Rating: 
Summary: Certainly a page-turner,...
Review: I wanted to give this book 3.5 stars, but since I can only give 3 or 4, I chose 4.This is my 2nd Ludlum book. The 1st being "The Hades Factor". Comparing the two, I must say that "The Hades Factor" comes out on top simply because the hero's experiences are more believable than in "The Chancellor Manuscript". Still, the storyline in "The Chancellor Manuscript" is imaginative, plausible and enjoyable. It kept me glued to it till early hours of the morning. The main (and probably the only) downside is the way Peter Chancellor is always being presented with riddles instead of the facts even in situation where it only makes sense to present the facts to him directly. Other than that it was a good read.
Rating: 
Summary: This is the standard by which thrillers can be judged
Review: I've read most of the prominent thrillers over the past 2 decade but keep coming back to this one as the gold standard. I have not encountered any other that is as well plotted and believable (although somewhat dated). A definite page-turner which I have read several times, even though by now I know all to well how it ends. I wish I could read it again fresh.
Rating: 
Summary: Political Correctness Amid a Jumble of Conspiracy
Review: If you are going to write an "in" book - one that deals with issues in vogue at the moment - you must at least try to make it timeless. Ludlum is at his best when he ignores current likes and dislikes and worst when he uses already overworked themes. This book reminds one of the new television season in which you know that if a show about runaways was popular last year, there will be 10 others like it this year. Hoover is an easy guy to hate with all his quirks and secrets and prejudices. He served for too long, accumulated too much power and used his position to bribe or blackmail as baldly as Kennedy, LBJ or Nixon. Still, he turned the FBI into the force it is today - a respected, professional group admired around the world. But back to the story, the tale is intriguing in spite of its trendiness. All the intrigues - where conspiracies and boogeymen seem to pop out of every hedge - advance the plot. One thing I liked about this book is its leanness - Ludlum has gotten expansive for expansion's sake. Not his best but good for a beach read.
Rating:
Summary: Political Correctness Amid a Jumble of Conspiracy
Review: If you are going to write an "in" book - one that deals with issues in vogue at the moment - you must at least try to make it timeless. Ludlum is at his best when he ignores current likes and dislikes and worst when he uses already overworked themes. This book reminds one of the new television season in which you know that if a show about runaways was popular last year, there will be 10 others like it this year. Hoover is an easy guy to hate with all his quirks and secrets and prejudices. He served for too long, accumulated too much power and used his position to bribe or blackmail as baldly as Kennedy, LBJ or Nixon. Still, he turned the FBI into the force it is today - a respected, professional group admired around the world. But back to the story, the tale is intriguing in spite of its trendiness. All the intrigues - where conspiracies and boogeymen seem to pop out of every hedge - advance the plot. One thing I liked about this book is its leanness - Ludlum has gotten expansive for expansion's sake. Not his best but good for a beach read.
Rating:
Summary: This book will leave you wondering
Review: In the years after Hoover's death the secret started coming forth. Many individuals had been covered by J. Edgar Hoover and his secret files. That notion made this book all the more believable Inver Brass in this very entertaining book decided to eliminate Hoover and the threat of his secret files. It became evident that not all of the files had been captured. People all over the country started getting blackmailed and some killed. Then members of Inver Brass started getting assasinated The guilty party shocked me beyond belief. This book along with Holcroft Covenant are the best that Ludlum has done. Be sure to buy this book and read it.
Rating:
Summary: Premature
Review: One of the greatest books I have ever read is the "Matarese Circle", which I read from start to finish in 3 days! This introduced me to Robert Ludlum, and from that time on I have read all his books. Unfortunately, over time, he became long-winded, and it was almost a chore to read his books. This is one of his earlier works, and I have the same excitement I did when I read my first Ludlum. I have been drawn into the story, and can not put it down. This is one of his earliest works when he was still on the way up. The only reason I have given this 4 stars, is that I am only half way through, but I know when I am done, I will want to revise this to 5.
Rating:
Summary: Premature
Review: One of the greatest books I have ever read is the "Matarese Circle", which I read from start to finish in 3 days! This introduced me to Robert Ludlum, and from that time on I have read all his books. Unfortunately, over time, he became long-winded, and it was almost a chore to read his books. This is one of his earlier works, and I have the same excitement I did when I read my first Ludlum. I have been drawn into the story, and can not put it down. This is one of his earliest works when he was still on the way up. The only reason I have given this 4 stars, is that I am only half way through, but I know when I am done, I will want to revise this to 5.
Rating:
Summary: wow
Review: Robert Ludlum is just great. He has done wonderful research and has spun it in perfect threads and patterns in this extremely believable novel about unethical espionage. I became extremely scared of J. Edgar and the people in power, this book is so believable! The pages turn of their own will and you will have no life for a few hours. Make sure you have no commitments the next morning! Read it!
Rating:
Summary: wow
Review: Robert Ludlum is just great. He has done wonderful research and has spun it in perfect threads and patterns in this extremely believable novel about unethical espionage. I became extremely scared of J. Edgar and the people in power, this book is so believable! The pages turn of their own will and you will have no life for a few hours. Make sure you have no commitments the next morning! Read it!
Rating: 
Summary: Poor Ludlum
Review: Robert Ludlum was a good thriller writer. This book has a good opening, a series of stops and starts where you keep guessing when the plot will begin, finds its legs, then runs out of steam and dissolves into little more than a hatchet job on J. Edgar Hoover. If you think Hoover was the vilest man in the twentieth Century and Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, Castro and Ho Chi Minh stand in his shadow, you'll like this book. Hoover's a popular person to hate nowadays. If Ludlum had been more of an artist, he might've used the opportunity to tell Hoover's story as a tragedy -- an idealistic young man who loves his country takes over an extremely troubled bureau and singlehandedly fashions it into an efficient organization that tracks down and puts behind bars one infamous character after another; but rather than leave when it was his time, he overstayed his welcome and no one wanted to remove him, until his tragic flaws make him hated and feared more than respected. But Ludlum has no time for that stuff. If he stuck to his plot, he might still have gotten away with it. But he preferred to admire his own facility at character assassination at the expense of what promised to be a ripping book. It makes you wish you'd never strayed from Tom Clancy. Stick to Ludlum's Jason Bourne books. They're snappier and more mature. This book, as a cartoon character once said, "Makes like a Hoover."
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