Duty and Betrayal

- Book Viral Review: Duty & Betrayal - The SS Brotherhood & the NASA Connection certainly proves an absorbing and smart read. More, it reminds us that when done right, the moral and political quandaries of an espionage thriller can make for intensely dramatic and entertaining escapism. With accelerating plot twists that are more than just surprises delivered by rote, Oliver creates both suspense and an emotional impact with plenty of appealingly classic qualities that speak to his novel's theme. Rich in both resonance and elegiac melancholy he gives us marvelously nuanced characters without the frills and in doing so makes them feel organic and believable, never contrived. Three that particularly stand out are Spencer Hall, Garvan and Joyce Leader who find themselves faced with the deep and painful ironies that created a special chemistry between them. Dark ironies that teeter on the deadly but come to startlingly satisfying and warmly human conclusion whilst others like Stein, Schneider and Frenzel allow for an intriguing look at MI5's Double Cross System and the suspicion-fuelled days of the cold war era. All brought vividly to life by Oliver with inventive narrative flair.

- Self Publishing Review: Duty and Betrayal: The SS Brotherhood and the NASA Connection by Toby Oliver is a riveting Cold War-era spy thriller in which former Nazi spies, American and British spies, a sultry double agent, and other intriguing characters are bent on righting the wrongs of the past, while trying to protect their countries in the present, many with conflicting objectives. A novel of well-drawn characters, Duty and Betrayal will have you continually trying to guess at people's motivations.

The cover and subtitle of the novel are a bit misleading, as they give the appearance of a non-fiction work, when this is a spy thriller through and through. At the same time, it is written with a thorough knowledge of the time period and the inner workings of intelligence agencies, so it reads like a non-fictional account with the spirit of a thriller. To be sure, this is a complex story with a large cast of characters, which takes a fair bit of investment, but Oliver skillfully weaves it all together at a quick pace.

Non-fiction from this era often-times reads like spy fiction - for example, The Zimmerman Telegram by Barbara Tuchman. Oliver reaches those sorts of heights with this novel, but he playfully adds enough double crosses to satisfy any thriller reader, while still retaining an authentic depiction of the time.

- Duty and Betrayal is a fictional thriller that captured some of the events that occurred during the aftermath of WW11 and the ensuing cold war. The threat from Third Reich may have been quashed by the allies but the cold war between the West and USSR was no less a threat to global peace.

The plot revolves around Sir Spencer Hall, during the cold war era when secret agents and intelligence gathering through spies was at its peak, as the CIA, Mossad, KGB and M15 among others were conducting desperate espionages aimed at outmaneuvering one another. Spencer had to coordinate the British end of the espionage—a risky and intriguing task that will ultimately push him to the very limits of endurance.

Other characters in the book include Jack Stein, Zimmerman, Jed Carter, Joyce Leader, Josef Frenzel, Helmut Schneider, Calero etc.

Duty and Betrayal may be a work of fiction with imaginary characters, but it was able to capture all the thrills, suspense and actions that characterized that period in a very captivating way. The book will certainly give young people an insight into what went down during that interesting period of global history, while also offering older folks the opportunity to reminisce with nostalgia.