From the master of high action comes a classic espionage thriller that changed the way spy novels were written, the first to combine the British tradition of authentic espionage tradecraft with the American tradition of non-stop action.He visited them in the orphanage. He brought them candy and taught them to love him as a father. He trained them to be assassins. Now he is trying desperately to … trying desperately to have them killed. Spanning the globe and decades of CIA history, THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE ROSE is a thriller of fierce loyalty and violent betrayal, of murders planned and coolly executed, of revenge bitterly, urgently desired.
“David Morrell is a master of suspense. He wields it like a stiletto—know just where to stick it and how to turn it. If you’re reading Morrell, you’re sitting on the edge of your seat.”
—Michael Connelly
“Imagine a suspense thriller as riveting as The Thirty-Nine Steps or Rogue Male, featuring heroes the equal of Adam Hall’s Quiller, and crackling with more action than The Road Warrior, Dirty Harry, and The Seven Samurai. Sounds too good to be true? Then just read David Morrell’s THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE ROSE.”—Washington Post Book World
“Fast-paced, intelligent, exciting and hard-hitting.”
—Nelson DeMille, New York Times bestselling author of The Panther
“David Morrell is, to me, the finest thriller writer living today.”
—Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The Columbus Affair
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I can’t say exactly why but I have loved this book for years. One of the few I have read multiple times
Having lost his father in WWII, many of David Morrell’s thrillers involve themes dealing with father-son relationships. In First Blood, it was the relationship between Vietnam veteran Rambo and Sheriff Teasle, a veteran of the Korean War. In Last Reveille, it was the relationship between a young recruit and an old veteran taking part in Gen. John Pershing’s Punitive Expedition against Pancho Villa in 1916.
In his Cold War espionage thriller, Brotherhood of the Rose, Morrell again returns to this familial theme with a plot revolving around a father’s betrayal of his sons. Saul and Chris are orphans who meet in a military school, and are raised by a mysterious foster father named Elliot. A high-ranking CIA official, Elliot raises the boys to be highly skilled assassins. In turn, both sons are devoted to the only father either have ever known. But when Elliot sets up Saul to take the fall for the assassination of a friend of the U.S. president, he discovers the love his sons have for each other is greater than their love for him.
Known for doing deep research for his novels, Morrell has written an excellent primer on Cold War spy craft. And while the novel is full of thrilling action, it is the relationship between Chris, Saul, and Elliot that drives the plot. When Chris joins forces with Saul, Elliot must send other assassins to kill them. When the foster brothers realize they have been nothing but tools for Elliot’s private spy game, they go to all extremes to wreak their revenge against the man they consider their father.
Brotherhood of the Rose is another fine piece by the man many consider the father of the modern thriller.
The Abelard Sanction, an agreed policy between world governments which provides a number of neutral-ground sanctuaries for any operative of the global intelligence community who needs to lie low and evade danger. Mortal enemies must abide by the rules whilst under the roof of such establishments, or face their fallout of their continued hostility.
I love this idea. It’s very much in line with John Wick’s Continental, however this book was written quite a few years prior to Reeve’s on-screen bad-assery.
However, this agreement, whilst becoming central to the plot, is only a part of this great story, and in order to keep this review light and spoiler-free, I won’t delve into the complexities of the whole thing because I’ll end up yapping away and ruining it for would-be readers.
So I’ll keep it simple…
Saul Grisman and Chris Kilmoonie (Romulus and Remus), are two Philadelphia orphans taken in by CIA brass Eliot, who enters them into an orphanage which is essentially a military academy. The two young boys begin to flourish amongst their peers, causing Eliot to pay them special attention, and training them to become highly-skilled assassins. Now in his adulthood (and the downswing of his career as a field op), Saul has just successfully completed his latest assignment, eliminating a private economic summit between the Paradigm Foundation (a small organisation of wealthy US corporate leaders), and Arabian oil magnates; but somehow, for some reason, everywhere Saul turns he finds the walls closing in on him, and no shortage of enemies attempting to kill him despite his propitious completion of the mission.
Meanwhile, Chris has forsaken the life of a CIA assassin and spent his last years in a monastery in an attempt to atone for his bloody history, but whilst passing through Bangkok, Thailand, he is involved in an incident within the hallowed walls of an Abelard-sanctioned haven which is set to trigger an international incident.
Now, in order to survive, the estranged brothers must reunite and attempt to stay one step ahead of the global intelligence network, but in doing so, they will be forced to come face-to-face with some very harsh truths about family and their past.
I really enjoyed the characters of Saul and Chris, their childhood histories were both tragic, yet endearing, and their ability to find strength in each other through the various scrapes was very engaging. And I also found Eliot to be very interesting and nuanced individual.
The story was gripping from the first page, pulling me into the fascinating world of covert operatives, shades-of-grey politics, and assassins. The prose is tight and skilful, with just enough poetic grace to paint the scenes; and the action was magnetic.
I’ll definitely be finishing this series.
Really enjoyed this book. Full of action