Rating: 
Summary: The Janson Directive
Review: "Ludlum's best since his masterpiece The Bourne Identity"- Kirkus Reviews. The Janson Directive is a covert one novel. The hero in this novel, Paul Janson is the most unlikely hero, a super assassin. He is a successful entrepreneur and former agent of the United States Covert Ops. A representative from the Liberty Foundation contacts Janson and asks him to rescue the founder of the Liberty Foundation. The founder of the Liberty Foundation is Peter Novak a billionaire and a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Novak is kidnapped by the same terrorist group responsible for Janson's wife's death. Janson agrees to rescue Peter Novak who was personally responsible for saving Janson's life many years ago. Janson finds out that Novak's execution is scheduled to be in a three days. So with only days to work he assembles an elite team of covert operatives from around the world to rescue Novak. Against incredible and overwhelming odds they rescue Novak from an almost impenetrable fortress. On the verge of success a terrible tragedy occurs killing Janson's protégé and Novak. Janson then goes on a quest to find out who killed his friends and ruined his mission. He goes from city to city only to find people who try to kill him in every city. First Janson believes it must be operatives of the terrorist group seeking revenge for his part in the daring rescue of Novak. Janson soon learns from a would-be assassin that a "beyond salvage" is issued by Janson's former agency and he is targeted for death. His expert instincts kick in, making him an unstoppable opponent for his former agency. Janson uses every resource he has while running from assassins to unfoil the plot to kill him. The rest of the book has many twists and turns and is unpredictable. It is a page-turner, which you can't put down. The plot is amazing and keeps you hooked the whole time and the use of figurative words is amazing and gives you a clear picture of what is happing. I recommend this book to everyone who likes thrillers.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as polished as other Ludlum novels
Review: As a posthumous release, I was thrilled to have yet another Ludlum novel to curl up with and enjoy. But, although the plot and its development were quite good, I found some of the style elements of this book rather annoying. For example, the numerous paragraphs filled with questions to lead the reader on (What will he do?, Where to go now?). This shows a certain limitation in the writing style I don't remember seeing much in previous novels. Perhaps these were part of the 10% not written by the author himself... Also disrupting were the excessive missing words, word order inversions and typos found in the edition I read (the hardcover first edition by St. Martin's Press). This made it look like a rush order to bring this book to the public, but it also shows a certain lack of concern for quality. I would recommend waiting for a second edition to be published if you are also bothered by such details. However, the plot is interesting and I found myself immersed in Ludlum's world of espionage and intrigue once again. Although a small part of the story line is quite predictable, the author manages to through in enough spins to keep the reader guessing and turning the pages. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Who cares if Ludlum didn't really write this?
Review: I can't believe some of the reviews I've read here, saying that Ludlum didn't write THE JANSON DIRECTIVE. When a book is this entertaining who cares? Isn't it strange that to date, some of Ludlums best work has been published posthumously? (THE PROMETHEUS DECEPTION & THE SIGMA PROTOCOL). Anything's preferable to another of those lousy Covert One novels (Gayle Lynds is a very good writer, but why does she waste her time with that third rate drivel?)
The story centres around Paul Janson, a retired CIA man and now a much wanted and selective security guru after his wife is murdered by one of his nemeses. Predictably Janson finds himself reluctantly returning to the field after powerful Hungarian immigrant Peter Novak, a man who uses his power and wealth to give war torn and Third World countries a shot at democracy, has been kidnapped by terrorists and will be executed unless Janson and his hand-picked team of experts locate and rescue him in time. But the mission goes terribly wrong and Janson finds himself a fugitive on the run from his superiors and his own unit. And that is just the tip of the iceberg....
Admittedly, there are long, rambling passages that readers will skim over to get to the suspense, and the story takes a while to take flight, but once THE JANSON DIRECTIVE gets going theres just no letup. Very highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining Throughout!
Review: I enjoyed this book. It was hard to put it down. The person that put this story together had or has a fantastic imagination. There were two surprises I did not see coming. The clues were there but I was blind sided. You have to admire the person that could think this story through and put it on paper.
Robert Ludlum has to be a master of the English language. I don't think I have ever read a book that had so many words I have never seen before. Some examples: gestalt, menhaden, cudgel, ersatz, foppish. The list goes on and on. When I had a chance to read I did not have access to a dictionary. Yet I enjoyed the book.
Paul Janson, the hero of this book, is one of those larger than life type of guys. He is more than any one man can be, kind of a James Bond without the girls.
Rating: 
Summary: Way too long
Review: If I give 5 stars to the Bourne series, I would have to give this book 2 stars.
- Length: Way too long
- Detailes: too many irrelevant ones. I had to skip many paragraphs.
- Action packed: Not really. Atleast not compared to Bourne series.
- Ending: Huh?!
- Is it worth reading: not really
- So whats next: I think I will close the book on Ludlum after reading the new Bourne book. It seems that all of his works, carry the same story line. It gets boring after a while. So why am I either going to bother with the new Bourne book, even though it is not written by Ludlum? To just say that I have read all of Bourne books and plus the first 3 were awesome.
Rating:
Summary: Way too long
Review: If I give 5 stars to the Bourne series, I would have to give this book 2 stars.
- Length: Way too long
- Detailes: too many irrelevant ones. I had to skip many paragraphs.
- Action packed: Not really. Atleast not compared to Bourne series.
- Ending: Huh?!
- Is it worth reading: not really
- So whats next: I think I will close the book on Ludlum after reading the new Bourne book. It seems that all of his works, carry the same story line. It gets boring after a while. So why am I either going to bother with the new Bourne book, even though it is not written by Ludlum? To just say that I have read all of Bourne books and plus the first 3 were awesome.
Rating:
Summary: Great book.
Review: Ignorant or not, I'd never heard of Ludlum until I'd seen the Bourne Identity in theater. I was looking for a book to read a month ago and my wife had already read The Janson Directive, so I gave it ago. Well, I thought it was quite excellent, and I'm now a Ludlum fan. Too bad he won't be writing anymore books.
Ludlum is a solid writer and his storytelling is competent. Something I particularly liked about this book was Ludlum's avoidance of going from scene to scene. By this I mean, when you're at the high point of a part in a book and the chapter ends with a gun at somebody's head and then the author thinks it would be a good time to go to a different line in the story and you get to read some dialogue between a couple of lovers, well that's very annoying. Ludlum doesn't do that. The book kept me interested from page to page, and my main complaint was that the book was not in fact longer. I hate finishing a great book!
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly Rousing Thriller
Review: Ludlum is at the top of, eh, his death I suppose! This is my first Ludlum novel and whether ghost written or co-authored, whatever, I found it a good read in the thriller genre. Intelligent, knowledgeable and well crafted are few among many choice words to describe this tale. Paul Janson, a seasoned ex-operative tormented by his own capabilities, is brought full circle back to the source of his nightmares - a man Janson thought he saw killed, a man that has since grown exponentially more dangerous and sinister. Then again, should it be surprising to Janson? There are many people that apparently this expert agent witnessed executed only to be surprised when they spring back into action at a later date (whether they were killed or it was their double). Jessica Kincaid, the remarkable assassin, that takes on an affinity for Paul Janson, her assigned "unsalvageable" target, plays a critical rule in helping him unravel the enigma of the death of Peter Novak, a man on a such a worldly scale that perhaps only a Citizen Kane could hope to surpass. Wonderfully written scenes include the park in England, the attempt to rescue Novak from the Caliph, the streets of Greece, well, you get the picture. This story takes you around a world the author has been many times before. As my first Ludlum book, an interest kindled by my enjoyment of the Bourne Identity motion picture, I am excited about the prospects of late nights with Ludlum's classic stories.
Rating:
Summary: The work and spirit of a master lives on
Review: Robert Ludlum departed from this side of the veil a couple of years ago. He left a variety of manuscripts prior to his death including THE JANSON DIRECTIVE, which was about 90% completed prior to his death, and then was edited by his long time agent, Henry Morrison and his editor, Keith Kahla. Ludlum did not invent the master spy novel, but it is doubtful that the genre would exist in its present form without him. The plots are of a basic theme: take a larger than life hero and put him up against impossible odds with the price of failure being the fate of the free world. One would think that the variations on this theme would wear thin and in the hands of a less-able writer they would, and have. THE JANSON DIRECTIVE, however, is the finest of page-turners. Our hero in this case is Paul Janson, an almost-legendary super-assassin who, weary of the bloodshed and brutality that marked his career, retired from the covert agency where he made his career and hired himself out as an industrial consultant. His retirement abruptly ends, however, when he is contacted by a representative of the Liberty Foundation, a private organization devoted to the cause of peace and democracy throughout the world. It seems that Peter Novak, founder of the Liberty Foundation --- and a man to whom Janson owes his life --- has been kidnapped by the forces of a terrorist known as The Caliph. Worse, Novak has been summarily scheduled for execution within a few days. Janson, at the request of the Liberty Foundation, assembles a crack team of operatives to rescue Novak. The mission, against all odds, proceeds successfully until, within the span of a few moments, everything turns disastrous. In the aftermath, Janson is inexplicably marked for death by operatives at the highest level of the U.S. Government and finds himself on the run, unable to trust those formerly closest to him. And soon Novak finds himself pursued by Jessica Kincaid, Janson's protégé and an agent of breathtaking ability who knows all of his secrets and his weaknesses. There is a passage dealing intimately with the process of drowning that will leave you gasping for air. Literally every character from Janson to adversaries who pass into and out of the novel in a single paragraph, is interesting. Even the anticipation that all will end well, or reasonably so, by novel's end does not make the journey any less interesting, or compelling. THE JANSON DIRECTIVE continues Ludlum's fine tradition of suspense writ on a global scale, dealing with topics that seem to be eerily prescient of tomorrow's headlines. Ludlum, through his work and the work which he inspired, truly lives on. There is no better epitaph than that. --- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Rating:
Summary: Decent Ludlum
Review: Robert Ludlum's latest thriller is par for the course - an amusing diversion that entertains while you read but is pretty forgettable after you're done. Even now, a mere week after reading it, I find it hard to recall exactly what it was about. Ah yes, now I remember: An ex-spy named Janson is recruited to save the life of a philanthropic billionaire who is being held by a terrorist. The rescue almost goes okay, but then goes really wrong and Janson is suddenly a fugitive. Janson - like all Ludlum heroes, haunted by the death of a relative, in this case his wife - is caught between the government and the bad guys, and often has trouble figuring out which is which. At first, this one seems like an atypical Ludlum novel. The terrorist who Janson is up against seems strictly minor league and the global conspiracy that is standard Ludlum is nowhere to be seen. Eventually, such a conspiracy does appear, but while it is a clever enough idea, the main villain - in certain ways obvious from the get-go - has achieved his power in a completely ludicrous way. The sheer dumbness of the villain's rise to power - even though recognized as such by Janson - hurts the plausiblity and quality of the book. But if this is not a great book, it is still the type of entertainment that Ludlum typically delivers. For those familiar with Ludlum, there will be little disappointment here, and even for those unfamiliar with him, this will not be a bad read. While I cannot wholeheartedly recommend this book, I wouldn't actively steer anyone away from it either.
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