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: Extreme Measures, a Mitch Rapp novel (terrorism)

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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

KCR: Act of Treason (Mitch Rapp series) (terrorism, hero)

Vince Flynn's uber-operator Mitch Rapp is basically the ultimate weapon against bad guys... He speaks fluent Arabic and several other languages, survives almost any situation, and hates double-crossers. In this book, Mitch Rapp is out to investigate a presidential candidate whose motorcade was attacked by a terrorist bomb. Everybody thought it was Al Qaeda. However, something does not fit. Could the bomb be an inside job solely to manipulate public opinion? Is it treason? Mitch Rapp investigates, and will get to the truth...

The problem with this book is it's not quite as exciting. Unraveling conspiracies is not as exciting as saving people's lives, finding weapons of mass destruction, and so on. There is just no feel of "sense of doom", or a "ticking bomb" if you will. Still, this is one of the better escapist novels about terrorism without falling into "campy" feel like "Ghost" (reviewed earlier)