Seeds of Treason

by Ted Allbeury

Ted Allbeury's brilliant new novel is a spy story, and a love story, above all a story of why men and women betray their countries and themselves.
Jan Massey is a highly successful British intelligence officer, passionate in his commitment to the fight against Communism. Until he meets Anna, and the Russians find out... To Arthur Johnson,the least successful of British soldiers, his job is a degrading necessity - but he dreams of money and power. The law-abiding civil servant Eric Mayhew has found love, a love that drives him to cold-blooded betrayal when an unfair act of authority exposes his insecurity and he feels it threatens the adoration of his young bride. Jimbo Vick, the American mathematician, believes he too has found love, with a beautiful girl he can help as he has never before helped another human being. And Kuznetsov, the Russian spy, loves his country...
They are all traitors. All play their parts in an intricate dance of betrayal and subterfuge, each convinced he acts alone, and for the best of reasons. Until the day of reckoning and truth, when some will escape, and some will survive - and some will die.

Genres: Espionage, Thriller, Fiction

312 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

1917 - 2005. Also wrote under the pseudonyms Richard Butler and Patrick Kelly.

Ted Allbeury was a lieutenant-colonel in the Intelligence Corps during World War II, and later a successful executive in the fields of marketing, advertising and radio. He began his writing career in the early 1970s and became well known for his espionage novels, but also published one highly-praised general novel, THE CHOICE, and a short story collection, OTHER KINDS OF TREASON. His novels have been published in twenty-three languages, including Russian. He died on 4th December 2005.


See also: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2006/j...
and
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/t...

Reviews

[Jak60 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came to discover Ted Allbeury quite late, and as a junkie of espionage novels this is a shame. Ted Allbeury was an extremely prolific writer, he produced an incredibly high number of novels, he wrote 3-4 books a year and he had to adopt two aka's to help carry the weight of such production. In the end, Allbeury's work was buried under such over-production, in which you find in all honesty quite a few crappy books alongside with some gems.
Seeds of Treason is one of the latter, a really pleasant surprise I had the chance to dig out of his body of work.
This is a very well constructed old style cold war spy story which managed to grab my interest from the very beginning and to keep it until the end. Character development is very good and the prose flowed smoothly all along the book.
A really excellent read!

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Ted Allbeury’s best; the best I’ve read so far. Intricate plot, well structured and interesting.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm always looking for different authors of the old-fashioned espionage stuff and this was right up that alley: no gunplay, no sci-fi, no car chases. Just some interesting characters caught in interesting binds in some interesting locations.

[Nigel Pinkus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jan Massey is the head of the British SIS (Secret Intelligence Service) in Berlin. It is well before 1989 and the Wall is well and truly still up with the English, the Americans (CIA), the Russians (KGB), the Germans and even the French are all snooping around in the shadows. In this spy thriller, Massey falls in love with Anna who is married to a KGB agent and he knows that that love is forbidden. It's like forbidden fruit that can't be eaten, but things don't go to plan as it the case with many of Allbeury novels. You will find Arthur Johnson, James Vick and Eric Mayhew have all done the same thing. What will become of the four men? Do all four men find real true love in world where things are not always what they seem or is catastrophe just waiting around the corner?

A solid thriller from Allbeury, where this reader used only Kindle to read it and missed all the preamble that would usually go with a paperback. Being the first time, it made for a difficult read, but still enjoyable nonetheless. Could this reader say that this story cost him only a dollar and he got the download straight away. Wow! Technology is unbelievable and made for a bargain read, didn't it?!!

Ted Allbeury wrote a staggering 42 novels and used two other pen names ~ Richard Butler and Patrick Kelly as well. Here are about 25 or so read’s from Allbeury, all rated accordingly:

THE GOOD (Four to Five Stars): 'A Wilderness of Mirrors', 'The Only Good German' aka ‘Mission Berlin’, 'The Dangerous Edge', ‘Palomino Blonde’, ’The Crossing' aka ‘The Berlin Exchange’, 'Seeds of Treason', 'Other Kinds of Treason', 'Special Forces' aka 'Moscow Quadrille', the feel good, 'The Girl From Addis', 'Pay Any Price', ' A Time Without Shadows' aka 'Rules of the Game' and the rather exceptional, and this person's favourite, 'The Line-Crosser' (published in 1993).

THE BAD to average (Two or Three Stars): Some other novels that this person thought were either bad, average or only okay were: 'Show Me a Hero', 'Aid and Comfort', 'No Place to Hide' aka ‘Hostage’, ‘The Reckoning’, ’The Twentieth Day of January’ a.k.a. ‘Cold Tactics’, 'The Reaper' aka 'The Stalking Angel' and ‘Deep Purple’.

THE UGLY (One Star): It’s, however, probably best to stay away from: ‘Aid and Comfort’, ‘The Assets' aka “Due Process’, 'The Secret Whispers’, 'The Alpha List', ’Consequences of Fear' aka ‘Smokescreen’ and ’The Spirit of Liberty' aka ‘Beyond the Silence’. He also wrote, ’The Choice' which is not espionage and this reader thought (even though it was critically acclaimed) not a good one.

Four Stars for, 'The Seeds of Treason'.

[Michael Martz · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Seeds of Treason" is a sort of 'throwback' novel, an espionage thriller set in West/East Berlin during the Cold War. Its protagonist is a Brit spy, Jan Massey, who happens to be half Polish. He meets and falls in love with the Polish wife of a senior Soviet KGB officer, which leads eventually to his being compromised by the Russians. It's really about more than that, though. It also details the activities of a few other English characters who enter into clandestine relationships with the Russians for highly individual reasons. The story is an interesting examination of the 'why' of spying.

I just 'discovered' author Ted Allbeury (deceased in 2005) very late and truly enjoy his work. His novels, at least the ones I've read, are generally set in the Cold War era and seem to represent a transitional era in espionage, where the 'feet on the street' proponents are giving way to those who feel a more technical approach is superior. His stories, though, are character driven and he does a great job in addressing the personal and professional challenges of the spies of that era. Great stuff!

[Wampus Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a book that I chose for shaky reasons—- the author had titles reprinted in the 80’s under the Perennial Library Mystery Series that also reissued Ross Thomas books, plus a stranger here on Goodreads claimed this book was Allbeury’s best— I was rewarded with a book with more depth and sly commentary than I expected. The spycraft of Cold War Berlin between two sides continually poking and prodding is established (as is an American counterpart that seems almost from another book) which leads to explorations of love, media and politics that gives empathy where you may not expect. The end almost reminds me of the ending of The Crying Game, not the anachronistic twist in the middle, but the British officer (and another character in their similar way) who follows love wherever it may lead.

[M.K. South · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb! An excellent piece of study into several cases of treason, full of spy craft and counterintelligence. Down to earth and thought provoking. Beautiful and laconic writing. I quite enjoyed this book.

[Bent Andreassen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 minus

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great Cold War spy thriller. Lots of intrigue.

[Lysergius · Rating 3 out of 5]

A complex little dance of intertwined destinies.