Traitor: A Novel (Hardcover)

by Ralph Peters (Author) "I MARCHED BACK UP TO THE GRAVE AFTER THE CROWD FADED..." (more)
Key Phrases: soldier boy, Corry Nevers, Mary Farnsworth, Union Station (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
"I do not imagine that a one-man crusade disguised as a thriller can change much," says Ralph Peters, career soldier turned bestselling author, in an afterward to Traitor. Maybe not, but everybody on the Beltway who deals with (or votes on) defense budget issues should read this beautifully crafted story about a man of principle trying against all odds to do the right thing.

Lieutenant Colonel John Reynolds is "one of a legion of staff officers sweating blood to keep an underfunded Army alive." The army is faced with even more savage budget cuts if a project called NGFB (Next Generation Fighter Bomber) gets the approval that its corporate sponsor, Macon-Bolt Industries, seeks. Two of Reynolds's old Army buddies--a general and a former officer turned lobbyist for Macon-Bolt--die suddenly and suspiciously. But it's not until his own live-in ladyfriend, singer Tish O'Malley, is killed by a car bomb that Reynolds begins to realize his own life has somehow become linked with the fate of NGFB.

There are some superb scenes of action and many worthy opponents, especially a totally believable military madman called Roscoe "Punchy" Hunt who destroys works of art for dramatic effect. But the real villain in Traitor is a giant military-industrial-political complex determined to suck up as much public money as it can. People like Reynolds and Peters can only nip at its heels. The author has also expressed his strong opinions in the acclaimed nonfiction book Fighting for the Future: Will America Triumph? --Dick Adler

From Publishers Weekly
"I do not imagine that a one-man crusade disguised as a thriller can change much," writes career soldier turned bestselling author Peters (The War in 2020, etc.) in an afterword to his knowing, deeply involving new thriller. Maybe not, but everybody inside the Beltway who deals with (or votes on) defense budget issues should read this beautifully crafted story about a man of principle trying against all odds to do the right thing. Lt. Col. John Reynolds is "one of a legion of staff officers sweating blood to keep an underfunded Army alive." Reynolds will be faced with even more savage budget cuts if a project called NFGB (Next Generation Fighter Bomber) gets the approval for which its corporate sponsor, Macon-Bolt Industries, is lobbying so hard. Two of Reynolds's old army buddiesAan African-American general and an officer turned lobbyist for Macon-BoltAdie suddenly and suspiciously. When his live-in ladyfriend, singer Tish O'Malley, is apparently killed by a car bomb, Reynolds begins to realize his own life has somehow become linked with the fate of NGFB. In addition to superb scenes of action, there are many worthy opponents here, notably a sharply sketched military madman destroying pets and works of art for dramatic effect, and a pair of ruthless French agents limited only by their own country's budgetary problems. But the real villain of this smartly effective thriller with a message is a giant military-industrial-political complex determined to suck up as much public money it can while people like Reynolds (and Peters) nip at its heel.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company; 1st edition (April 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380976412
• ISBN-13: 978-0380976416
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #423,039 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Contractors Can Really Be Traitors, March 7, 2000

By A Customer

After 25 years in the defense industry, watching the Services buy big things they don't need while neglecting small things they do (like enough pay so the troops don't have to be on food stamps), it continues to disturb me that the American taxpayer continues to allow Congress to sell out to what Ike Eisenhower called the "military-industrial complex". TRAITOR could have been a documentary. This is a great novel, thrilling and unpredictable, but it is also based on the real world and all the more gripping because of this.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars best Peters in years, May 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Traitor (Mass Market Paperback)

I've read almost all of Ralph Peters' novels, and this is probably my favorite to date. I passed it over in hardcover--frankly it didn't sound very interesting. I couldn't have been more wrong: it's one of the best written, engrossing novels I've read in a long time. Peters is one of the few military thriller writers that can name drop Thomas Hardy novels and actually make us believe his characters read them. I know what a cliche this sounds, but I couldn' t put it down. Peters has within him his best novel yet--some day he'll write the Once An Eagle of his generation of officers.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A political wake-up call in the guise of a thriller!, June 21, 1999

By	John G. Gleeson Sr. (Frederic, Mi USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A new book by Ralph Peters is a must-buy in this house, and Traitor tells why. Greedy defense contractors are threatening to rip off the taxpayers to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars. The hero, John Reynolds, is no James Bond, but, rather, an honorable soldier who won't compromise his integrity. If this is your first Peters' book, I'll bet it won't be your last!