Ralph Peters (1)Rezensionen

La joven Kelly Trost hija de un importante senador norteamericano viaja al Asia Central en sus vacaciones para ayudar en tareas humanitarias. Su rastro se desvanece en el oscuro corazón de un país sin ley, sumido en el caos luego del colapso de la Unión Soviética. Nadie sabe de quién es prisionera. Ni siquiera se sabe si está viva. Solo el teniente coronel Burton tiene el conocimiento del terreno necesario para buscarla . La misión, difícil y brutal, se desarrolla entre gángsters, fanáticos religiosos, señores de la guerra, ejecutivos petroleros, generales rebeldes y espías extranjeros. La inocente vida de Kelly se ha convertido en moneda de cambio de un frío y despiadado juego global.

Cain at Gettysburg is one of the finest historical novels I’ve ever read about the Civil War, if not one of the best books of historical fiction to come my way. The writing is excellent, and the narrative of Pickett’s charge was thrilling. An excellent addition to the many books written about Gettysburg.

Welshman Abel Jones, a veteran of the British Army’s mid-19th century Indian wars, had put his military past behind him when he married his childhood sweetheart and settled in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. The outbreak of the Civil War in his newly-adopted country has Jones volunteering in Union blue to lend his military experience to raw recruits. A crippling injury in the Battle of Bull Run lands Jones in an administrative role, keeping accounts and procuring uniforms for the army. When a popular young abolitionist captain is murdered outside a Union camp, rumors fly that the Confederates are behind it. With evidence pointing toward the young man’s Union comrades as possible culprits, Jones is tasked with investigating the death and finding the truth before events spin out of control.

Author Parry successfully creates an authentic-feeling Civil War atmosphere from start to finish. Captain Jones possess admirable qualities, including a strong sense of justice and duty, and his love for his wife and infant son. However, he expresses strong prejudices against the Irish and other ethnic groups who hadn’t yet “melted” into the American pot, and he occasionally uses racial slurs that are as offensive today as they were to their 19th-century targets. The mystery plot would have benefited from the same attention to detail as the setting and characters received. Jones did not conduct a methodical investigation, and his first-person account of his search for the murderer suffered as a result.

Interesting scenario in novel form about a "post-cold-war" massive conflict; a potential future (although maybe not the most likely). Essentially, Islamist terrorism going nuclear, Europe going fascist, and the US split between religious expeditionary warfare and those maintaining civic nationalist institutions like the Army and USMC. In some areas the book is a bit heavy-handed, but it's at least interesting.

Any military scenario where the US military isn't far-and-away more powerful than any adversary requires a lot of leaps fancy, and I don't know if "US becomes a theocracy" is anywhere near the most plausible, but from that assumption, it's a decent scenario and story after that.

Set in Azerbaijan The Devil's Garden is the story of a power struggle in the Azerbaijani government between a power hungry General with the backing of Russia & a powerful oil company and the Prime Minister. Also roped in is Germany and the United States, both also on opposing sides. The struggle comes to a head when the daughter of a senator is kidnapped as used as a precursor to a coup. Whilst the initial demands are ludicrous there is an underlying power play where the various camps attempt to use the daughters life as a pawn to advance their own agendas.

The protagonist is Lt Col Evan Burton who with twenty years of service has become somewhat jaded by the cynicism of his own government and has one foot out the door when he is drawn back in to help find the missing woman.

I found it to be quite a good read, whilst the Pocket Books edition (ISBN 0671004980) had rather tiny text, thankfully the story itself was compelling enough that it overcame the physical eye tiring limitations of the presentation here.

There's quite a few layers that slowly unfold in a rather riveting manner and overall I thought it was a good political / kidnapping thriller in a rather unique location. There's not too many books out there set in ex-soviet Azerbaijan.½

This book is certainly action packed and interesting, it's set in a future where Christianity and Islam are at each others throats. After numerous attacks by Islamic terrorists against the west, an American fundamentalist evangelist goes the same route of the Islamic fundamentalists and starts preaching that the only way for Christianity to survive is to attack Islam and destroy it, essentially.

The National Guard is then rebranded as the Military Order of the Brothers in Christ (MOBIC), members are drawn from all the other services, and all the best equipment is also stripped from the other services. A Holy War is then embarked upon with MOBIC leading a bloody charge to try and take Jerusalem.

The narrative is set as a journal from someone who lived through the war and is now clearing the conscience in an attempt to clear up the current regimes propaganda about the US Army General who led the Army & Marine detachment within the aforementioned war who is know branded a traitor.

I found it to be a really good tale, the idea of such a thing occurring is certainly plausible with how certain public figures attempt to rally their followers to certain points of view. The sequences within the story were set out in such a manner to be both action filled and realistic, and the tension between the regular army and MOBIC was well written.

The military terminology almost prevented me from reading this one, then I found the glossary which helped a lot. This book shows what a slippery slope things can be when religious fanatics are involved whether the religion is Muslim or Christian.

The military terminology almost prevented me from reading this one, then I found the glossary which helped a lot. This book shows what a slippery slope things can be when religious fanatics are involved whether the religion is Muslim or Christian.

Sixth in a series of mystery novels featuring Major Abel Jones: a diminutive ex-sergeant in the East India Company who, somewhat against his will, finds himself acting as a confidential detective in the Union Army during the American Civil War. In his current case, he’s investigating the murder of a Northern heiress who had traveled to New Orleans with the idea of financing a scheme to return emancipated slaves to Africa.


Jones is not an intellectually brilliant Sherlock Holmes type - rather, the cases get solved by dogged persistence. Jones does not have modern, politically correct sentiments; instead, he’s heartily critical of anything that’s not white, Welsh, and Methodist - although he will sometimes allow that he could be mistaken. The first person narration makes for an interesting “voice”; with just enough Welsh idiom and sentence structure to make the read interesting. I’m taken by the way Major Jones is portrayed as a religious man; the author is not reluctant to give a 19th Century protagonist appropriate values for the time, and does not mock those values. The author also has a good eye; these books would make good movies - lots of action, period costumes, etc.


Major Abel Jones doesn’t like 1863 New Orleans very much; too hot, too many unreconstructed Confederates, too much luxury, too many French, too much Popery, too many women with not enough clothes. He doesn’t have a lot of confidence in General Nathaniel Banks, the Union military governor. The murder victim is Susan Peabody, the daughter of a wealthy and politically connected industrialist, a class Jones doesn’t have much use for. And there are dark hints that Miss Peabody may have Behaved Improperly With Negroes. Nevertheless, Jones has a job to do and goes about doing it. Some pretty unpleasant things happen in the course of doing this; human life at the time was often nasty, brutish, and short. A reasonably alert reader should be able to figure out what’s going on at just the right time; enough before Jones does to feel smug about it but not so early as to ruin things. The ending is satisfying; justice gets done.


The author resists the temptation to introduce anachronism. Jones doesn’t prematurely invent fingerprinting or blood type analysis. There’s a moderate element of the supernatural; Jones, despite now being a devoted husband to his Mary Mwfwnwy back in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, lead a somewhat looser life during his India service and had a Without Benefit of Clergy-style relationship with a native girl. Her ghost shows up from time to time in the novels, including this one (Jones himself never sees her; she directs rescuers to him when he gets in trouble). Jones also goes through a voodoo ceremony (as a test of sincerity) which is depicted with the unfortunate mixture of voyeuristic titillation and condescending respect that is often accorded to “traditional” religions. However, the paranormal is muted enough not to interfere with the overall tone.


A good period mystery, both this book and the series; I’d start at the first (Faded Coat of Blue) to get Abel Jones’ background.

La joven Kelly Trost hija de un importante senador norteamericano viaja al Asia Central en sus vacaciones para ayudar en tareas humanitarias. Su rastro se desvanece en el oscuro corazón de un país sin ley, sumido en el caos luego del colapso de la Unión Soviética. Nadie sabe de quién es prisionera. Ni siquiera se sabe si está viva. Solo el teniente coronel Burton tiene el conocimiento del terreno necesario para buscarla . La misión, difícil y brutal, se desarrolla entre gángsters, fanáticos religiosos, señores de la guerra, ejecutivos petroleros, generales rebeldes y espías extranjeros. La inocente vida de Kelly se ha convertido en moneda de cambio de un frío y despiadado juego global.

Peters is a well-known expert in foreign and military affairs but here he writes a novel on a critical phase ending the American Civil War. The work is engagingly written and moves at a brisk pace to chronicle in a creative way the historically based events in the novel. The maps are very helpful since in even historical accounts they tend not to be as worthwhile in demonstrating the movements of the combatants. This is a thoroughly educational look at the conflict.

http://assets.civilwar.org/animatedmaps/overland-animated-map/?_ga=2.125440846.5...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TRUjr8EVgBg

Military analyst Ralph Peters collection of published essays ca. 2006-07. Although specific issues may be a bit dated now (such as the dispatches from Iraq), but all essays contain good nuggets of information or essays that are full of such nuggets (as when he talks about Africa and South America), and then there are those that are still fully appropriate like The Shape of Wars to Come and The Hearts and Minds Myth. You don't have to agree with everything, but Peters is clear in his writing and offers reasoning for arriving at his conclusions.

Very human retelling of the battle. Some very graphic images left in my mind.

Peters is a former Army officer who's second career has become punditry. This is a book about the causes of modern war. His thesis, "win at any cost", emphasis of empirical over emotional and "we don't understand each other" drive his conclusions. A collection of his essays, they now (2014) appear dated by US withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, but "those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it." My question: As a Fox news commentator and author does he write from passion for the subject or just for profit?

This "novel" describes a world future that pits radical Islam v Christianity. It reads like a war game. Themes include contemporary issues dealing with religious fanaticism, nuclear proliferation, and dependence on advancements in technology for warfare. The characters range from very tactical Marines to the Army Corps commanders. I found them intriguing and the twists of plot involving them were exciting--right through the epilogue. The book was very thought provoking; those who say it couldn't happen have their head in the sand or somewhere else where it's dark.

This poignant little book of Civil War Christmas stories brings together the horrors of war with the gentle hope of the holy-day. The protagonist in each story wallows in his circumstances created by the war and the historical period - a time when Northerners endorsed the war for its goal to end slavery in the U.S., while maintaining their racist attitudes and behaviors toward other human beings. Through understanding and acceptance of self and others, humility, and kindness, each story's hero rises above the fray to a fresh comprehension of the true meaning of Christmas.

The stories are well written and original, although occasional lapses into incomplete sentences for emphasis are mildly annoying. In the first story, the outcome is unresolved so that more than one conclusion is possible; glimpses of what could be are provided, if the reader is attuned to subtle writing. The second story gives a final accounting of the protagonist's future, while surprising the reader with one very important detail. Story three is about the return of a Confederate soldier to his mountain home and his conversation with his grandmother. I knew the ending by the 9th paragraph, but it's still a sweet story. The fourth tale is about slavery, poverty, the turning-of-tables, and forgiveness. Although I enjoyed the story, the forgiveness seems too quick; more explanation on the process that led to the decision to forgive would have strengthened the story.

The Civil War is clearly well researched, expressed in conversations, scenery, events, and objects; soldiering is the primary focus. I'll be thinking about these stories beyond the Christmas holidays this year.

I just have tone to say about this book. Review forthcoming.

A historical fiction novel much like Shaara's Killer Angels, around the battle of Gettysburg. It concentrates on the people and conversations that might have occurred during the 3-day battle. It emphasizes Longstreet and Meade as well as some individuals in the trenches. Although nobody really knows the conversations that may have occurred, these are believable and one gets the idea of presence in the battle. I was especially impressed with the piece about Union general Dan Sickles, who counter to orders, caused the battles of the peach orchard and wheat field on the second day...by sheer obstinance and in search of glory. He spent the lives of his men for political capital.

Superb research, beautifully written one criticism is the getting old portrait of the famished, brawling, drunken moonfaced, irishman.

This excellent historical novel about the Civil War focuses on the period between May 5th and June 3rd, 1864, which encompasses the battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, and Cold Harbor. The reader becomes acquainted with the generals involved on both sides, including Grant, Meade, Hancock, Barlow (the Union) & Lee, Longstreet, Gordon, and A. P. Hill (the Confederacy). The rebel colonel William C. Oates also figures prominently in the story (he was Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain's opposite number in the crucial struggle for Little Round Top during the battle of Gettysburg the previous July). In addition, we see what goes on in the minds of the front line soldiers and how they experience the horror of battle, which is depicted quite graphically at times. I highly recommend this book to all Civil War buffs as well as anyone interested in a true slice of history that's brought to vivid life by the wonderful writing of Ralph Peters.

Peters' series of Civil War mysteries (written under the name "Owen Parry") are unique and fascinating, combining vivid historical detail with fully drawn, idiosyncratic characters in complex and tense situations. By contrast, Traitor is set in late '90s Washington, D.C., where a Pentagon-based colonel discovers a massively corrupt and bloody defense contracting scandal. Peters' protagonist is not your average square-jawed hero: he has mixed feelings about the second-tier rock musician he's dating, and his quiet, understated manner has left him unappreciated by the higher brass and short of close friends. By the end of the third chapter, his girlfriend has been made a target and he himself is temporarily held by strangely emotional French (!) torturers after mysterious computer disks. He's got just a few short days to find out what he's mixed up in, deliver the disks, and save a loved one's life while constantly battling the Frenchmen, corrupt military brass, and incompetent D.C. cops. The violence is extreme and the plot dizzying.

The book is an homage to the noir paperbacks Peters read as a teenager and young man: the evil is pure, the conspiracy is elaborate but believable, and Raymond Chandler's model hero describes Peters' quite well (" Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean... He must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man"). The book does not quite match the high standards of a Chandler novel—the hero is so confused and afraid that living in his shoes as a reader can be a bit miserable, and he has too few triumphs along the way to ease the misery. Nevertheless, it is a page-turner that kept me up several hours later than I otherwise would have remained awake. I would recommend it to those who don't object to their escapism being disturbingly realistic, gritty, and at times gory.

This book hit the bestseller list quite quickly, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a great historical mystery, and those seem to be all the rage now. This first of two novels featuring Abel Jones, a captain of volunteers in the Union Army, is set during the early part of the Civil War. Jones has been asked by General McClellan to investigate the death of Anthony Fowler, a well-known abolitionist, son of a prominent Philadelphia family. Jones soon discovers that Fowler’s death-- he was found shot close to the Union lines, and the first assumption was he was killed by a sentry in error-- was murder. Fowler had not been killed where he was found, and he had been shot with a pistol. Abel Jones is a very interesting character. Born in Wales to a very poor family, he is sent to live with a reverend who beats him regularly, but he falls in love with the minister’s daughter, Mary MyFanwy. He takes assorted jobs, but when the two are seen innocently kissing, Mary is sent away and Abel is so distraught he joins the British army. He is sent to India where the natives are being put down with horrible violence, especially after the mutiny, and when Abel is ordered to use several prisoners for bayonet instruction he just can’t go on and refuses to fight any more. Sent back to England, he finds Mary and they emigrate to Pennsylvania where they hope rumors of his mutinous behavior won’t follow, and he assumes he won’t have to fight again.

Unfortunately, the Civil War erupts and, taking pity on a group of volunteers who clearly know absolutely nothing of military maneuvering, he winds up as a captain of volunteers. Parry’s description of Abel’s company at Bull Run is astonishing authentic. It reminded me of Stephen Crane’s [book:Red Badge of Courage] capturing the chaos of battle. His company manages to hold until a fleeing battery of union artillery overrun their line and Abel is trampled by panicked horses pulling a cannon. His leg is broken and does not heel properly, and that’s how he winds up doing administrative duty in Washington and is picked by McClellan for the investigation into Fowler’s murder. McClellan doesn’t realize the tenacious nature of Jones, who is soon poking about in business the general would perhaps leave covered up.

Jones goes undercover in the War Department and unearths a mountain of fraud, seemingly unrelated to Fowler’s murder, but inevitably pieces begin to fall into place and Jones is warned off. Parry has done his homework, and the book concludes with a bibliographical and historical essay --always very welcome in a novel that purports to recreate historical events. Parry explains just which episodes were changed chronologically. Obviously, the tête-à-tête with Lincoln at the end never occurred, and seems unlikely even in the context of the story. One does get a very strong sense of what it was like to live in Washington during the early Civil War: not nice. Immigrants were held in considerable disrepute and constantly brutalized. A large majority were inducted into the military, and many died before they mastered English. Prostitution, illness (particularly typhoid) and wartime corruption were endemic, and fortunes were made quickly at the expense of many. A good story and welcome leavening of the American myth. There is a sequel that, contrary to the note at the end of Faded Coat of Blue, is not titled The Vacant Chair. An editor must have preferred [book:Shadows of Glory]

Update: It’s my understanding that this series has been discontinued by the publisher.

Not the best in the series. Too many abides, I wish the author would drop that affectation. Slow to arouse interest with many introspective mind searches and allegorical leaps. Excellent and likely accurate, noting the sources, portrayal of UK cities and life styles at the time. Will hang in with the series because of it's portrayal of civil war lives and times but Abel can be a drag at times.

(spoiler alert)
The writing is not bad, but the whole premise, while cautionary in nature, is really too much, specifically the alliance part...½

All I can say is that I hope this Authior doesn't feel constrained to follow Abel Jon, or his descendants, through all America's wars. See my review of FADED COAT OF BLUE.