Praetorian - Hardcover

Gifford, Thomas

3.42

117 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0553093711 ISBN 13: 9780553093711

Publisher: Bantam, 1993

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Assigned to wartime London, American correspondent Rodger Godwin learns, during an interview with Churchill, of a plot to assassinate Field Marshal Rommel. By the author of The Assassini. 50,000 first printing. $50,000 ad/promo.

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From Kirkus Reviews:

Grandly melodramatic--if overlong--WW II intrigue from Gifford (Hollywood Gothic, 1979; The Glendower Legacy, 1978, etc.) centering on a top-secret raid to assassinate legendary Nazi General Erwin Rommel. ``It is a good thing to remember,'' writes Gifford, ``that once...there was a great moral conflict...that had to be won.'' This epic thriller is a tribute to the valor of those who fought in that conflict. At its heart stand three resonant characters--top Yank reporter Rodger Godwin and two Brits: Cilla Hood, the film star whom Rodger loves, and Max Hood, a war hero who rode with Lawrence in Arabia--and who's Rodger's friend but also Cilla's husband. Gifford opens with a powerhouse scene: a Blitz-bombing of a London club that sees the three principals aiding the wounded-- Max in the lead, as always, with Rodger and Cilla following and stealing glances even as they work; a dying mother's concern solely for her child sets the theme of stalwart courage. A year later, Rodger and Cilla are tormented lovers, and Rodger's guilt grows when he's visited by Churchill (one of many sharp historical cameos scattered throughout), who asks him to cover the desert foray to kill Rommel--a raid to be led by Max. During the exciting unfolding of the expedition, all the raiders, including Max, die in an ambush--except Rodger. Cut to 1927 and an extended Paris-set flashback that details the cementing, through violence, of Rodger and Max's bond and of their love for the then-pubescent Cilla. Cut back to the war: It's clear that someone betrayed the expedition- -and Rodger, sleeping with Max's wife, is the chief suspect. Rodger, though, tracks down the real culprit and kills him--or does he? A violent, storm-swept climax reveals the twisty, if not terribly surprising, truth. Positively stirring, despite the overplotting, and brimming with bold action and characters: Chalk up another likely big hit for Gifford. (First printing of 50,000) -- Copyright �1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly:

After perambulations through wartime Europe and Africa in the 1940s, a flashback to Paris in the '20s, numerous subplots, lots of characters and even excerpts from the hero's 1930 book, the final revelations of treachery and double-dealing come quick, pat and predictable in Gifford's ( The Assassini ) overblown espionage thriller. American columnist and radio reporter Rodger Godwin is having an affair with English concert violinist and movie star Cilla Hood, wife of hero Gen. Sir Max Hood, who "rode with Lawrence" in Arabia. Churchill makes Max leader of Praetorian, an assassination operation against Rommel, and includes Rodger in the team to get the U.S. into the war. But Praetorian is betrayed, leaving Max dead and Rodger seriously injured. Mending and guilt-ridden, Rodger vows to find and kill the traitor, and while his affair with Cilla heats up, cools and heats up again, he faces danger in London, Africa and the Ardennes. Believing he has avenged Max (twice!), he marries Cilla and only then discovers the truth. Rodger is an obtuse obsessive and a mediocre journalist, judging by the bland snippets of his work, while Cilla is a willful Cleopatra type who turns gooey and maternal in the end.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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