I read this book when it was published in 1989, and was so moved by it I am compelled to write a review 8 years later. An outstanding story about duty and honor that will be a real treat to anyone who was part of the war or is interested in military fiction. Navy Lt. Stuart, on assignment with the Army as a land-based "spotter" for Naval gunfire, is a rich character through whose eyes one sees the drama, intrigue, and emotional anguish experienced by those who served with honor and dinstinction in this unpopular conflict. This is remarkable and serious book -- not simply an "action" novel -- a book that will fill the reader with many of the same emotions as experienced by Lt. Stewert. Although the novel apparently was not commercially successful, Mr. Leib has done a great service to those who served by writing this book. I have not been as moved by anything I have read in the past decade, and regard my mint condition, hard-cover copy as a prize possession.

This is the finest novel about the Vietnam War I have read. I wonder why Mr Leib stopped writing. I found this book in a box of give away paperbacks in a funky little store on the Sacramento River Delta. I have been hooked ever since. With some books I look back in laborious effort to keep track of characters and actions. With this book, I eagerly review sections for character connections and to review the "lay of the land".

Mr. Leib provides us a compelling view of Vietnam, how the conflict ebbs and flows and the believable and extremely insightful story of the lives of the men. He gave me a perspective I never had even though I lived through this time in our history. This should have been a NY Times bestseller.

One of the best war books ever written. The insight to the characters makes you feel like you were there. Having read quite a few Vietnam war books, this one rates as the most memorable. I highly recommend this book!

This is my second book by Mr. Leib. I find him to be a great author and holds not only the war,but America in context of the 60's. There is no doubt to any of us that lived through that era that the war, the country, and our people were surely at risk. America as we knew it had to change and luckily it did. Let us hope that history will not repeat that era. I will read all his books as his insight is great.

When read with it predecessor, Liebs "The Fire Dream", this book provides the best of worst of the Vietnam War in a moving account of the life of a soldier as seen through the eyes of a man who wants to live and let live yet is forced to kill. I have never read a more realistic account of what it was like to be there and am doubtful that I ever will.

This is a very good story and I spent about full time reading it until I was done. Cobra is the main character, a long distance shooter/assasin, but a good interesting fellow. I enjoyed the tie in to JFK and the life of Cobra (I would have loved more details, at least another 100+ pages more). Tolliver is the other main character and a man of problem that makes it to the White House. The only thing I did not care for was the book's layout, it started in 1963 for a few chapters than jumped to 1999 and while going to 2000+ it interspersed chapters filling in some of the years between. I like more sequential stories, but it still was very good and I highly recommend it.

By 1963, the Rhodesian Cobra is an established assassin with Lumumba among his victims. His current assignment in Havana is to kill Castro, but he purposely misses shooting a cigar instead. When the Cubans catch him, Cobra explains that he intentionally missed. He proves his boast by reconstructing the shot using a "volunteer" from Texas, Rupert Justice Tolliver as the target. Cobra successfully demonstrates his abilities. The Cubans send him to meet J. Edgar Hoover's South Florida contact Fernandez who provides Cobra with his next job. In late November in Dallas, Cobra carries out his assignment. To escape the country, he joins the Marines.

Over the next three plus decades, Rupert becomes a TV evangelist and governor of Texas. Cobra buys a large farm in his homeland that he finances with an occasional hit. By 2001 Rupert is the president while Cobra continues to work his farm. Rupert believes that he is the world's savior and begins a religious war as described in Revelations. The international financial community panics and hires Cobra to kill Rupert. However, Cobra is unaware that the real brain behind the presidency is the First Lady and she has no compunctions to walk both sides of the conflict to gain what she wants.

BEHOLD A PALE HORSE is an exciting political thriller that keeps reader attention from start to finish. The story line never rests as the 1963 scenario ties back into the 2001 potential apocalypse. Though the characters are not going to gain any empathy, the audience will admire Cobra's chutzpah and gasp at Rupert's obsession with Revelations. Franklin Allen Leib had forged a triumphant tale that will send his fans searching for his previous novels.

Harriet Klausner

This is an exciting book. You have a hired killer who took part in the original Kennedy assasination. The other character is a Texas Governor named Justice Tolliver who moves to the Presidency. The hired killer named Cobra has an interesting biography and an impressive list of hits. The President and his first lady are as wild as they come. They have shady land deals, the President was also a draft dodger. This book has every kind of scenario that you could ask for. The plot is outstanding as well. This will be one of the better books that you will read this year. You will be wondering if Cobra is sucessful in his newest assignment. You this book. It is a thriller.

This is a book with an a-g-e-n-d-a. The author is passionately loyal to the Marines and Vietnam veterans. This a flaw and a virtue. A flaw because he sanctifies, hence simplifies, the Marines as an organization and Vietnam vets as individuals. A virtue because it binds his story and strengthens his portrayal of the repressed and anguished John Dietrich. I had a hard time suspending disbelief.

I awarded the 3rd star because the first quarter of the book moved very well, set the scene quickly and entertainly, and had good momentum. The other 3/4 slowed down, and I found myself skipping areas that consisted solely of impassioned speeches. I just couldn't credit a recovery group that contained all loyal, subservient and committed members. Surely, there must have been a bad apple or two. I have known many former and present Marines. I have never met one who was not proud of his service, but I also have never met one who was completely obsessed with his "Marineness." Oddly enough, the tormented John Dietrich did come off as a "real" person. I felt pity and admiration in equal parts for this man.

What I loved about this book was how it combined suspense with some really tough moral issues. In it, a Vietnam vet kills while fighting a crippling flashback, and all because he was made to believe that a girl's life was in danger. Is he guilty--or is the system that put him there to blame? This kept me up half the night and made me think, which is why I gave it 5 stars. Leib's writing draws you in immediately and keeps you hooked for the long haul. He is definately and author to watch.

ANY VIETNAM VET WILL FEEL THIS. IT IS ALL OF US, WHETHER WE CAN FACE IT OR NOT. WE FELL INTO HELL, AS DID JOHNNY IN THIS EXELLENT BOOK. HE FOUGHT HIS WAY OUT, THROUGH LOVE BY HIS FELLOW MARINES AND A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN, WHO STAYED CLOSE, AND SAVED HIM. HIGHLY RECOMMEDED, ROBERTS.

The book is interesting reading. The plot is believable and fast paced. It could have had more development of the people involved and also did not have to have a romantic interest, but all thrillers seem have the plot element.