The Vets

by Stephen Leather

Hong Kong. The British administration is preparing to hand the capitalist colony back to Communist China with the minimum of fuss.

Colonel Joel Tyler, however, has other plans for the British colony - plans that involve four Vietnam War veterans and a spectacular mission making use of their unique skills.

But while the vets are preparing to take the country by storm, their paymaster, Anthony Chung, puts the final touches to an audacious betrayal. The future of Hong Kong is at stake . . .

*********

PRAISE FOR STEPHEN LEATHER

'A master of the thriller genre'
Irish Times

'A writer at the top of his game'
Sunday Express

'In the top rank of thriller writers'
Jack Higgins

Genres: Thriller, Fiction

576 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1993

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. 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. For much of 2011 his self-published eBooks - including The Bestseller, The Basement, Once Bitten and Dreamer's Cat - dominated the UK eBook bestseller lists and sold more than half a million copies. The Basement topped the Kindle charts in the UK and the US, and in total he has sold more than two million eBooks. His bestselling book The Chinaman was filmed as The Foreigner, starring Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan and grossing more than $100 million.

Reviews

[Velvetink · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is going to score really low. Worst Book ever.





******Dad gave me this to read!!!!. Why the stars and exclamation points you ask? Well my Dad (83yr) didn't read. I convinced him to give it a try after my Mum passed away 2 yrs ago...and to secretly keep him out of my hair a bit. I gave him a box load of easy books which he struggled with at first but now he's borrowing books from his next door neighbour and picking some up at the 2nd hand store. Lesson is you are never too old. ;)

[gerald morson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

A cracking read from Stephen Leather, brilliant inside knowledge of Hong Kong and it's people, great characters fast pace and a great ending

[SPIRO SUEREF · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW !!!!!! What a story

Stephen Leather is an amazing writer, have nearly finished is one offs as I call them.
I have never given less than 5 in any of his books.
If I could of taken 1/4 off a star I would have. Not in a horrible way, but the ending was not fair, I wanted a total different ending, maybe I am selfish but I have got to know the characters in this brilliant story, The Vets is not about peoples fur babies, it is about brave young men that signed up to fight in the Vietnam war, a war that had nothing to do with the USA.
PTSD was not heard back then, the poor soldiers suffered dreadfully on return to their loved ones and homes.
If Stephen Leather is reading this could I ask that there is a Vets 2.
There is just 1 character in particular that should be made accountable for his actions and another character to be praised. Maybe a family reunited in despair and grief but the damage could be repairable.

[David Highton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story set in the early 1990s in pre-transfer Hong Kong, with a mysterious Colonel collecting a group of Vietnam veterans, a prominet banking family, a smooth Chinaman with a French passport and a triad leader. The build up is far too slow, with the real excitement only in last 100 pages of this long book

[Mrs A. J. Turbfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another thought-provoking wonderful talefrom this master writer of thrillers . I had

forgotten how much I enjoy this author, as its been a while since I last read him. He hasn't
changed, still as thrilling as before.

[Brian Norman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plot and counter plot

Superb piece of reading, plots all over the place but as the pages get fewer the joining become more visible, a final few words on the Fielding family would have fully founded it off.

Cracking good read

[Sue Romanis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic

Didn't won't book to end it was so well written fast pace ok
Moving so much detail kept you o your toes I want ok
I can't praise this book enough Th a k you

[Andrea Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great thriller with special regard to the 'vets' of the Vietnam war. Their experiences and skills allow Col Joel Tyler to plan an audacious mission.

[andrew thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding.

Great book. Great story line. Fantastic ending ! Read the book in 5 days. Hard to put down. Stephen Leather, is once again outstanding.

[LUK CHI HUNG · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was written before 1997. The book's predictions about Hong Kong have become realities now.

[Mr John Wark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Want a good read.

Thought-provoking with twists and turns and unexpected camaraderie and kindness. Leaves you feeling good. Which is the next one please.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really well-written book that deserves this five-star rating! I have read almost all of Leather's books, and, like The Fireman, this old one escaped me until now. It's a long book, but expertly planned and told, where all elements come together seamlessly to a grand finale. The level of description in this story is second to none, and I feel that if this were a more recent publication that Leather's editor wouldn't have allowed this much scope in background and character description. Much like Mike Oldfield, or Pink Floyd wouldn't have been able to release masterpieces that weren't radio-friendly, I fear that had this not been one of his first stories, this may have been binned or chopped to a story beyond recognition.

Stephen Leather's knowledge of Hong Kong really shows here, not only in the locations but also the Asian customs, and I feel that this book has many elements which led to Stephen's success in different genres: suspense; heist; investigating and erotica. This really is an outstandingly-written book which, despite its length, had me turning pages at a great pace, wondering how the individuals would come together. And although it was written twenty years ago, it can still be considered current. Top marks!

[Bob Corrigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one looooooong, drawn out read. I (honestly, I think for the first time in my LIFE) wound up SKIMMING pages towards the end. I just couldn't wait for this to end. I'm not generally willing to plow through almost 600 pages unless the book is really really special.

Rather well written, to be honest, but still - once I figured out that 'hey - maybe there isn't any BIG surprise coming up' (around page 450!!), that it really is just a bank robbery thing, I started losing patience. And interest. So ... skim, skim, skim ... finished. On to something new.

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steven Leather draws you slowly into the plot whilst developing the characters who become so convincing. He has the ability to bring the political and controversial issues into the story line. An excellent read.

[Justin Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow at first, but everything finally came together at the end. As in any complicated plan, everything would've gone FUBAR if only one part of the plan became untangled. A much simpler plan would've achieved the same results.

[Cws]

A Lea

[CAMERON · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing special but worth a read.

[Roslyn]

had to read it twice because i kept going back to previous chapters first time wondering what i'd missed. i hand't missed a thing!!! Plot kept thickening woop woop

[Jim Moffett · Rating 5 out of 5]

04-01

[Druss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad read. A little slow in parts. Good weaving of fact and fiction.

[Robyn Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love all Stephen Leather books.