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: Thrilling Book!
Review: Philanthropist Peter Novak is kidnapped by the Caliph well known and feared terrorist. Novak is due to be beheaded by the Caliph. in an escape proof fortress.Novak's organization, the
Liberty Foundation,calls upon Paul Janson to rescue Peter Novak.
Janson is a former assassin who was employed by Consular Operations. Janson and a team of operatives rescue Novak only to see the plane he is escaping in explode in midair.Janson is marked for death and given a "beyond salvage" status.Janson is then pursued by government assassins. He winds up gaining a partner with Jessica Kincaid and expert sniper. The sniper activities in this book are very interesting.The two of them unearth a huge conspiracy.The true facts about Peter Novak are shocking.This book has aan excellent ending.This is a very good book. Buy it and read it.
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: Just OK
Review: I used to look so forward to the publication of a new novel by Robert Ludlum and when I saw The Janson Directive on the book shelves that excitement was renewed. However, The Janson Directive is only a parody of prior works. The premise is the same of most of almost every other Ludlum novel - the reluctant hero who is forced to save the world from a super secret government agency or billionaire. At lease in this case it was not Nazi's trying to establish the Fourth Reich. Add in a female heroine, who the hero saved form being raped, and one has a formula that has been successful. The Janson Directive adopts this formula lock, stock and barrel. It would have been a more entertaining book, notwithstanding the predictable nature, if it had been 100 pages shorter. Unlike earlier Ludlum book, the author at times discusses ad nauseam the details of certain of the events so that even the action loses its impact. Ludlum is still better than most other action writers and I am glad that I read the book because it was entertaining. However, it was not one his best.
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: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Same old, same old... You wish!
Review: There is nothing to say against Ludlum's storylines. The same pattern, however he always manages to turn it into something exciting and unpredictable. Not so this time. Taking off to a great start, he is painting the picture of a great Hungarian philantropist, who resembles the real life, well known financial tycoon G. S.
From there on however, any seasoned thriller reader can easily predict the turn of events. Even more, the writing is sloppy, commercial, and unmotivated. Where Ludlum used to paint a picture for all of his characters, making them unpredictable, he does only the minimum necessary to fulfil his page quota. His hero's picture is more ellaborate, but one would imagine, that R.L. can come up with some new character profiles.
Why do I give two stars? Well, I have seen worse than this: The Covert-One series.
Rating:
Summary: Another example of Ludlum's brand of exciting read
Review: Amazon.com provided a detailed synopsis of Ludlum's latest posthumous offering, so I'm going to forego providing my own.
Besides I don't want to give away a sentence of plot, as hopefully many people will read this excellent thriller based on the author's hard-earned reputation as master of the spy thriller. Some speculation admittedly if this was a novel written by Mr. Ludlum or by someone else, I claim it matters not, this is by far his best novel since The Bourne Identity. The book is long but every page is packed with suspense, thrills, chills, and even romance. The plotting is as familiarly paced ( i.e. fast paced) as one has come to expect of a thriller bearing Mr. Ludlum's name. Some may be disappointed which is there perogative, personally, I felt his characterization and general technical background was deeper than in some of his recently published novels and as a whole The Janson Directive is an action packed page turner (cliche but true.)
Rating:
Summary: A great book
Review: A classic Ludlum novel. Suspenseful and electrifying.
Rating:
Summary: Action Packed
Review: While this is far from being Ludlum's best is is a very entertaining and action packed. With Robert Ludlum you don't need spy movies cause his novels are a lot better. The character's are a little dry cause either thy are too good or to bad, but Ludlum makes up for it with a lot of action. There is a lot of twist and surprises in this novel and that just what we expect from a Ludlum novel. It is sad that he has died, but he has left us a lot of good books to remember him by.
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