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The Brotherhood of the Rose: A Novel (Mortalis #1)
They were orphans, Chris and Saul–raised in a Philadelphia school for boys, bonded by friendship, and devoted to a mysterious man called Eliot. He visited them and brought them candy. He treated them like sons. He trained them to be assassins. Now he is trying desperately to have them killed.
Spanning the globe and full of heart-stopping action, The Brotherhood of the Rose ...more
Spanning the globe and full of heart-stopping action, The Brotherhood of the Rose ...more
Paperback, 448 pages
Published
June 30th 2009
by Ballantine Books
(first published 1983)
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David Morrell, better known as the writer of the novel the first Rambo movie was based on, wrote a spy trilogy in the early 1980s that has just been released in ebook format.
The first, Brotherhood of the Rose, follows two orphans that have been raised as brothers and trained to become expert operatives for a secret branch of the CIA.
One of the things that sets this book apart from other spy novels is a great concept – on the eve of WWII all of the directors of the various intelligence ...more
The first, Brotherhood of the Rose, follows two orphans that have been raised as brothers and trained to become expert operatives for a secret branch of the CIA.
One of the things that sets this book apart from other spy novels is a great concept – on the eve of WWII all of the directors of the various intelligence ...more
This is the first espionage/thriller I've read, I've never been much into spy novels. Having seen David Morrell at this year's Sleuthfest, I bought one of his books to sign. He is a wonderful, inspiring speaker, by the way
First, this book was published in 1984, so of course, much of the "state of the art" technology used by the protaganists is primitive or no longer exists (They use payphones and they access the government computer network with a phoneline).
But...more
First, this book was published in 1984, so of course, much of the "state of the art" technology used by the protaganists is primitive or no longer exists (They use payphones and they access the government computer network with a phoneline).
But...more
Matt Crumpton
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
spy novel junkies, mystery lovers
Shelves:
spy-thriller
This is the first David Morrell novel that I have read and overall I think it was pretty good. It definitely was a page turner, with lots of action through the story. Its a very lean thriller, and quick to read. I thought the characters were good, and developed well. Also what I liked about it was that behind all the action there was a very interesting story being told underneath it all. The plot was very nice, and the action really complimented it rather than overpowering it.
Ho...more
Ho...more
Peter
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone who is really bored and likes thrillers
I picked this one up along with a bunch of others for ten cents each at the permanent booksale on the Boothbay Harbor Public Library porch.
It was okay. A bit reminiscent of all the other thriller/potboilers that inevitably litter the best-seller lists. But The Brotherhood of the Rose wasn't particularly intelligent or well-written. It wasn't painfully stupid either; just a tolerable thriller, a bit predictable, rather shallow, and not particularly memorable or well-written. A tolerab...more
It was okay. A bit reminiscent of all the other thriller/potboilers that inevitably litter the best-seller lists. But The Brotherhood of the Rose wasn't particularly intelligent or well-written. It wasn't painfully stupid either; just a tolerable thriller, a bit predictable, rather shallow, and not particularly memorable or well-written. A tolerab...more
While initially getting into the book was hard to do, I really got attached to Chris and Saul, so much so that I found myself crying several times throughout the book. The characters of the brothers were well rounded and left you wondering how one could embrace violence so naturally and the other would later shy away from his life as an assassin.
I'm not sure why so many people brought up technology in their reviews, the book was written when people still knew what the phrase "...more
I'm not sure why so many people brought up technology in their reviews, the book was written when people still knew what the phrase "...more
This book drags me along like a little girl drags a rag doll down the street. The doll ain't getting away. Sometimes the girl shakes the doll or pulls it through the mud. Maybe a dog tries to wrench it away from her, but she wins the tug of war. Likewise, this book pulls me through a rocky adventure. I'm happy to be dragged along.
If you crave adventure stories, you might also try The Golden Catch, a thriller/adventure novel where the action unfolds in the stormy Aleutian Islands. ...more
If you crave adventure stories, you might also try The Golden Catch, a thriller/adventure novel where the action unfolds in the stormy Aleutian Islands. ...more
Back in the 80's, I remember watching the movie with Robert Mitchem and enjoying this. Then, as I have read more of these spy thrillers, I learned that Morrell was a pioneer in the genre. So ... downloaded to my iPad and finished early this year. It was a really good read. You have to put your mind back into the 80's, but I was pretty plugged into the 80's geo political situation, even as a kid, so I got the tone he was going for. The story is great and Morrell shows why he was one of the origin...more
Aside from possibly Nelson DeMille, author David Morrell has no equal in the genre of thriller writers. This is the first of a loose trilogy, and reads as a stand-alone novel.
Before James Patterson popularized it, Morrell made use of rapid-pace short chapters like this book. However, sometimes Morrell will let a chapter play out to milk the moment. Another difference is that Morrell can really write. There is no cartoonish dialog, and everything is very well researched. He likes to p...more
Before James Patterson popularized it, Morrell made use of rapid-pace short chapters like this book. However, sometimes Morrell will let a chapter play out to milk the moment. Another difference is that Morrell can really write. There is no cartoonish dialog, and everything is very well researched. He likes to p...more
From the back of the book: They were orphans, Saul and Chris-raised in a Philadelphia school for boys, bonede by friendship, and devoted to a mysterious man called Eliot.He visited them and brought them candy.He treated them like sons.He trained them to be assassins.Now he is trying desperately to have them killed.
I am a big fan of David Morrell's books. This was the first one I ever read and I have devoured everything I can get my hands on by him. I hope that future readers of this book l...more
I am a big fan of David Morrell's books. This was the first one I ever read and I have devoured everything I can get my hands on by him. I hope that future readers of this book l...more
Story follows two orphans who are cared for by a foster father who trains them to become government assassins. Even worse, they are later betrayed by this man and discover he has a network of children being raised to become top notch assassins.
Lots of twists and turns and clever ways of our heroes prevailing, especially at the end when the betraying father is being tracked down.
Be sure to seek out the sub rosa definition. Morrell likes his History which I appreciate.
Lots of twists and turns and clever ways of our heroes prevailing, especially at the end when the betraying father is being tracked down.
Be sure to seek out the sub rosa definition. Morrell likes his History which I appreciate.
DO NOT PASS THIS ONE UP
An engaging book with a peculiar story illustrating about unexpected features of the inside world of rival countries spy networks managements and secret agreements, sustained by one of a kind plot
Will hold you attention as never lets go intrigues and machinations from the very first word
Though it was written about 20 years ago still retains circumstances surrounding events happening nowadays
Great entertainment for spy novels fan...more
An engaging book with a peculiar story illustrating about unexpected features of the inside world of rival countries spy networks managements and secret agreements, sustained by one of a kind plot
Will hold you attention as never lets go intrigues and machinations from the very first word
Though it was written about 20 years ago still retains circumstances surrounding events happening nowadays
Great entertainment for spy novels fan...more
This is a fairly simple story, but we (my husband and I) listened to it in the car years ago & loved it. The story follows two men as they are orphaned and funneled into the service of a power hungry highly placed American. The story has vivid twists and turns, but years later I found the book in paperback and realized how short it really was. Probably, the fact that it was multivoiced made it seem like an old radio show. Great fun.
Great action packed book! Don't let the prologue lose you. If your eyes start glazing over after a few paragraphs of the prologue, just skip to Book 1 (chapter 1). It's an easy read from there and a page turner. I actually read this book more than once. First time was in the early 90's and then I read it again about 15 years later.
Elliot gets boys out an orphanage and brings toa school in Piladelphia. The two boys bond like brothers. Elliot visited them frecuently and brought them baby ruth candy. He treated them like sons. They were trained to be assassins. He used them on frecuent assignments. When things got tough for him he tried to kill them. They felt betrayed. He managed to kill one of them but the other managed to kill Elliot.
Interesting book but confusing at moments.
Interesting book but confusing at moments.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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From the summary, this book sounded like it'd actually be rather bad, but Morrell manages to weave a suspenseful tale of betrayal and revenge.
The rose bits are a bit silly, but otherwise it's a wonderfully engaging story that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat.
The rose bits are a bit silly, but otherwise it's a wonderfully engaging story that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat.
Pretty good writing and story line. Some of it was hard to follow since technology has changed so much over the last 30 years since it was written. His tech explanations were kind of hard to follow, but I still enjoyed the story.
This is not my normal kind of book, spys, espionage etc. I think I had picked this one up years ago at a UBS after I'd seen the movie "First Blood" then read the book. I know I liked that book. I had totally expected to get bored with this one and give up on it but I was proved wrong! It was a very thrilling book that held my interest all the way through.
It's about 2 brothers who were orphans and kind of adopted by Eliot. He was like a father to the boys and trained them t...more
It's about 2 brothers who were orphans and kind of adopted by Eliot. He was like a father to the boys and trained them t...more
Took me a bit to get into it. Seemed a little slow at first. Ended up being a very riveting book. Being a fan of Spec. Ops/Spy novels this was right up my alley. Loved the time period. I am used to reading more modern (post 9/11) books and this was refreshing.
One of my favorite writers from a few years ago. David Morrell is the king of conspiraces from a few years ago. This is the poster child...two orphans raised from a very early age to be part of a group of ultra loyal assasins.
Characters were very flat to me - perhaps I am comparing this spy thriller to his other more supernatural thrillers. Anyhow - not a favorite of mine. I like Creepers and other works of his much better.
I read this back in the mid-80's when it first came out in paperback. My son just read it this past week. We have both enjoyed it. Excellent mystery with a few good twists.
Holy crap! if you want to go on a whirl wind adventure, from the first page until the end,then read this book. It is everything an espionage thriller should be and more....
Excellent spy/espionage/assassin type thriller. Lots of action and tension, right up there with Robert Ludlum, as far as I'm concerned.
William Petersen
William Petersen
One of the best books I've read in a long time. I couldn't put it down. The suspense is riveting, and the characters are so captivating and real.
This was really one of the best spy novels I've ever read. It was really emotionally charged, which you don't see in a lot of spy novels. It's hard for me to say too much without spoiling anything, but I highly recommend this book.
New author for me. Foster brothers, both CIA, being hunted by their
boss. Didn't like the characters nor the dialog. Didn't finish.
boss. Didn't like the characters nor the dialog. Didn't finish.
Amazing read. I've read it twice over a decade ago and I still remember vividly how much I enjoyed it. A true suspense/espionage classic.
This is an excellent thriller. I like Mr. Morrell's writing style and ability to keep the tension high. Amazingly, I have only read two of his books. I need to read some more of his books.
One of my desert island books. I can't get enough of the engaging characters and the premise of the book.
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David Morrell is a Canadian novelist from Kitchener, Ontario, who has been living in the United States for a number of years. He is best known for his debut 1972 novel First Blood, which would later become a successful film franchise starring Sylvester Stallone. More recently, he has been writing the Captain America comic books limited-series The Chosen.
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