The Tristan Betrayal
by Robert Ludlum

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Book Reviews of The Tristan Betrayal

Book Review: Good Value for Money
Summary: 4 Stars

This 'Tristan Betrayal' is a historical 'what if' about a daring young American spy (Metcalfe) who is sent into Moscow during World War II to ensure the existence of the free world as we know if. The Germans have just signed a non-aggression pact with the Russians and the Americans are seriously worried that the two dictators are planning to divide the world between unless someone puts a stop to it.

Corcoran, the skilled (and devious) American spymaster, is therefore sending Metcalfe to Moscow, where he is tasked with enlisting his old girlfriend Lana (a beautiful ballerina) in a daring plan that will, if it succeeds, potentially change the outcome of the war. On his mission, which takes him from Paris via Moscow to Berlin, Metcalfe is the target of not only the Russian NKVD, but also a psychopathic violin playing assassin from the German SD.

The book is fast-paced and packed with action, love and betrayal from page one. Some of the events are, as is often the case with Ludlum, farfetched but certainly adds to the entertainment value of the book.

The level of attention to detail is generally high and shows that this is the work of a skilled ghostwriter. However, with the risk of being called pedantic, I would like to point out that the book does contain a number of historical inaccuracies that should have been corrected prior to publication. In the book, which takes place in 1940, both Zhukov and Paulus are referred to as 'Marshals'. In fact both were generals in 1940 and only promoted to (Field) Marshals in 1943 (Zhukov on January 18th, 1943 and Paulus on January 30th, 1943).

Overall I believe the book is well above average and I would therefore recommend it to anyone interested in buying a good book for Christmas.

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