The Veteran: Five-Heart Stopping Stories | Frederick Forsyth

The Veteran: Five-Heart Stopping Stories | Frederick Forsyth | An excellent read on a trip

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The Veteran: Five-...

	The Veteran: Five-Heart Stopping Stories Frederick Forsyth Thomas Dunne Books, 1901 - 367 pages average customer review:based on 41 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Forsyth, The Master Storyteller, Presents Five Brilliantly Ingenious Tales of Murder, Justice, Intrigue and RevengeA miracle in war-torn Siena that begins with the persecution of a young nun in the turbulent days of the sixteenth century and culminates in the bitter German retreat from Italy; a drug-smuggling heist on an international flight where the knock are only one step ahead of the smugglers; a ruthless urban murder, where a brilliant QC decides to defend the killers, resulting in a startling act of justice; an incandescent art scam at a famous London auction house, and a brilliantly plotted revenge that shatters the elegant world of Old Masters - each story is a remarkable tour de force.And above all here is a brilliant novella, 'Whispering Wind', which begins with the single survivor of Custer's Last Stand at the battle of Little Big Horn. It follows the defense from rape and murder of a Cheyenne girl and a flight across the mountains and forests of the West, ending in a savage present-day manhunt in the wild lands of Montana.Whether his theme is international espionage, miraculous events in war-torn Italy or a Customs drug bust, these stories all share Forsyth's trademark for compulsive storytelling, his clinical eye for authentic detail and an unnerving sense of suspense.Not since his New York Times bestselling story collection No Comebacks has he crafted such remarkable work.Five breathtaking tales from the greatest storyteller of them all.

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Great Story

Please read this book. I believe that you will go out and buy all Forsyth has written when you read this book.

An excellent read on a trip

A series of short stories, each is well written, exciting and with a twist. Since none is too long they can be read in a short time while travelling.

5 Short Stories

Forsyth is a master story teller and can spin a yarn cleverly which keeps you coming back for more. All five of these short stories are clever with the outcomes not necessarily predictable. In Whispering Wind Forsyth's knowledge of the Cheyenne and Souix tribes, and The Battle of the Little Big Horn impressive. His introduction of the "Everywhere Spirit" makes him a bit of a Mystic...br

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The Veteran

The Veteran by Frederick Forsyth is by far my favorite author and I may be therefore biased. However, this is a collection of short stories which are captivating as well as extraordinary. The reader will be pleasantly pleased with each delivers. I highly recommend this book as well as all his books. T.Ware

Pot Luck Forsyth

Usually authors' careers follow predictable patterns of good patches and bad. One decade might bring greatness, another competence, another bare professionalism.

Frederick Forsyth seems to encompass his entire bell curve in a single book. As an avid Forsyth fan, I declare that "The Veteran" contains the best piece of fiction I've read from Forsyth since "Day Of The Jackal," and also the motliest.

To start with the best, "Heart Of The Matter" is even more of a gem for its sharp characterization and ample good humor, both not qualities I associate with Forsyth the cold chessmaster. Trumpington Gore is a down-on-his-luck actor who finds himself trumped out of a prize painting by a sleazy auctioneer. Lucky for him he's not the only victim, and a common-cause revenge plan is struck.

Add some cyber-sleuthing, in-depth detail about the rare-art auction world, and a forger whose taste for the Old Masters is matched only by a thirst for Bordeaux, and you have a light-but-thrilling caper comedy worthy of the Blake Edwards spider-in-gossamer treatment.

Nothing else is nearly as good as "Heart", a hard act for any author to follow. But "Whispering Wind", the novella in this collection, is just as different for Forsyth, and almost as bad as "Heart Of The Matter" is good. A sordid, revisionist take on Little Bighorn is unpleasant enough, but then the wooden hero goes on a time trip and seeks out his lost Cheyenne love on a tour bus. Forsyth doesn't have a clue what he wants to do from page to page, and it shows in a story that limps along from one coincidence to another. And it goes on and on and on...

Between those two poles, you get three stories featuring last-minute Forsyth twists, the best being "The Miracle". It has the sharpest ending after "Art" and presents Forsyth as an artist at his hard and soft best, telling a tale about violence and hope during the battle for Siena in World War II. Something else, too: Is the twist ending here an acknowledgment by Forsyth of the games people play when they ply his trade? Perhaps I'm reading too much into it.

"The Veteran" is a solid police procedural about the attempted prosecution of two yobbos guilty of a vicious beating. Not as clever as it portends, but Forsyth sets a compelling, gritty mood; making you feel some of the helplessness loved ones of crime victims must go through regularly.

"The Citizen" is the other bad one in this bunch. Not as bad as "Whispering Wind" because its not as long, but so confusing as Forsyth plays way too many games with the reader, giving you nothing to hold onto, even false narration, a dirty trick. I was disappointed.

But any book that has "Art Of The Matter" is worth recommending to Forsyth fans, and others too will enjoy it thoroughly. It's about as good a time as 70 pages can provide, and a perfect remedy for the summertime blues.

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