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Honor Bound #5
The Honor Of Spies
August, 1943: In his short time as a spy with the Office of Strategic Services, young Cletus Frade has faced many unlikely situations, but nothing like his new assignment. Having helped Lieutenant Colonel Wilhelm Frogger escape a Mississippi P.O.W. camp, he must now get the defiant German to turn against his country.
754 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 29, 2009
271 people are currently reading
787 people want to read
About the author
W.E.B. Griffin
351 books1,298 followersW.E.B. Griffin was one of several pseudonyms for William E. Butterworth III.
From the Authors Website:
W.E.B. Griffin was the #1 best-selling author of more than fifty epic novels in seven series, all of which have made The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, and other best-seller lists. More than fifty million of the books are in print in more than ten languages, including Hebrew, Chinese, Japanese, and Hungarian.
Mr. Griffin grew up in the suburbs of New York City and Philadelphia. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1946. After basic training, he received counterintelligence training at Fort Holabird, Maryland. He was assigned to the Army of Occupation in Germany, and ultimately to the staff of then-Major General I.D. White, commander of the U.S. Constabulary.
In 1951, Mr. Griffin was recalled to active duty for the Korean War, interrupting his education at Phillips University, Marburg an der Lahn, Germany. In Korea he earned the Combat Infantry Badge as a combat correspondent and later served as acting X Corps (Group) information officer under Lieutenant General White.
On his release from active duty in 1953, Mr. Griffin was appointed Chief of the Publications Division of the U.S. Army Signal Aviation Test & Support Activity at Fort Rucker, Alabama.
Mr. Griffin was a member of the Special Operations Association, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the Army Aviation Association, the Armor Association, and the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) Society.
He was the 1991 recipient of the Brigadier General Robert L. Dening Memorial Distinguished Service Award of the U.S. Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association, and the August 1999 recipient of the Veterans of Foreign Wars News Media Award, presented at the 100th National Convention in Kansas City.
He has been vested into the Order of St. George of the U.S. Armor Association, and the Order of St. Andrew of the U.S. Army Aviation Association, and been awarded Honorary Doctoral degrees by Norwich University, the nation’s first and oldest private military college, and by Troy State University (Ala.). He was the graduation dinner speaker for the class of 1988 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
He has been awarded honorary membership in the Special Forces Association, the Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association, the Marine Raiders Association, and the U.S. Army Otter & Caribou Association. In January 2003, he was made a life member of the Police Chiefs Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, and the State of Delaware.
He was the co-founder, with historian Colonel Carlo D’Este, of the William E. Colby Seminar on Intelligence, Military, and Diplomatic Affairs. (Details here and here)
He was a Life Member of the National Rifle Association. And he belongs to the Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Pensacola, Florida, chapters of the Flat Earth Society.
Mr. Griffin’s novels, known for their historical accuracy, have been praised by The Philadelphia Inquirer for their “fierce, stop-for-nothing scenes.”
“Nothing honors me more than a serviceman, veteran, or cop telling me he enjoys reading my books,” Mr. Griffin says.
Mr. Griffin divides his time between the Gulf Coast and Buenos Aires.
Notes:
Other Pseudonyms
* Alex Baldwin
* Webb Beech
* Walker E. Blake
* W.E. Butterworth
* James McM. Douglas
* Eden Hughes
* Edmund O. Scholefield
* Patrick J. Williams
* W. E. Butterworth
* John Kevin Dugan
* Jac
From the Authors Website:
W.E.B. Griffin was the #1 best-selling author of more than fifty epic novels in seven series, all of which have made The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, and other best-seller lists. More than fifty million of the books are in print in more than ten languages, including Hebrew, Chinese, Japanese, and Hungarian.
Mr. Griffin grew up in the suburbs of New York City and Philadelphia. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1946. After basic training, he received counterintelligence training at Fort Holabird, Maryland. He was assigned to the Army of Occupation in Germany, and ultimately to the staff of then-Major General I.D. White, commander of the U.S. Constabulary.
In 1951, Mr. Griffin was recalled to active duty for the Korean War, interrupting his education at Phillips University, Marburg an der Lahn, Germany. In Korea he earned the Combat Infantry Badge as a combat correspondent and later served as acting X Corps (Group) information officer under Lieutenant General White.
On his release from active duty in 1953, Mr. Griffin was appointed Chief of the Publications Division of the U.S. Army Signal Aviation Test & Support Activity at Fort Rucker, Alabama.
Mr. Griffin was a member of the Special Operations Association, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the Army Aviation Association, the Armor Association, and the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) Society.
He was the 1991 recipient of the Brigadier General Robert L. Dening Memorial Distinguished Service Award of the U.S. Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association, and the August 1999 recipient of the Veterans of Foreign Wars News Media Award, presented at the 100th National Convention in Kansas City.
He has been vested into the Order of St. George of the U.S. Armor Association, and the Order of St. Andrew of the U.S. Army Aviation Association, and been awarded Honorary Doctoral degrees by Norwich University, the nation’s first and oldest private military college, and by Troy State University (Ala.). He was the graduation dinner speaker for the class of 1988 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
He has been awarded honorary membership in the Special Forces Association, the Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association, the Marine Raiders Association, and the U.S. Army Otter & Caribou Association. In January 2003, he was made a life member of the Police Chiefs Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, and the State of Delaware.
He was the co-founder, with historian Colonel Carlo D’Este, of the William E. Colby Seminar on Intelligence, Military, and Diplomatic Affairs. (Details here and here)
He was a Life Member of the National Rifle Association. And he belongs to the Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Pensacola, Florida, chapters of the Flat Earth Society.
Mr. Griffin’s novels, known for their historical accuracy, have been praised by The Philadelphia Inquirer for their “fierce, stop-for-nothing scenes.”
“Nothing honors me more than a serviceman, veteran, or cop telling me he enjoys reading my books,” Mr. Griffin says.
Mr. Griffin divides his time between the Gulf Coast and Buenos Aires.
Notes:
Other Pseudonyms
* Alex Baldwin
* Webb Beech
* Walker E. Blake
* W.E. Butterworth
* James McM. Douglas
* Eden Hughes
* Edmund O. Scholefield
* Patrick J. Williams
* W. E. Butterworth
* John Kevin Dugan
* Jac
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews
March 24, 2012
I don't really know why I like W.E.B. Griffin's novels as much as I do; they are a strange combination of fact and fiction, endangering the reader's understanding of true history, which distresses me. Their male protagonists are hard-drinking and callous, with masochistic viewpoints that are at extreme odds with what my mother taught me as desirable cultural norms; the women frequently are little more than too-willing sex objects. The pace is frequently bogged down by platitudinous descriptions of weapons, planes, cars, and buildings--most of which read as if they were copied directly out of a researcher's notebook. The characters are often pure two-dimensional characterizations: the heroes are impossibly heroic, the Nazis are boot-licking swine, the Argentineans are docile peasants, and all of them are routinely introduced and re-identified at every mention with full names and titles (many of which are incomprehensible, as well as cumbersome). The writing is full of such tricks as location-identifying headings at the beginning of each chapter and subchapter in heavy block print that can hardly be read (and which often cause the reader to have to backtrack to the previous one to see how much time has passed) ... along with too-frequent replications of correspondence sent from one character to another. Moreover, the allusions to real people are replete with extraordinary bias and falsehoods; I do not know if Alan Dulles was the overeducated incompetent that Griffin makes him out to be, but I do know that President Rawson only ruled Argentina for three days of political unrest, not for the months on end of continual development that range through this series. And yet ... I find myself getting wrapped up in the story, and inevitably I find that when I reach the last fifth or more of these multitudinous tomes (this one runs for 481 pages) I have to put everything else aside, no matter how important, and stay up half the night or more to finish the book.
This is the fifth volume in the Honor Bound series, which follows the story of OSS agents sent to neutral Argentina during World War II to secretly undermine German operations there. Interestingly, there is the usual Griffin characteristic ploy of referring to things that happened in previous books, but I only seem to recognize the ones that happened in Book I (which I did not read) and Book II (which I did), and I am unconscious of any references to the events of Books III & IV, which I am yet to find.
Don Cletus Howell Frade is now a major in the U.S.Marines, on special duty with the OSS, and his wife, Dońa Dorotea Mallin de Frade, is about to give birth to their first child. Frade has started an airline, using first-class planes supplied by Franklin Delanor Roosevelt as a way of putting down a political opponent (FDR does not come off in Griffin's books as a very nice person), and Adolph Hitler himself is so upset about this competition to Lufthansa that he has directed Himmler to dispatch his deputy adjutant, SS-Brigadefűhrer Ritter Manfred von Dietzberg, to destroy the planes, to eliminate Don Cletus Frade, and also to eliminate Herr Wilhelm Frogger and his wife, Frau Else, recent defectors from the German embassy in Argentina, because they both know too much about the Valkyrie project (a plan to relocate most of the high-brass leaders and their families to Argentina, so that the Third Reich can rise again after losing the war in Europe)--which defectors Don Cletus Frade is hiding somewhere on his Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo ranch as a result of happenings in the preceding volume of this series. What Hitler and Himmler do not know is that SS-Brigadefűhrer von Dietzberg also has another goal: to eliminate the Argentinean-resident personnel involved in another project, whereby he and other high-ranking Germans have been enriching themselves by letting wealthy Jews in America and elsewhere ransom their relatives out of the German concentration camps. And all of this is just part of the intricately intertwined plot, which also includes the plans for El Coronel Juan D. Peron (who happens to be Don Cletus Frade's godfather) to seize power with the help of his German friends; it is in this novel that Peron, who hitherto has been partial to 13-year-old girls, ties up with Evita Duarte, a radio actress.
I'm not going to spoil the story by telling you how any of this turns out-mostly because I do not really know all of it. As with all of Griffin's books (Butterworth IV is his son), this one only unravels a few of the threads of the ongoing story, with most of the ball of twine continuing to roll into another novel that has not yet been published. My advice would be to start with Honor Bound (Book I) and read them in order ... even though I have not done that myself. But the reason I have not done it, of course, is that the @#$%&! publisher, like most of his modern-day ilk, doesn't tell us about the other books in the series, and I had to go search through Griffin's Website (which is as convoluted as his novels) to find out which books came first, in the hundred or more novels he has created in seven or more different series.
*********************************************
Update on 03-24-12 -- I now have confirmation--double confirmation, in fact--that belonging to Goodreads and logging in all these reviews is a waste of my time. My youngest told me years ago to join Goodreads as a way of preventing me from rereading a book I had forgotten I had read (because I was complaining about having recently done that in two different cases). A few weeks ago I read Honor Bound, the first book of this series, and I commented at that time that I had read its sequel so I was happy to get filled in on how things started. I then discovered other books from the series at my local library and came home with an armful … but it was not until I got to about Page 300 in this, the fifth book in the series, that I realized this was the book I had read before, two years ago, in 2010, not the second … and it was not until I searched through the list of My Books on Goodreads that I realized I had in fact read the second novel two years before that, back in 2008--which I have just read again as part of this exercise and did not even recognize it!
But here’s the thing: I give it four stars again, because it is a terrific story! I rally think I liked it better this time, because I have gone through all five books in the past couple weeks, and it is really all one story. In fact, only ten months of time have passed since Page 1 of the first novel (covered by more than 2,000 pages, and taking nearly two decades to write, but probably a couple hundred of those pages are pure repetitions from one book to another!). I would really love to know the background story of how these books came to be. W.E.B. Griffin apparently did the first three by himself (we are told Butterworth has been editing his father’s books for years, but it is only in this novel and its predecessor that they are both listed as co-authors. But--did Griffin actually have this whole complex plot in his head when he started? That would seem incredible. On the other hand, did he start with just a simpler version and then together they expanded it into half a dozen or more novels (because this clearly is not the end, as the story is left up in the air and we are left with one of the characters uttering the following two sentences at the end: “Don’t think you’re going to be able to relax, Don Cletus. I have a feeling we’re all going to be very busy very soon.” [Research on the internet has told me that a sixth book (Victory and Honor) was indeed produced last summer (2011), but I have not come across it, as yet.]
Despite the fact that I could not remember having read it until I was more than halfway through, I have to conclude that I enjoyed it more this time because I had just gone through the preceding four novels, so that I was fully familiar with all the interaction between the fifty or so characters--as shown by the fact that I now think much kindly of the female characters and possibly of the men as well. I am still distressed by the liberties taken with actual history. For example, I have just read through the fascinating account of Juan Peron’s life in Wikipedia, and I am having a hard time reconciling that truly complicated man with the rather two-dimensional portrayal in this series. Griffin once stated that he intended to carry the series all the way through the Falkland Islands war, but I don’t see how he could have gone the nearly 40 years of time after this novel, during much of which Peron was in power, in one or the other of his three terms as President, when the protagonist of the series is so inimical with Peron.
S I have often stated in other Goodreads reviews, I hate to read series novels out of sequence. This experience of being able to go through the series from beginning to end has convinced me even more of that!
This is the fifth volume in the Honor Bound series, which follows the story of OSS agents sent to neutral Argentina during World War II to secretly undermine German operations there. Interestingly, there is the usual Griffin characteristic ploy of referring to things that happened in previous books, but I only seem to recognize the ones that happened in Book I (which I did not read) and Book II (which I did), and I am unconscious of any references to the events of Books III & IV, which I am yet to find.
Don Cletus Howell Frade is now a major in the U.S.Marines, on special duty with the OSS, and his wife, Dońa Dorotea Mallin de Frade, is about to give birth to their first child. Frade has started an airline, using first-class planes supplied by Franklin Delanor Roosevelt as a way of putting down a political opponent (FDR does not come off in Griffin's books as a very nice person), and Adolph Hitler himself is so upset about this competition to Lufthansa that he has directed Himmler to dispatch his deputy adjutant, SS-Brigadefűhrer Ritter Manfred von Dietzberg, to destroy the planes, to eliminate Don Cletus Frade, and also to eliminate Herr Wilhelm Frogger and his wife, Frau Else, recent defectors from the German embassy in Argentina, because they both know too much about the Valkyrie project (a plan to relocate most of the high-brass leaders and their families to Argentina, so that the Third Reich can rise again after losing the war in Europe)--which defectors Don Cletus Frade is hiding somewhere on his Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo ranch as a result of happenings in the preceding volume of this series. What Hitler and Himmler do not know is that SS-Brigadefűhrer von Dietzberg also has another goal: to eliminate the Argentinean-resident personnel involved in another project, whereby he and other high-ranking Germans have been enriching themselves by letting wealthy Jews in America and elsewhere ransom their relatives out of the German concentration camps. And all of this is just part of the intricately intertwined plot, which also includes the plans for El Coronel Juan D. Peron (who happens to be Don Cletus Frade's godfather) to seize power with the help of his German friends; it is in this novel that Peron, who hitherto has been partial to 13-year-old girls, ties up with Evita Duarte, a radio actress.
I'm not going to spoil the story by telling you how any of this turns out-mostly because I do not really know all of it. As with all of Griffin's books (Butterworth IV is his son), this one only unravels a few of the threads of the ongoing story, with most of the ball of twine continuing to roll into another novel that has not yet been published. My advice would be to start with Honor Bound (Book I) and read them in order ... even though I have not done that myself. But the reason I have not done it, of course, is that the @#$%&! publisher, like most of his modern-day ilk, doesn't tell us about the other books in the series, and I had to go search through Griffin's Website (which is as convoluted as his novels) to find out which books came first, in the hundred or more novels he has created in seven or more different series.
*********************************************
Update on 03-24-12 -- I now have confirmation--double confirmation, in fact--that belonging to Goodreads and logging in all these reviews is a waste of my time. My youngest told me years ago to join Goodreads as a way of preventing me from rereading a book I had forgotten I had read (because I was complaining about having recently done that in two different cases). A few weeks ago I read Honor Bound, the first book of this series, and I commented at that time that I had read its sequel so I was happy to get filled in on how things started. I then discovered other books from the series at my local library and came home with an armful … but it was not until I got to about Page 300 in this, the fifth book in the series, that I realized this was the book I had read before, two years ago, in 2010, not the second … and it was not until I searched through the list of My Books on Goodreads that I realized I had in fact read the second novel two years before that, back in 2008--which I have just read again as part of this exercise and did not even recognize it!
But here’s the thing: I give it four stars again, because it is a terrific story! I rally think I liked it better this time, because I have gone through all five books in the past couple weeks, and it is really all one story. In fact, only ten months of time have passed since Page 1 of the first novel (covered by more than 2,000 pages, and taking nearly two decades to write, but probably a couple hundred of those pages are pure repetitions from one book to another!). I would really love to know the background story of how these books came to be. W.E.B. Griffin apparently did the first three by himself (we are told Butterworth has been editing his father’s books for years, but it is only in this novel and its predecessor that they are both listed as co-authors. But--did Griffin actually have this whole complex plot in his head when he started? That would seem incredible. On the other hand, did he start with just a simpler version and then together they expanded it into half a dozen or more novels (because this clearly is not the end, as the story is left up in the air and we are left with one of the characters uttering the following two sentences at the end: “Don’t think you’re going to be able to relax, Don Cletus. I have a feeling we’re all going to be very busy very soon.” [Research on the internet has told me that a sixth book (Victory and Honor) was indeed produced last summer (2011), but I have not come across it, as yet.]
Despite the fact that I could not remember having read it until I was more than halfway through, I have to conclude that I enjoyed it more this time because I had just gone through the preceding four novels, so that I was fully familiar with all the interaction between the fifty or so characters--as shown by the fact that I now think much kindly of the female characters and possibly of the men as well. I am still distressed by the liberties taken with actual history. For example, I have just read through the fascinating account of Juan Peron’s life in Wikipedia, and I am having a hard time reconciling that truly complicated man with the rather two-dimensional portrayal in this series. Griffin once stated that he intended to carry the series all the way through the Falkland Islands war, but I don’t see how he could have gone the nearly 40 years of time after this novel, during much of which Peron was in power, in one or the other of his three terms as President, when the protagonist of the series is so inimical with Peron.
S I have often stated in other Goodreads reviews, I hate to read series novels out of sequence. This experience of being able to go through the series from beginning to end has convinced me even more of that!
August 13, 2011
Great First Draft. Needs Editing!
Overall I liked the book. However, if it had been presented to a publisher without W.E.B. Griffin's name attached it would have been rejected as not being ready. I say this as a huge W.E.B. Griffin fan of many years. I have a problem with famous authors collaborating with unknown and untried authors. The first thing I wonder is just how much of this novel did Griffin actually write? The Traffickers was also in collaboration with William Butterworth. I bought it because I thought the majority of it was written by Griffin. I bogged down in it after about 120 pages and didn't pick it up again. I didn't review it because I didn't finish it. I know from my experience in publication in the scientific and medical communities that not everyone whose name is on the paper actually worked on it. Typically, the chairman of the department gets his/her name on it because he/she is the boss and it is a publication to his/her credit. And the chairman's name almost guarantees publication in a decent journal. This is not the only book that suffers from failing to achieve the standards normally expected of a particular author like W.E.B. Griffin. A while back I purchased a thriller by another author with a collaborator. Not a really good reading experience. I put it down after 34 or so pages.
Although Mr. Butterworth is an alleged editor this book really needs an independent edit by an unbiased editor. When we edit for ourselves we tend to be kinder and gentler than when we edit the works of others. After a real edit by an impartial editor this overly long book would be at least 150 pages shorter. The writing in this book points out several glaring mistakes that my editor would not have passed.
I thought it was the standard that once you introduce a character by name, you give his whole name and thereafter you refer to him by his last name. This book is replete with lengthy foreign names like: "Generalleutnant Graf Karl-Friedrich von Wachtstein" repeated ad nauseum. After repeating this mouthful for over 200 pages the authors did start refering to him as von Wachtstein. Such perversions slow down the storyline and cause the reader to start skipping to avoid falling asleep from boredom. There were also an overuse of foreign words. A conversation at a German embassy is presumed to be in German that, for the benefit of the English speaking reader has been translated into English. Why then on page 388 in a German conversation translated into English state, "Excuse me, Exzellenz . . ." instead of, "Excuse me Excellency"? These types of mistakes abound and it would take too long to list them all.
My final comment deals with research. When dealing with the character Lieutenant Pelosi the authors describe him on page 258 as wearing the "National Defense Service Medal and the medal signifying service in the American Theatre of Operations" on his uniform tunic. They go on to state that, "There was virtually no combat action in the American Theatre of Operations." Pure faulty research and inattention to detail. The American Defense Medal was established by FDR September 1939 and was superseded by The American Campaign Medal in December 1941. It was authorized as a ribbon ONLY until a full size medal was struck in 1947. The National Defense Service Medal was established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. During the time frame of this novel General Dwight Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander Allied Forces Europe SCAFE. The American Campaign Ribbon/Medal was all about combat action in the Americas, especially regarding submarine warfare. Tankers were torpedoed within sight of the beaches of the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. Likewise, German U-boats were engaged on the surface and under by U.S. anti-submarine forces. Saying that, "There was virtually no combat action in the American Theatre of Operations" debases the service of thousands of American merchant mariners, Coast Guardsmen, and Navy personnel who made the supreme sacrifice for their country in the "American Theatre of Operations." Disrespecting our veterans is NOT what W.E.B. Griffin is all about. This was a huge faux pas that I'm sure if he caught it would have been edited out by Mr. Griffin. The sinking of a raider German supply vessel with a German U-boat moored alongside depicted in the preceding book in the series certainly qualifies as combat action in the Americas albeit in the neutral country of Argentina. If you are going to be specific in your literary descriptions you need to get it right.
Although I did like the book, it did not rise to the high standards of the previous book in the series, and that's too bad. A good professional independent edit would, in my opinion bring the book back up to the standard we've all come to expect from W.E.B. Griffin. This book is loaded with rookie writer mistakes that a seasoned writer like W.E.B. Griffin shouldn't be making at this stage in his career.
This is pure bait and switch, the reader buys the book hoping to read more Griffin; instead the reader is forced to read Butterworth. Griffin should have introduced him to his agent and publisher and had Butterworth submit his own work under his name alone. I've become jadded; I shall never read another work by a famous author with a colaborator. But then I might if it's someone like James Patterson.
Jim Gilliam
Author, Point Deception http://www.pointdeception.com
Overall I liked the book. However, if it had been presented to a publisher without W.E.B. Griffin's name attached it would have been rejected as not being ready. I say this as a huge W.E.B. Griffin fan of many years. I have a problem with famous authors collaborating with unknown and untried authors. The first thing I wonder is just how much of this novel did Griffin actually write? The Traffickers was also in collaboration with William Butterworth. I bought it because I thought the majority of it was written by Griffin. I bogged down in it after about 120 pages and didn't pick it up again. I didn't review it because I didn't finish it. I know from my experience in publication in the scientific and medical communities that not everyone whose name is on the paper actually worked on it. Typically, the chairman of the department gets his/her name on it because he/she is the boss and it is a publication to his/her credit. And the chairman's name almost guarantees publication in a decent journal. This is not the only book that suffers from failing to achieve the standards normally expected of a particular author like W.E.B. Griffin. A while back I purchased a thriller by another author with a collaborator. Not a really good reading experience. I put it down after 34 or so pages.
Although Mr. Butterworth is an alleged editor this book really needs an independent edit by an unbiased editor. When we edit for ourselves we tend to be kinder and gentler than when we edit the works of others. After a real edit by an impartial editor this overly long book would be at least 150 pages shorter. The writing in this book points out several glaring mistakes that my editor would not have passed.
I thought it was the standard that once you introduce a character by name, you give his whole name and thereafter you refer to him by his last name. This book is replete with lengthy foreign names like: "Generalleutnant Graf Karl-Friedrich von Wachtstein" repeated ad nauseum. After repeating this mouthful for over 200 pages the authors did start refering to him as von Wachtstein. Such perversions slow down the storyline and cause the reader to start skipping to avoid falling asleep from boredom. There were also an overuse of foreign words. A conversation at a German embassy is presumed to be in German that, for the benefit of the English speaking reader has been translated into English. Why then on page 388 in a German conversation translated into English state, "Excuse me, Exzellenz . . ." instead of, "Excuse me Excellency"? These types of mistakes abound and it would take too long to list them all.
My final comment deals with research. When dealing with the character Lieutenant Pelosi the authors describe him on page 258 as wearing the "National Defense Service Medal and the medal signifying service in the American Theatre of Operations" on his uniform tunic. They go on to state that, "There was virtually no combat action in the American Theatre of Operations." Pure faulty research and inattention to detail. The American Defense Medal was established by FDR September 1939 and was superseded by The American Campaign Medal in December 1941. It was authorized as a ribbon ONLY until a full size medal was struck in 1947. The National Defense Service Medal was established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. During the time frame of this novel General Dwight Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander Allied Forces Europe SCAFE. The American Campaign Ribbon/Medal was all about combat action in the Americas, especially regarding submarine warfare. Tankers were torpedoed within sight of the beaches of the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. Likewise, German U-boats were engaged on the surface and under by U.S. anti-submarine forces. Saying that, "There was virtually no combat action in the American Theatre of Operations" debases the service of thousands of American merchant mariners, Coast Guardsmen, and Navy personnel who made the supreme sacrifice for their country in the "American Theatre of Operations." Disrespecting our veterans is NOT what W.E.B. Griffin is all about. This was a huge faux pas that I'm sure if he caught it would have been edited out by Mr. Griffin. The sinking of a raider German supply vessel with a German U-boat moored alongside depicted in the preceding book in the series certainly qualifies as combat action in the Americas albeit in the neutral country of Argentina. If you are going to be specific in your literary descriptions you need to get it right.
Although I did like the book, it did not rise to the high standards of the previous book in the series, and that's too bad. A good professional independent edit would, in my opinion bring the book back up to the standard we've all come to expect from W.E.B. Griffin. This book is loaded with rookie writer mistakes that a seasoned writer like W.E.B. Griffin shouldn't be making at this stage in his career.
This is pure bait and switch, the reader buys the book hoping to read more Griffin; instead the reader is forced to read Butterworth. Griffin should have introduced him to his agent and publisher and had Butterworth submit his own work under his name alone. I've become jadded; I shall never read another work by a famous author with a colaborator. But then I might if it's someone like James Patterson.
Jim Gilliam
Author, Point Deception http://www.pointdeception.com
February 7, 2013
Two words. Too long. 2 stars
January 3, 2019
A rather long and tedious book from a very good author. I've read some WEB Griffin before and liked his style. But he writes in series and I picked this book up at a thrift store and it's the 5th book in the series. That's on me but it was only 50 cents. All that being said the characters were well developed- although the protagonist Cletus Frade is a rather stereotypical rebellious,outspoken hero. That is not your typical Marine Officer.
What made the book difficult to follow was the many German words used especially as applied to Nazi military ranks, cities and slang. Couple that with the setting in Argentina with the Spanish military ranks and city names and it got quite confusing after a time. Another sticking point for me was that the elderly Frogger couple who were at the center of the opening of the book seemed to disappear from the novel shortly afterward and are never heard from again although references are made to them throughout while they are being held captive in a Villa run buy nuns. In the end Schmidt gets shot and the Nazi's get turned away in all too neat and tidy of an ending. The bones are there for the series to continue but not with me aboard to read any more.
Although the writing was excellent I won't be reading anything further in this series. Historical fiction can be interesting but the many language problems listed above is not worth my brainpower and the headache it gave me throughout and I don't want to to do that to myself again.
What made the book difficult to follow was the many German words used especially as applied to Nazi military ranks, cities and slang. Couple that with the setting in Argentina with the Spanish military ranks and city names and it got quite confusing after a time. Another sticking point for me was that the elderly Frogger couple who were at the center of the opening of the book seemed to disappear from the novel shortly afterward and are never heard from again although references are made to them throughout while they are being held captive in a Villa run buy nuns. In the end Schmidt gets shot and the Nazi's get turned away in all too neat and tidy of an ending. The bones are there for the series to continue but not with me aboard to read any more.
Although the writing was excellent I won't be reading anything further in this series. Historical fiction can be interesting but the many language problems listed above is not worth my brainpower and the headache it gave me throughout and I don't want to to do that to myself again.
July 30, 2011
I'm not sure whether I'd rate this as 3 or 4 stars. On the one hand, I wasn't that crazy about the main character, Cletis Frade (I'm guessing at the spelling since I listened to the audiobook edition) and I had a hard time keeping some of the characters straight. On the other hand, the history was really fascinating since I really know very little of Argentinian history and Nazis are always good for somewhat horrified fascination. Our son served a mission in Argentina and a number of people showed him family photos which included pictures of people in Nazi regalia.
May 11, 2018
I've given up on this book. I've enjoyed many of W.E.B. Griffin's books in the past but this one is leaving me cold. Seems like every page has new characters, replete with what appears to be unnecessary details. It's boring and hard to keep the dozens and dozens of characters straight. Reading fiction should be entertaining, fun and sometimes even educational, but this book has become drudgery. I'm abandoning it.
September 2, 2023
Great historical novel in a series.
May 28, 2019
The book is incredibly long and drags out the plot for chapter after chapter, the spies plot and scheme and discuss ad nauseam, and then everything comes to an abrupt, jarring and hardly satisfying conclusion.
August 24, 2011
I keep forgetting how much I dislike Griffin. But he is all over the place and I, inevitably, wind up picking another of his and getting disappointed again.
August 16, 2024
Nazis make the best villains and there are lots of evil Nazis in The Honor of Spies, the continuation of the OSS in Argentina series featuring Major Cletus Frade, an American marine fighter pilot who is much too young to be so successful at what he is doing: marrying a gorgeous Argentinian girl, taking over the vast estancias and businesses of his late father, starting a South American airline which will be used to help “good” Nazis escape to Argentina and outsmarting the Germans and his superiors at every turn. He is also too young to be a major at age 24. Frade's once estranged father was a big deal in Argentina, touted as a future President until he was assassinated by the Germans. Once again Peron is the main Argentinian villain and Eva Duarte plays a bigger role in this book than the previous one. The author obviously is not a Peronista probably because Peron leans hard into National Socialism. In this book the evil von Dietzberg, Himmler’s deputy, is the primary villain. He is sent by submarine to Argentina with a fake passport with a multi-tasking mission: Kill Frade, Kill the Froders (the German diplomats who requested asylum), find the money collected from rich Jews to ransom Jews in concentration camps. Unfortunately for von Dietzberg he gets blown away at a urinal by a character I couldn’t remember. That’s the big problem with Griffin: lots of characters and an awful lot of detail that seems extraneous and editable. He might spend a page describing where every one is sitting at a conference table or in a car or go into depth with ordering a meal. One would think this would be a deal killer for the reader but somehow Griffin keeps me reading even when not much is happening. I like life on the estancia, the loyal servants, the devoted bodyguard, the gauchos who form a private army, the airplanes flying every which way, the subterfuge and gamesmanship. I dropped out of two previous series which I enjoyed but after a few books seemed redundant but this series has me hooked. I like the setting. It actually makes me want to learn more about Peron and his years as President. Only two more to go in this series which I am listening to on audio and read by Scott Brick. It might just be that listening is the way to go. I bet I would skip over many pages if I were reading.
April 9, 2023
The Argentine airline (South American Airlines) that Clete created in the last book continues to be a major focus of this novel. Clete adds three state-of-the-art planes (constellations) that are capable of making transatlantic flights to his fleet and begins an air service to Europe that makes it possible for American government officials to get to and from Europe faster than they had been going because in the U.S. travel is by priority pass, not simply buying a ticket. At the same time, it makes it possible for Europeans to get to Argentina much more easily and more rapidly than they had been doing—and some of those Europeans are spies.
FDR is delighted with Clete’s airlines because the use of American planes by the Argentinian company makes the U.S. look capable and powerful. Hitler is furious because Germany’s inability to set up these flights make them look weaker than the U.S. So, he orders his covert operatives to destroy the planes and make a third attempt to kill Clete while they are at it. He also wants the defectors from the last book (the Froggers) killed. And the plan may well involve kidnapping Clete’s aunt and her family to force an exchange that will bring everyone out where the Nazis can get to them.
The book started out slow, but the tension continues to grow with every chapter setting up a very exciting conclusion—and, of course, another book.
FDR is delighted with Clete’s airlines because the use of American planes by the Argentinian company makes the U.S. look capable and powerful. Hitler is furious because Germany’s inability to set up these flights make them look weaker than the U.S. So, he orders his covert operatives to destroy the planes and make a third attempt to kill Clete while they are at it. He also wants the defectors from the last book (the Froggers) killed. And the plan may well involve kidnapping Clete’s aunt and her family to force an exchange that will bring everyone out where the Nazis can get to them.
The book started out slow, but the tension continues to grow with every chapter setting up a very exciting conclusion—and, of course, another book.
January 10, 2023
finished 9th january 2023 good read three stars i liked it kindle library loaner second from griffin interesting story oss agents in south america argentina nazis agentinian officials description says one thing but not much action with the froggers they're not on stage much at all nazis trying to create a lifeline to south america oss agents trying to stay on top of that not sure if this is a part of a series though apprently so as it says #5 part of title ending could have gone on some one scene all-of-a-sudden there's nazis in the corn field or some field griffin has a brief word at the end some nazi found in 1996 hugged by the faithful as he is removed from country and so it goes. some detail about wealthy jews paying to get out of camps wonder if that ever happened or not? possible long tedious read though not so much so that i put her down enough action to keep interest.
April 15, 2020
WWII OSS suspenseful piece (#5) of a larger (7 book) set. This one's 21+ hours, so you gotta want it--it could easily be half this length an tell the same story. This one is OSS versus godless Nazis, who act like it. Our hero, Argentine born, Texan, is beginning to act badly, but becomes a true Argentine. There are too many characters, especially Nazis, to track in one brain, thus, an outline would be a good idea. One cannot follow the plot and the characters without reading the first four books in the series.
April 4, 2025
Boring and the hero of the piece is an immature jerk
I’ve read a number of Griffin’s books and many are interesting and entertaining, but not this one. It looks like Griffin who has hired? Butterworth and was bored with the project but had to produce something, so lots of filler was produced which included ghastly boring conversations. Lots of books can be saved by having an engaging main character, but in this case the protagonist is simply an immature jerk. Griffin/Butterworth have produced a mostly unreadable story. Pass this one by.
I’ve read a number of Griffin’s books and many are interesting and entertaining, but not this one. It looks like Griffin who has hired? Butterworth and was bored with the project but had to produce something, so lots of filler was produced which included ghastly boring conversations. Lots of books can be saved by having an engaging main character, but in this case the protagonist is simply an immature jerk. Griffin/Butterworth have produced a mostly unreadable story. Pass this one by.
June 22, 2024
Events are moving quickly
Major & Don Cletus Frade is very busy. He’s trying to build his airline while at the same time getting useful information from a turned Nazi agent, protect himself as well as his ever-growing group of Americans & patriotic Argentines from the increasing danger of SS-SD agents further defying the neutrality of Argentina by launching attacks on them and plotting to destroy material & vehicles.
Major & Don Cletus Frade is very busy. He’s trying to build his airline while at the same time getting useful information from a turned Nazi agent, protect himself as well as his ever-growing group of Americans & patriotic Argentines from the increasing danger of SS-SD agents further defying the neutrality of Argentina by launching attacks on them and plotting to destroy material & vehicles.
February 19, 2025
DNF.
I read a W.E.B. Griffin series 10 or 15 years ago and liked it fairly well. I am also wanting to read some World War II adventure fiction. The Honor of Spies therefore sounded perfect. Not so much. Boring and overly complicated. And with many chapters in, I still do not know what the main plot of the story is. I'm done.
I read a W.E.B. Griffin series 10 or 15 years ago and liked it fairly well. I am also wanting to read some World War II adventure fiction. The Honor of Spies therefore sounded perfect. Not so much. Boring and overly complicated. And with many chapters in, I still do not know what the main plot of the story is. I'm done.
February 7, 2018
So very many characters to keep track of but the story line was engaging. Over 700 pages long yet I never felt as though it was too long.
I discovered very far into this book that it is part of a series. I was not at a disadvantage never having read the previous books.
I discovered very far into this book that it is part of a series. I was not at a disadvantage never having read the previous books.
April 12, 2018
Good book with lots of historical info.
I really like how this book carries on with the previous one. Historical fiction can be very interesting. The references to military intelligence was very interesting to me.
I really like how this book carries on with the previous one. Historical fiction can be very interesting. The references to military intelligence was very interesting to me.
September 6, 2020
While the WEB Griffin books are well-written, very detailed.....never try to pick up the story in the middle of the series.....lol. I found the story to be good but a tad confusing (as apparently this was book 5 of the series and I had picked this up at random to start reading).
March 18, 2015
Most of those pages were reprises of the four previous novels and, frankly, did nothing to bring the first-time reader up to speed or advance the story. The storyline itself is unbelievable. Poor little rich boy Cletus Frade, one-time Marine fighter ace, now working for the legendary OSS, is babysitting asylum seeking employees of the German embassy. Frade is supposed to get them, the husband and wife Froggers, to spill the beans on German secret plots in Argentina. The idea that this pair of relatively low-level embassy employees would be involved in the innermost details of the Nazi leadership's secret plans is ludicrous. Reducing the plot to pure silliness is the happy happenstance that the Frogger's son, a German Wehrmacht officer, just happens to be involved in yet another secret plot and just happens to be in an American prisoner of war camp.
Most of the book is talk, pure yakkity-yak. Famous people were always cleverly inserted in cameo or greater roles in Griffin books and this one is no different, except that the device falls flat. Within the few pages I read, Juan Peron, Howard Hughes and Allan Dulles all make appearances to little effect. Redundant, boring and repetitive.
In the preface of this book, it is claimed that Gen. George Patton led the invasion of North Africa in WWII. Of course, Patton participated in this monumental invasion, but he was only one of three commanders under Gen Dwight Eisenhower who was in Gibraltar and overall commander. The other two besides Patton who landed in Casablanca were Gen Fredendall who landed at Oran and Gen Ryder who landed at Algiers. Unfortunately with the advent of this Butterworth "writer" into Griffin's books, mistakes of this nature occur regularly which NEVER would have happened when W.E.B. Griffin was at his prime.
I thought it was the standard that once you introduce a character by name, you give his whole name and thereafter you refer to him by his last name. This book is replete with lengthy foreign names like: "Generalleutnant Graf Karl-Friedrich von Wachtstein" repeated ad nauseum. After repeating this mouthful for over 200 pages the authors did start refering to him as von Wachtstein. Such perversions slow down the storyline and cause the reader to start skipping to avoid falling asleep from boredom. There were also an overuse of foreign words. A conversation at a German embassy is presumed to be in German that, for the benefit of the English speaking reader has been translated into English. Why then on page 388 in a German conversation translated into English state, "Excuse me, Exzellenz . . ." instead of, "Excuse me Excellency"? These types of mistakes abound and it would take too long to list them all.
When dealing with the character Lieutenant Pelosi the authors describe him on page 258 as wearing the "National Defense Service Medal and the medal signifying service in the American Theatre of Operations" on his uniform tunic. They go on to state that, "There was virtually no combat action in the American Theatre of Operations." Pure faulty research and inattention to detail. The American Defense Medal was established by FDR September 1939 and was superseded by The American Campaign Medal in December 1941. It was authorized as a ribbon ONLY until a full size medal was struck in 1947. The National Defense Service Medal was established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. During the time frame of this novel General Dwight Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander Allied Forces Europe SCAFE. The American Campaign Ribbon/Medal was all about combat action in the Americas, especially regarding submarine warfare. Tankers were torpedoed within sight of the beaches of the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. Likewise, German U-boats were engaged on the surface and under by U.S. anti-submarine forces. Saying that, "There was virtually no combat action in the American Theatre of Operations" debases the service of thousands of American merchant mariners, Coast Guardsmen, and Navy personnel who made the supreme sacrifice for their country in the "American Theatre of Operations." Disrespecting our veterans is NOT what W.E.B. Griffin is all about. This was a huge faux pas that I'm sure if he caught it would have been edited out by Mr. Griffin. The sinking of a raider German supply vessel with a German U-boat moored alongside depicted in the preceding book in the series certainly qualifies as combat action in the Americas albeit in the neutral country of Argentina. If you are going to be specific in your literary descriptions you need to get it right.
Griffin used to write believable combat action scenes.
Not any more.
By page 58, about a dozen bodies pile up in scenes that have all the tension of buying a loaf of bread.
I was quickly bored, kept on plugging and threw in the towel at page 58. I scanned the rest of the book, more than another 400 pages, and it is more of the same and worse. Hitler, Himmler and other Nazi leaders hold forth with imaginary - and unbelievable - discussions. Action is sparse - and unbelievable.
Disappointing in the extreme.
Most of the book is talk, pure yakkity-yak. Famous people were always cleverly inserted in cameo or greater roles in Griffin books and this one is no different, except that the device falls flat. Within the few pages I read, Juan Peron, Howard Hughes and Allan Dulles all make appearances to little effect. Redundant, boring and repetitive.
In the preface of this book, it is claimed that Gen. George Patton led the invasion of North Africa in WWII. Of course, Patton participated in this monumental invasion, but he was only one of three commanders under Gen Dwight Eisenhower who was in Gibraltar and overall commander. The other two besides Patton who landed in Casablanca were Gen Fredendall who landed at Oran and Gen Ryder who landed at Algiers. Unfortunately with the advent of this Butterworth "writer" into Griffin's books, mistakes of this nature occur regularly which NEVER would have happened when W.E.B. Griffin was at his prime.
I thought it was the standard that once you introduce a character by name, you give his whole name and thereafter you refer to him by his last name. This book is replete with lengthy foreign names like: "Generalleutnant Graf Karl-Friedrich von Wachtstein" repeated ad nauseum. After repeating this mouthful for over 200 pages the authors did start refering to him as von Wachtstein. Such perversions slow down the storyline and cause the reader to start skipping to avoid falling asleep from boredom. There were also an overuse of foreign words. A conversation at a German embassy is presumed to be in German that, for the benefit of the English speaking reader has been translated into English. Why then on page 388 in a German conversation translated into English state, "Excuse me, Exzellenz . . ." instead of, "Excuse me Excellency"? These types of mistakes abound and it would take too long to list them all.
When dealing with the character Lieutenant Pelosi the authors describe him on page 258 as wearing the "National Defense Service Medal and the medal signifying service in the American Theatre of Operations" on his uniform tunic. They go on to state that, "There was virtually no combat action in the American Theatre of Operations." Pure faulty research and inattention to detail. The American Defense Medal was established by FDR September 1939 and was superseded by The American Campaign Medal in December 1941. It was authorized as a ribbon ONLY until a full size medal was struck in 1947. The National Defense Service Medal was established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. During the time frame of this novel General Dwight Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander Allied Forces Europe SCAFE. The American Campaign Ribbon/Medal was all about combat action in the Americas, especially regarding submarine warfare. Tankers were torpedoed within sight of the beaches of the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. Likewise, German U-boats were engaged on the surface and under by U.S. anti-submarine forces. Saying that, "There was virtually no combat action in the American Theatre of Operations" debases the service of thousands of American merchant mariners, Coast Guardsmen, and Navy personnel who made the supreme sacrifice for their country in the "American Theatre of Operations." Disrespecting our veterans is NOT what W.E.B. Griffin is all about. This was a huge faux pas that I'm sure if he caught it would have been edited out by Mr. Griffin. The sinking of a raider German supply vessel with a German U-boat moored alongside depicted in the preceding book in the series certainly qualifies as combat action in the Americas albeit in the neutral country of Argentina. If you are going to be specific in your literary descriptions you need to get it right.
Griffin used to write believable combat action scenes.
Not any more.
By page 58, about a dozen bodies pile up in scenes that have all the tension of buying a loaf of bread.
I was quickly bored, kept on plugging and threw in the towel at page 58. I scanned the rest of the book, more than another 400 pages, and it is more of the same and worse. Hitler, Himmler and other Nazi leaders hold forth with imaginary - and unbelievable - discussions. Action is sparse - and unbelievable.
Disappointing in the extreme.
August 31, 2018
Much more enjoyable when read in sequence.
October 19, 2018
Excellent
I have been reading the series and enjoying them, being a student of history I find them enjoying. The only thing is the reminders of what had happened before.
I have been reading the series and enjoying them, being a student of history I find them enjoying. The only thing is the reminders of what had happened before.
December 19, 2019
Excellent book easy to read
Excellent book easy to read and very close to actual facts in history
You will truly enjoy it if you follow history
Excellent book easy to read and very close to actual facts in history
You will truly enjoy it if you follow history
April 5, 2020
Seemed a little long winded to be followed by an ending that seemed a bit anti-climatic. Given that the book was near the middle of the series it makes sense, but I wish there was a bit more action.
August 24, 2021
This book was horrible, I could not pick it up and I could not wait to put it down. Endless dialog, boring, almost no action at all. I would not recommend this book to a goat.
August 27, 2021
Another outstanding read
As with all of his books the story lines keep you riveted. This is another must read that can’t be missed.
As with all of his books the story lines keep you riveted. This is another must read that can’t be missed.
November 26, 2023
The phony War continues
The Allies and the Axis fight for Argentina using proxies and the fear of communism. Cleve’s private live continues and his quick actions save the day.
The Allies and the Axis fight for Argentina using proxies and the fear of communism. Cleve’s private live continues and his quick actions save the day.
November 14, 2024
Interesting plot but ending left you hanging
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 24, 2023
One of their best works. Bravo
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