Traitor

The portrayal of our defense industry in this story is unfortunately accurate. We have placed so much emphasis on "smart weapons", that we have forgotten the real effectiveness of our military. The action and pace of this book will keep the reader enthralled and they will not want to put it down.

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.

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.

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!

This book grabbed me from the first word through the close of the authors notes. Peters' characters are brought to life on the pages before your eyes. This book could only be written by a talented storyteller with the insight of an insider like Ralph Peters. It started for me with Peters last book "The Devil's Garden" and with "Traitor" I am now a true Peters fan.