Rating: 
Summary: An average thriller....nothing more, nothing less.....
Review: Typical Ludlum....steroetype characters, expected unexpectedness, predictable unpredictability. Still a good fun read if you don't feel the need to think too hard.
There is a directly plagiarized line from the movie Pulp Fiction which just sounds incredibly out of place. It involves a pair of pliers and a blowtorch!
There are fewer "Dan Brown" type narrative errors than in most thrillers of this size, although a Corvette's bodywork is described as being made of steel at one point. Really?
It would make a good movie. I think that was the idea when it was written.
Rating: 
Summary: The Janson Directive
Review: The suspense of this novel is overpowered by the minutia. Escrutiatingly detailed descriptions of every gadget our hero uses makes one forget Janson has a directive and I, quite truthfully, found myself not cheering for him to win, but simply to get to the end of a painful book. We know Robert Ludlum knows his stuff, but in this instance, he sounds more like an encyclopedia than a novelist.
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: 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: 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 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: 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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