Colonel Pyat Quartet Books in Order

Maxim Pyat recounts his youth amid Russia's revolution and civil war, presenting himself as an exceptional engineer and adventurer. His grand ambitions and bitter prejudices make his account unreliable as he maneuvers through a society coming apart.

After fleeing revolutionary Russia, self-proclaimed genius Maxim Pyat pursues inventions and recognition across Europe and America. His schemes, affairs, addiction, and racist convictions shape an unreliable account of survival in a world whose upheavals feed his ambitions.

Colonel Pyat recounts his travels from New York and Hollywood to Cairo and Marrakech. His inventions, addictions, and elaborate self-deceptions propel him through crises while his unreliable account exposes the prejudices and betrayals shaping his century.

Colonel Pyat embraces Fascism and enters Mussolini's circle before undertaking a secret mission to Munich. His boasts, inventions, and self-deceptions carry him into Nazi power struggles, exposing the gulf between his ambitions and the violence surrounding him.