The Vets (Stephen Leather Thrillers) [Paperback]

Stephen Leather (Author)

Book Description

Series: Stephen Leather Thrillers | Publication Date: February 1, 1994

Hong Kong is going back to the Chinese, but not before one man tries to pull off the most daring robbery of them all. Using the hard-bitten skills of four Vietnam veterans, Colonel Joel Tyler is about to rake in the millions, and throw the international community into chaos at one of the most crucial moments of world history.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Five Vietnam War vets--pilots, mechanics and seasoned soldiers--are brought together in Vietnam for what they think is a reconciliation program. What they don't know is that they are about to be involved in a bank heist on a grand scale. But in this intricately plotted novel by the author of The Chinaman , politics--from Tiananmen Square to China's reacquisition of Hong Kong in 1997--are the true motivating factors. The instigator of the crime is an expatriate Chinese named Anthony Chung who enlists the ruthless soldier-of-fortune Col. Joel Tyler to recruit and train the veterans. The vets, for various reasons (only one of them money), agree to participate in what they believe will be the robbery of the Hong Kong racetrack, though the real caper is to be an audacious helicopter attack on the Kowloon and Canton bank. Convincing descriptions of Hong Kong's criminal and sexual underworld, a fine and humane dialogue between war veterans from both sides and graphic descriptions of the victims of Agent Orange, account for the lengthy buildup in Leather's fifth thriller. But once the action gets underway, the story moves at breakneck speed, keeping the reader in suspense right to the end.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Another Asian-flavored thriller from Leather (The Chinaman, 1992, etc.)--this one about Vietnam vets who form an uneasy alliance with Hong Kong triads for a big score. Under the guise of healing the psyches of four ex-vets by getting them a tour back to contemporary Vietnam, former Colonel Tyler assembles his team. Lately, the Southeast Asian Republic, desiring better relations with the US, has been encouraging American tourism. Languishing under communist rule, Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) has dwindled from ``the Paris of the Orient'' to a cracked-plaster backwater. Buildings have deteriorated, and long gone is the glitz that wartime US dollars bestowed. But, surprisingly, the impoverished populace are still pro-American. The trip, however, is all eyewash. Approached afterward by the Colonel, all four men confirm their interest in acquiring millions of dollars. Tyler knows his men: Lehman, a former helicopter pilot, is on the run from the Mafia; helicopter crew chief Lewis is dying of cancer; doorgunner Carmody is plain psychotic; and Special Forces expert Horvitz is afflicted with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). After visiting Vietnam and Thailand, Tyler ferries his men to Hong Kong, where the heist--robbing the Happy Valley racetrack--will go down. Mastermind is Anthony Chung, a brilliant, young--and very rich--Chinese with a secret agenda. Replete with surprises, the plot is revealed little by little. Or as they say in spy novels--on a need-to-know basis. Better yet, even minor characters are well-fleshed, and the portrait the author paints of shabby Saigon and sad Hong Kong exceeds that of any travel narrative. Leather goes himself one better with each outing. A detail- oriented, devious, engrossing thriller that never falters. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 572 pages
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (February 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340597704
• ISBN-13: 978-0340597705
• Product Dimensions: 1.8 x 4.2 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,731,598 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephen Leather was a journalist for more than ten years on newspapers such as The Times, the Daily Mail and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. Before that, he was employed as a biochemist for ICI, shovelled limestone in a quarry, worked as a baker, a petrol pump attendant, a barman, and worked for the Inland Revenue. He began writing full time in 1992. His bestsellers have been translated into more than ten languages. He has also written for television shows such as London's Burning, The Knock and the BBC's Murder in Mind series. You can find out more from his website, www.stephenleather.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a novel which overshadows jeffery archer, September 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Vets (Paperback)

The vets by stephen leather is one of the best novels written on the changing scenarios of hong kong before the chinese take over .The plot is very beautifull with a lot of twists authors grip remains firm throughout the novel .The novel also seems to be a very good travel guide of bangkok vietnam and hong kong.I recommend this novel to every fiction lover.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Vets and Other Books by Stephen Leather, March 21, 2002

By 

Tod A. Ragsdale (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The vets

I discovered this author when travelling in SE Asia. I rate him as one of the best thriller writers I know of and find it strange to find him in 'not in print' in the USA. His 'The Vets' deals with US Vietnam veterans, and his work covers a very wide geographical range, from Bankok to LA...

Stephen Leather has a large following in the UK and deserves better treatment on this side of the Atlantic...

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you don't like "KOWLUNG TONG", try this one!!!, September 11, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Vets (Paperback)

This is a very exciting and very good written novel about the years before the coming 1997 in Hong Kong. Since Mr. S. Leather has been stayed in the Far East for over 18 years and mostly spent in Hong Kong. The description of the scenary and what's happening and what has happened before 1997 was a very deep and vividly portrayed. A very complicated and very absorbing, twisted story of adultery, betrayal, VietNam Syndrome and a robbery carried out by a Rolex accuracy and precision. Very interesting and fast paced novel. Highly recommended