifty years into his past where the loyalties of a former love-a woman both impossibly beautiful and possibly treacherous-were tested; where the shadow of a Nazi assassin still haunts; a debauched German aristocrat manipulated the destiny of everyone he touched. Now, as past and present converge, Metcalf braces himself for a new trial of trust and betrayal, one with chilling implications that could threaten what remains of the free world.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The author's death three years ago has not prevented St. Martin's from publishing recent material under his name. This WWII-era thriller opens in August 1991 as American ambassador Stephen Metcalfe arrives in Moscow, where Communist hard-liners are attempting to wrest control of Russia from the reform government. The fate of the country will be decided by an official known as the Dirizhor-the Conductor-and Metcalfe is the only man who can convince him to resist the forces of Stalinist darkness. Flash back to 1940, just after the Nazis have signed a nonaggression pact with the Russians. Young playboy/espionage agent Metcalfe is sent by American spymaster "Corky" Corcoran to the U.S.S.R. to enlist an old lover, Lana ("an extraordinary woman, impossibly beautiful, magnetic, passionate") in a scheme that if successful will change the course of history. Hot on Metcalfe's tail is assassin Kleist, a Nazi Secret Service agent who dispatches his enemies by garroting them with the E string of his violin. These principals and a host of others thrust and parry between Paris, Moscow and Berlin before a final confrontation in an enormous, mock factory fashioned of plywood and cleverly painted canvas. The factory, a bombing decoy, provides an apt metaphor for the book: a hollow, flimsy construct unable to hold the weight of a bloated plot and an army of cliched characters. All of Ludlum's trademarks are in evidence: one-sentence paragraphs, a plentitude of exclamation points, ridiculous dialogue ("Die, you bastard!") and the breathless use of italics to impart excitement, but in the end there are few surprises in this unsatisfying behemoth. Perhaps it's time to let the master rest in peace.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Ludlum, author of such best-sellers as The Bourne Identity, died on March 12, 2001. His output, however, has not slowed noticeably since his passing: this novel is the seventh published under his name since his death. Some of them had credited coauthors, but, presumably, all of them have been polished by editors or uncredited writers. His latest, the story of an American spy sent into Moscow during World War II, is in some regards far superior to most of the stuff Ludlum published during his lifetime. There is a level of detail here often missing from his early novels, suggesting the efforts of a meticulous ghostwriter. Similarly, the characters, including our hero, Stephen Metcalfe, the well-to-do American spy, tend to be more well defined than your typical Ludlum stick figure. On the other hand, the fast-paced plot reflects Ludlum's genuine knack for constructing good stories, and the dialogue, regrettably, is typically overwritten. ("Civilization as we know it is being engulfed by Hitler's devouring maw," one character remarks.) The book's peculiarly fascinating lineage aside, here's what really matters: this is one of the better novels published under the Ludlum name. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (August 5, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312990685
• ISBN-13: 978-0312990688
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,509,960 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

After a successful career in the theatre, Robert Ludlum launched his career as a best-selling writer with THE SCARLATTI INHERITANCE in 1971, the first of twenty-two consecutive international bestsellers. Robert sadly passed away in March 2001.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Taut World War II and Cold War Espionage Thriller, February 21, 2004

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 110,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Tristan Betrayal (Hardcover)

When Robert Ludlum died, he apparently left behind a number of partially finished manuscripts that are being completed, polished and published posthumously. Although The Tristan Betrayal has Mr. Ludlum credited as the author, I think that cautious readers should assume that this book is only partially his. I have chosen to evaluate the book as though a new, unknown author rather than Mr. Ludlum wrote it.

That said, I thought that The Tristan Betrayal is a cut above the average espionage thriller written today. There's an abundance of action and a balanced plot that will keep you curious enough to want to get to the end. It's not quite the page-turner that will keep you up until the wee hours in the morning to finish it, but I did keep going until 12:30 one night.

The book contains two intertwined story lines. The briefer one involves the coup against Gorbachev in the early 1990s just before the collapse of the old U.S.S.R. Former ambassador Stephen Metcalfe has been summoned by an old friend to help foil the coup. The key player is a mysterious Communist bureaucrat known as the Conductor. Can Metcalfe persuade the Conductor to withdraw his support from the coup? Or will nuclear holocaust and civil war follow?

The longer story line is a flashback into the early days of World War II just after Hitler and Stalin formed their nonaggression pact. In this story, Stephen Metcalfe is a young espionage agent working for a small group authorized by FDR himself. He's picking up intelligence in Paris when his organization is penetrated by the Gestapo. Metcalfe barely escapes the fate of his colleagues who are assassinated by a dangerous counterespionage agent for the Germans. Arriving in Switzerland, Metcalfe is given a new assignment in Moscow that is even more dangerous than the situation he left behind. Before the story ends, his actions rekindle an old love and set off a series of international actions that have major consequences for the war.

I cannot remember reading very many stories that involve overcoming both the Nazis and the Communists. Such opponents provide wonderful grist for all kinds of social commentary, and make it easy to root for the good guys and gals. Even rarer, the book has a pretty credible love story in it. That plot structure is held together with lots of action as Metcalfe dodges watchers and pursuers. Although the action and plot aren't as intricate as a Le Carre plot, I found the book to be more than entertaining.

Ultimately, this book is based on the idea that one person can make a difference. As I finished reading it, I began to wonder what one thing each of us could do to make a large difference to those we love and to the world. That final reflection was a worthy gift for having read a fine novel.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An Action-Packed Story, But It Does Not Sound Like Ludlum, April 27, 2004

By 

George Webster, Ph.D., (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Tristan Betrayal (Hardcover)

I always liked Robert Ludlum's stories, despite one-sentence paragraphs, stilted dialog, and contrived excitement. He gave us a grand picture of an earth-shaking event. In the case of The Tristan Betrayal, we meet Stephen Metcalfe, American secret agent, using the cover of an Argentine playboy to gather intelligence in German-occupied Paris during World War Two. But his cover is blown and his cell members killed. He has to get out of Paris, so he is sent to Moscow to try to use the love of his life, a Russian ballerina, to feed false information to the Germans to influence them to attack the Soviet Union and bring it into the war on the side of the allies. Again, his cover is blown, and he escapes to Berlin. Unfortunately, the story has a continuous set of death-threatening situations that face Metcalfe with monotonous regularity, and a set of improbable escapes each time. It reminds me of a James Bond novel, but Metcalfe is not as clever as Bond. Having said all this, I recommend the book if you are going on a long flight, or other boring activity, because the action never stops, and it will keep your attention.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Tristan Betrayal, November 16, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Tristan Betrayal (Hardcover)

I thought this that the first half of the book was written by Ludlum and the second half by someone else. Someone who did not write nearly as well as Ludlum. The italics, the exclamation points, the weakness that the main character displayed, was NOT what the original author intended. If there are any more Ludlum books out there and need either editing or finishing, please find someone who is capable of measuring up the talent of the original author.