The Profession: A Thriller

A most excellent technothriller, set in a very believable the near future, where war fighting has been outsourced to specialized corporations which employ large mercenary armies. The story ostensibly follows the adventures of Gilbert "Gent" Gentilhomme, an officer in the mercenary army of such a martial corporation, while the real interest lies with the great game played by the army's commander, Gen. Salter.The world in which we'll live twenty years from now is presented in a casual yet detailed way, avoiding clumsy exposition and letting the reader infer the evolution; it's beautifully done, and the book is better for it. The action is riveting, the plot meanders in unexpected directions, the characters are true to their essences.Does it deserve four stars, or three? Three and a half would be the correct rating, as, in my opinion, the book is almost very good, but yet something is missing, especially in the last quarter. But there are no half stars on Amazon, so I give it four. Mr. Pressfield owes me half a star.(Scale: * - unreadable, couldn't finish. ** - bad or very bad, but readable. *** - honest solid work, value for money. **** - very good in its genre. ***** - timeless masterpiece.)*** SPOILER *** SPOILER *** SPOILER ***What happens when a republic acquires an empire? Something's got to give: either the republic becomes a monarchy, or it gives up its empire. Rome chose the first option; France chose the second. What will the United States do?All right, not actually a spoiler, because any knowledgeable reader would realize this after the first hundred pages. Gilbert "Gent" Gentilhomme is a future Brutus, complete with a pseudo-father-and-son relationship with a future Julius Caesar; the book follows the events corresponding with the conquest of Gaul, the crossing of the Rubicon, and the future Caesar's accession to perpetual dictatorship. I am lusting for a sequel featuring the future ides of March, the author's take on the climax at Philippi and the rise of Octavian Augustus.

Without delving into spoilers or a full-blown synopsis, this book was as much a psychological thriller as an action piece. So many of the elements parallel the stories of Caesar and Alcibiades, and are even explicitly referenced several times, yet the sheer scope of the parallel was somehow lost on me until the entire story wrapped up.Virtually every major piece of this story has a parallel---literal or symbolic---in the stories of Caesar and the fall of the Roman Republic, and/or Alcibiades and the fall of the Athenian Democracy, from the external conflicts, the American political climate, even the widespread rise of mercenary armies (hint: Marian Reforms)Some of the negative reviews I saw (typically less than a paragraph long) either completely and utterly missed the symbolism, or just didn't care much about it. One of them seemed completely incapable to separate the author from the book's setting, somehow thinking this dystopian future is what Pressfield actually believes.Some of the more sophisticated negative reviews do have good points; the pacing is odd, and in some cases (particularly towards the end) horrendous; an event that took place less than 10 pages earlier, with no chronological exposition, is described as having happened more than a week ago.A very nice callback was also in the book, in the form of Gent recalling lessons from his previous mentor, one Vaughn Telamon of Arcadia, Mississippi. If you've read "Tides of War" you'll get it right away.Along with Pressfield's usual Warrior Ethos theme that occurs in virtually all his previous works, he introduces a new theme that could be badly simplified into "reincarnation" or some degree of "persistant self through history", as it is heavily implied that Gent is re-playing a role "he" has played countless times throughout history, complete with the prologue re-playing itself later on. This is played even greater and more bluntly with Jim Salter, who mentions his personal philosophy involving his position at "the intersection of Necessity and Free Will", which is an instant HEY I RECOGNIZE THAT for anyone who's read "Tides of War" Perhaps stretching this theme a bit, this could be seen as a "sequel" of sorts to "Tides of War".Ultimately, though, the book is simply too well crafted and narrated for its flaws to drag it down, and if Pressfield never wrote a work of fiction ever again, this would be a spectacular conclusion to his books.

This is really a book with two story lines. The first and obvious presentation examines the potential for military contractors (glorified mercenaries) working for the world's largest banks and multinationals to displace nation state militaries for everything short of all out war. Pressfield injects a good deal of military jargon and creates a false history between today and the mid-21st century when the events of the novel take place. This portion is well done, exhibiting Mr. Pressfield's clear understanding of how militaries operate, and who controls the world. In it -- he also explores the nature of men at war, absent the notion of patriotism. This portion is handled a bit heavy-handedly, and with rather too little subtlety. There is lots of dialogue about it, with troopers actually discussing the issue among one another. This 'band of brothers' ethos and mentality is not often spoken of by actual soldiers -- it is something felt, acknowledged by action, but not openly discussed, especially by seasoned soldiers. Its understood, not analyzed. This is the reason I docked Mr. Pressfield a star (he handled this topic ever so much better in Gates of Fire -- a must read!).The second theme is a warning about America's political trajectory, drawing the obvious parallels to Rome in the final years of the Republic. The narrative is essentially a recreation of Caesar's crossing the Rubicon and assuming control of Rome, effectively ending the Republic and ushering in the rule of the dictator and eventually the Empire. Again, a bit direct, Pressfield actually connects the dots for us by having the characters argue over the actual analogy to Rome, so not much is left to the reader's imagination -- but very effective and artfully constructed. Unfortunately, this is not likely to be the kind of book that wakes up the nation, but it is well done and spot on.

This stand-alone novel by the author Steven Pressfield is in my opinion a fantastic futurity story.Story-telling is of a superb quality from the author, and all the characters come splendidly to life within this tale of war, politics, greed and loyalty.Also is this story very well written and is the storyline perfectly worked out, and thus making this book such a treat to read.The story is set in the year 2032, and this futurity tale will show us how the world may look like, and how people and/or countries alike will behave and act between themselves, when important assets, sources and governments are under threat from a powerful leader of men.The book is divided into seven parts, and the first sets off in August 2032 with the Third Iran-Iraq War fully raging, and in where our main character and narrator, Gilbert "Gent" Gentilhomme, and his men are in the thick of the action, while being supervised and directed under the overall General Command of former US Marine General James Salter, and his merc Force Insertion.What will follow in the rest of the book is a tour-de-force for Gent to serve and obey his mentor and leader General Salter, but ultimately Gent will have to make to most difficult decision of his life if he wants to preserve the world from chaos, and at the same time to try to save his honour, integrity and his identity.Really recommended, for this is a tremendous story which is written in a great style and brought to us with verve, and that's why I call this book: "An Absorbing Futurity Political War Story"!

I'll start by saying I have read two books by Steven Pressfield prior to this one and loved both. Gates Of Fire remains one of my favourite books and regularly encourage others to do the same, and also found Killing Rommel to be a gripping, if rather short, read. I therefore approached The Profession firm in the knowledge that Pressfield would again tell another geat tale of honour, brotherhood and military mayhem that makes the likes of Tom Clancy look like he is playing at it. Let's just say that Pressfield does not disappoint in this futureshock tale of a yet-to-be American Caesar in a world where the dominant forces are no longer national governments but where power rests in the hands of media and oil barons. Everything is here from full-blooded battles, scheming powermongers, deceit, murder and love in a blockbuster that has shades of George Orwell and Joseph Conrad. The military research is very impressive and the sheer scale and chutzpah of the novel will leave you in a spin. I ploughed through this book in less than 48 hours.So why only 4 stars? Well, the main prlem for me was the military research is just a bit too much. I'm all for a detailed explanation of military tactics and descriptions of action sequences, but Pressfield has once again litters his work (just as he did in Kilig Rommel) with entire paragraphs that amount to little more than lists of military hardware. More than that, his descriptions are peppered with acronyms and serial numbers that mean nothing to a non-military person like me. In short, whole paragraphs are pretty tedious. While not doubting Pressfield has spent a lot of time and energy getting the military details just right, some of his other reserch is simply woeful. For example, he mentions the wedding of "Elizabeth and Prince Philip" and dates it to 1956. Now unless I'm very much mistaken he is of course referring to the wedding of Elizabeth II and her consort, Philip... in 1947. Thirty seconds on the internet would have given him the date, just as it did for me. Okay, so it's a minor thing and makes no odds to the story, but it did make me doubt other things he said.Aside from that, the main character has some love interest that simply lacks all plausibility as she is a 2D stereotype of an ambitious journalist and quite frankly I can't understand what he sees in her as she's vile. All the sections in which she features seem horribly contrived.The Profession is a good read and raises a few philosophical questions about how far we should let white knights run our lives and how far can we forgive someone we love and respect. Anyone familiar with the tale of Julius Caesar and his complicated relationship with Brutus will know what I mean but I shall say no more for fear of giving away the key aspects of the book. While a good book, the downside is it is not a great book and I have a dread feeling that tells me it will be made into a crash-bang-wallop Hollywood blockbuster that will have rednecks punching the air in joy and make a dimwit movie producer a lot of money while totalling missing the point.

First posted on Amazon.com on 9/06/2012Another reviewer on Amazon.com has already spotted the several dimensions that this book explores: techno-thriller, military science fiction, a cautionary tale of the future, and, in particular, of America's future more than anything else, but also the personal story of a "lost" soldier who becomes a 21th century mercenary and is torn between what is left of his ideals and his deep sense of loyalty towards his brothers in arms and his commander officer.The last theme is one that Pressfield has already got us rather used to. You find it in particular in his "Tides of War" and his "The Afghan Campaign". There are even a couple of hints to these pieces of historical fiction in this one, for instance the passing reference to a sergeant named Telamon, from Akadia in the USA - the very same place and name as that of a mercenary solddier that pops up here and there in Pressfiled's novels taking place in Antiquity.Another familiar element is Pressfield's ability to make the story gripping and ripping, so that, at least at times, it seems almost "real" for the reader, especially for the action and combat scenes. Although, to be honest, I am no soldier, so I could probably not tell to what extent the story is plausible anyway, the way the operations are presented correspond to what I would imagine them to be like.What is more original for Pressfield, is the story which takes place in 2032, with numerous "flash-backs" of events that have taken place since 2016. The period has seen the rise of Private Military Companies (PMCs) - mercenaries in other words - to the extent that these - and one of them in particular - have become a major force capable of fielding tens of thousands of soldiers. Their major field of operations is the Middle East and they are employed by a range of States and multinational corporations, especially oil companies and large international banks. America seems to have largely pulled back its forces from the Middle East and concentrates on "Homeland Security" after another dreadful terrorist attack on its soil and a highly publicised scandal that has taken place in Africa and has tarnished the reputation of its armed forces and of the US Marine Corp in particular.Contrary to another reviewer on Amazon.com, I found this geopolitical piece interesting, even if not always entirely convincing or credible. The story is made up of bits pieced together and taken from various conflicts that have taken place since the 1990s, especially in Africa and the Middle East. The story taking place in Zamibia, and its multiple atrocities, for instance, seems to be a cross between the wars and massacres in Liberia and Sierra Leone, with the "long sleeve" and "short sleeve" amputations, in particular, and those that took place in Rwanda and in Congo (ex-Zaïre, were, despite UN forces, some atrocities still tale place). However, US forces were not deployed in any of these conflicts. Also, existing PMCs are not almost exclusively made up of ex-US soldiers, along with a sprinkling of Brits, Australians and South Africans. Nowadays, they happen to include ex-soldiers coming from a much wider range of countries, including European countries. I won't comment on the weaponry used: another reviewer has done so already. However, that a single PMC would be able, or even allowed, to take over half a dozen others and become a near monopoly seems, for the moment at least, rather unlikely for at least a couple of reasons. Some PMCs are multinational, but many are not and may even be VERY national indeed. More importantly perhaps, governments from so-called rich countries (say the G8 including Russia, to keep it short) have close contacts with, and keep an eye on "their" respective SMCs composed on "their" nationals. This is where the "outsourcing" comes in. Some governments are ready to outsource some functions to the private sector, such as the protection of pipelines or of corporate executives and staff. Others, at least officially, have banned by law such companies altogether. All might use them for deniable operations that have more to do with secret services than waging an open war. In 20 years time, we might have reached a situation familiar to that described by Pressfield. For the moment, we are rather far from this.Another limit to this book is the theme of America's decline and increasing vulnerability. These are very topical, of course. In the book, however, they may be somewhat overblown and not entirely realistic, although this is not necessarily a problem since the book is fiction. First, I have been hearing sporadically about the decline of the United States for a very long time. I learned in school that there was a decline after the Viêtnam war. I heard about it again during the 80s (Japan was the menace at the time) and at the end of the 80s, with the Savings and Loans debacle. Then, as the USRR collapsed, I didn't hear about it at all (quite the contrary in fact) for the next 10 years. Since 2000, the next menace is supposed to be China, which is growing about 4 to 5 times faster than America. While true, and while the US has not yet fully recovered (far from it), it is worthwhile remembering that China's GDP is still less than half that of the US and that its population, which is foiur times larger, is ageing very rapidly. Even assuming that China's GDP overtakes that of America in ten years time (a rather big assumption), GDP per head in America will still be four times that of China. So, is this decline? Perhaps, but only in relative terms. It is also a slow one and it may not be as irresistible as it seems.Finally, there is the US dependance on oil. Oddly enough, Pressfield has not been innovative here. He has not taken into account the latest breakthrough in technology, nor the ones still to come over the next 20 years. He comes up with fuel worth 8 and then 14 dollars a gallon because of events taking place in the Middle East. Interestingly, given the potential for exploiting existing fields both on land and of the US coasts (and without even mentioning whatever oil could be discovered in the next 20 years), America is becoming increasingly self-sufficient with regards oil and gas. THis is a situation that America has not known for about half a century. So the oil shock described in the book has a distinct 1970s or 1980s flavour to it, instead of being science fiction.So, I very much liked this book. It is a superb read. It makes a lot of good points, although I do not know, for instance, whether the ridiculously low number of Ivy League graduates or Congessmen's children that have enlisted in the armed forces is true or not. Because I enjoyed it so much, I believe it is worth four stars, but I do not think that the very pessimistic (and sometimes a bit populist) picture that it draws of America in 20 years time is realistic. At least - and this is another of the book's merits - I hope it is not. Anyway, it is up to this country's citizens to make sure that this picture does not come true and this is - of course - the whole purpose of Pressfield's cautionary tale.

He hasn't written a bad book yet.

Worthwhile adventure novel. Takes some imagination to envisage a future world where corporations dethrone the ideals of democracy and a new world order lead by a few wealthy individuals...