KCR: Memorial Day (novel, terrorism)

Image via WikipediaMemorial Day is another Mitch Rapp novel by Vince Flynn, and its premise is chilling enough to make you wish that Mitch Rapp is real. With enough twists and turns, Memorial Day is a tout thriller if a bit formulaic.

Premise: Mitch Rapp is hunting Al-Qaeda with US troops in Afghanistan, and their raid turned up something very serious... evidence that a nuke is being smuggled into the US by bad guys. With a bit of help from Rapp, a team successfully intercepted the nuke, and everyone relaxed... Except Rapp, as he knew that the bad guy must have a backup plan, and indeed, they do. A second nuke is being smuggled through Mexican border. When a truck driver was found dead due to radiation poisoning, Rapp is relentless in chasing down the leads. The obvious target is the Memorial Day Parade...

Vince Flynn have a knack in portraying the power plays in Washington as politicians maneuver without regard to their consequences, and how real "heroes" such as Rapp are there to save the politicians when they screw up. This book is no exception. The hunt is intense and even though it is somewhat formulaic it is still a great read.

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KCR: Transfer of Power, a Mitch Rapp novel (terrorism)

Cover of Transfer of PowerTransfer of Power introduced Mitch Rapp to the world... The uber-operator, that is NOT a soldier, but is what best described as an assassin... to kill bad guys. In this book, there is the ultimate high concept... Terrorist attack on the White House itself. The book could easily been turned into a movie, it is that good.

Premise: CIA operative Mitch Rapp is undercover in Iran... to snatch local head of Hezbollah. The operation went without a hitch, and soon interrogation yielded a bombshell... Top terrorist Rafique Aziz is in the US planning an operation against Washington D.C.. However, they don't know the threat vector. That was soon realized when a coordinated assault (enemies snuck past security in linen truck, plus sniper on a rooftop, AND Aziz, with plastic surgery, pretended to be an Arab prince and somehow bypassed security background check) hit the White House. Only through dedicated secret service agents who put their lives on the line did the President escape to his bunker, but was out of communication, but over a dozen secret service agents lost their lives and 100 hostages were taken, various staffers and such. The terrorists quickly rigged the West Wing with explosives, and proceed to issue various demands. What is the terrorist up to? While the politicians fight for power and spin control, and military and law enforcement bicker over who's in charge, CIA pulled out their ultimate weapon: Mitch Rapp, who is ordered to infiltrate the White House, and if possible, rescue the hostages AND save the president...

Vince Flynn have a flair of writing about political intrigue that sounds so cold-blooded it'll make you squirm and wonder how can people just "burn" others like that in order to give themselves a tiny advantage. In this book, the Vice President is a pushover who keep waffling over what to do, and his chief of staff keep giving him spin control advice that somehow makes himself (and his principal) look better, instead of the right thing. The actual 'fighting' is short, and yes, many people get killed, esp. bad guys, but plenty of good guys as well.

The villains are pretty much cardboard cutouts, albeit smart ones. The politicians are portrayed with a bit more character. There are a few too many characters though.

Still, the high concept makes this book irresistable read. I've been tracking to track down this book for a while, having discovered Mitch Rapp series rather late (Memorial Day was actually my first.) and this book, IMHO, was worth it.

Rating: read it (at least once)

NOTE: this is the new cover. There's an older edition that has a blue cover.

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KCR: Collateral Damage (movie)

Collateral Damage is almost a "last hurrah" for Arnold, as he is no longer acting an action hero, and the movie is basically formula Arnold, with a couple twists and turns that borders on the absurd. However, he's also more... "human", and less action hero. It's not that bad.

Premise: Fireman Gordon Brewer watched his wife and son die in a bombing of downtown LA Pavilion. Despite several warnings from FBI and CIA, Brewer managed to get infiltrate the perp's Colombian hideout, and have to work his way to stop the next bombing, in Washington D.C.

This revenge fantasy basically have Arnold, supposedly just a firefighter, was simply TOYED with by the bad guy, as if the bad guy is amused that some moron dare come after him. It simply makes little sense. In other words, this movie has Arnold running AWAY from fights instead of toward it. It is the most un-Arnold of all Arnold movies. Some even remarked that Arnold looks rather lousy, but then he's not playing an action hero here, is he?

Not quite good enough to buy, maybe watch once.

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KCR: The Kingdom (movie)

Cover via AmazonThe Kingdom is a fun action flick that depicts a fictional scenario where FBI was called to help catch terrorists in Saudi Arabia where they fight prejudice, suspicion, and more.

Premise: terrorists infiltrate a "foreign compound" as security guards, then with guns and suicide belts, inflict huge amounts of casualties... and it was filmed. When rescuers arrive to clean up, a bomb hidden in one of the ambulances caused even more casualties. Saudi King called in the FBI, but local security forces don't like the idea. The FBI agents have to work against prejudice (some are female), suspicion, while trying to ferret out the bad guys. The end gun battle was impressive as they fight through apartment complex one room at a time.

One of my top terrorist-topic films. (I also like "The Traitor" and "Green Zone")

Rating: Watch it!

KCR: Dead Shot (sniper, war, novel)

Dead Shot is a very good "shooter" novel, with a great premise, and a great showdown at the end. My only problem is it is too much of a spy thriller, with the bad guy moving almost at will, little if any tension until when the "hero" gets on his tail.

Premise: Juba sniper, a true Al Qaeda assassin, managed to assassinate an informant in the middle of allied Green Zone in Iraq, in order to silence him from revealing Saddam's WMD cache location. The now-declared-dead Kyle Swanson, part of Task Force Trident, is asked to hunt down this guy, since clearly someone knows enough to access that WMD, and someone will be accessing it. Soon, a horrific attack in London (that made the bus bombings look like a picnic) proved him right, and Swanson tracked Juba down to a rural village in Iraq, where sniper meets sniper in an ultimate showdown, shot to shot...

The problem with this novel is the bad guys are just too good at their job. SWAT team at the door? Booby trap. More SWAT? Blow up the whole block. There was no "close calls". There is no tension... the bad guys always get away. EVERYTHING falls within their plan, EXCEPT the hero. This is often a problem when the plotting is a bit too clever. Why would the good guys be the only ones making mistakes? Still, the duel is neat, though not that satisfying, as there are two more novels after this in the series.

Rating: worth reading at least once

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KCR: True Lies

True Lies is an action movie with several elements of comedy. It is as hilarious today as it was back in 1994. There are so many impossibilities that makes you go "did that really happen?"  but that's Hollywood for you.

Premise: Harry Tasker is a spy who chases down terrorists and do other spy things with help of his team. He kept his professional life separate from his home life, but he is having trouble at home. He thinks his wife may be having an affair with a smarmy car salesman, and his daughter is apparently a pickpocket and of relatively low morals. Unfortunately, he really has no time to take care of stuff at home when some terrorists may be smuggling in nukes into Florida...  Then everybody in the family got involved, and things got VERY complicated indeed...

The idea of secrets and multiple identities are used for comic relief very effectively in this movie. The scene where Tasker got the truth serum is hilarious.

The movie could be improved on several levels, but it is great fun. And admit it, you don't watch Arnold films to get educated or have deep thoughts...

KCR: Extreme Measures, a Mitch Rapp novel (terrorism)

Image via Wikipedia

Central Intelligence Agency Logo

Extreme Measures is another in a series of thrillers from Vince Flynn featuring his "Mitch Rapp", counter-terrorist in extremis. Unfortunately, this one is not one of his best works, as the plot is just a bit too contrived and some bits are way out of place.

The Setup: Two top Taliban officers were picked up by accident, but before they can be interrogated a few senators found out and ordered they must be treated with velvet gloves. Mitch Rapp jumped in, impersonating an Air Force colonel, and interrogated the prisoners any way, and that lead to his own arrest, and wrath of one of the Senators, who decided to go after Rapp and CIA as rule breakers. Rapp got out thanks to his boss, head of CIA Irene Kennedy, but is forced to go to congressional hearings. In the meanwhile, group of terrorists, hiding in South America and smuggled through Florida, is entering the US, with full SWAT gear and explosives. Their target: Washington D.C., and the Counterterrorism Center itself...

The plot itself just doesn't have that "ticking bomb" feel that other books in the series have. There is little action until the very end, and then it was over in a flash, maybe 5 pages at most. Clearly it's a setup for the next book, but it's still not a satisfactory ending.

Rating: read if you're a fan, skip otherwise