The 4 Phase Man

by Richard Steinberg

A one phase man's a keeper
Two phase man's no sleeper
A three phase man's of old
Four phase man's worth his weight in gold

A Manchurian Candidate for the information age, The 4 Phase Man solidifies Richard Steinberg's growing reputation as a master of the conspiracy thriller.

Relics of the Cold War, four-phase men are CIA legends. Experts in all four of the most critical, most specialized areas of black operations--intelligence gathering, counterintelligence, electronic warfare, and assassination--four-phase men are capable of carrying out the most complicated, dangerous, and deadly missions alone. And since the earliest stages of the O.S.S., there have been only seven of this special breed. Today, just two remain alive--Colin Meadows and Gerald Goldman. Trained from youth to do America's dirty work, Meadows and Goldman never came in from the cold and are now outsiders looking in. Meadows is a play-for-pay operative for the People's Republic of China, and Goldman is in self-imposed exile.

Now, after twenty-five years of careful planning and masterful intelligence theft, the Chinese have seized the opportunity to awaken a sleeper spy in the United States. With Meadows ringleading the mole's path to the White House, Goldman is the only man capable of derailing a brilliant stratagem for a silent coup.

Chock-full of high-tech espionage and driven by a blistering cat-and-mouse narrative, The 4 Phase Man may leave readers double-checking the morning newspaper to separate fact from fiction.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Action

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Take two highly trained black ops guys who quit working for the government & go their own way. They're passionate, but highly disciplined men who seem almost identical, yet they take different paths. One becomes guilt-laden & pretty much retires from the world. The other sells his skills to the highest bidder. Put them on a collision course & watch the action unfold. A fun, exciting read.

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me well into the book to keep all the characters straight, but an interesting read.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mindless, suspenseful,implausible beach reading. Manchurian Candidate meets Bourne Identity meets Tomb Raider. Sometimes believable, other times fanciful almost, but hey's it's a story. It's about: the secret assassin(the good guy) from the CIA who has disavowed his past life of killing; who is Jewish but doesn't work for the Mossad and who by the way is an honory blood brother of the Corsican brotherhood (don't call them mafia); who now has a clinic in the south of France which treats Afghan children wounded by war; and who by accident falls into a Chinese plan to capture control of the US government; the plan is being executed by a former comrade in the dark arts who has taken the dark side. Lots of cliches and predictable confrontations and you know it's going to happen moments including the dance of death between the two rivals. I only read this because it was one of the few ebooks I could download from the library that didn't have a long wait.

[Joe Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard man seeks justice in a future world. One of two men who were selected and trained to take advantage of their genetic advantages in strategy, strength, thinking, speed finds conscience and retires from assassination jobs to wander the world and offer services to those who were forsaken and needing help. He is drawn into agency intrigue again and is pitted against his alter-ego, the second 4 Phase Man. Their mechanizations ranged the full extent of possible weapons and world geographical areas ending with a personal confrontation. The internal conflict that both major characters were affected with, added a good contrast between their individual ethical natures. It also added a worthwhile dimension to the story. An action packed story that keeps the pages turning with a surprising ending. The world that is created could be one of our futures. Treat yourself to this book!

[Lauri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent Spy/Conspiracy story. Beach read.

[Darby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book when I read it. Finally remembered the name of it after hunting online for forever!

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title comes from the definition of a 4-phase man - one trained in intelligence gathering, counter-intelligence, technological warfare, and assassination.

[Toni · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an ok story. Typical bad guy/good guy/tortured spy story. Wasn't quite as gripping as I had hoped after reading Steinberg's book 'The Gemini Man'.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of a "Bourne Identity" Ludlum story line. Super spies created by various governments duke it out. A good read, but not amazing.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Action/ Adventure. Summer Read.