Rating: 
Summary: a must read!
Review: Action, intrigue, romance. This book reads like a fast-paced film script. Infinitely entertaining! I loved it! Jean-Jaques has quite the imagination and an extensive knowledge of intelligence operations--beyond that, he is a superb storyteller! In this book, Jean-Jaques captures your attention and takes no prisoners. You won't be able to put it down till you've finished every delicious page! I can't wait till the sequel!
Rating:
Summary: A Powerful Testimony of the Human Condition
Review: As a young man, all of my greatest fantasies focused around a romanticized picture of life as the great James Bond. I wanted to go around the world, use amazing tools to do various tasks, and subvert the great espionage plots of the world. For a great long time, James Bond was my hero. As I matured, I still saw James Bond as a hero, but more for the sophistication he embodied, not for the embellishments cinematography had created. I began to see the truth behind all of the figures we refer to as heroes, and discovered that real heroes are just as human as the rest of us are.Jean-Jacques de Mesterton has presented the reading public with a truly powerful testament of the human condition, fusing a powerful, visual plot with a character that is truly human: a person the reader not only emulates, but in a sense pities as well. Jack MacMaster is the focus of the story, a soldier who questions the existence he now leads. His life is quickly altered when he is called on to be involved in plot involving political extremism, assassination, and a conspiracy that is unbelievably depraved and evil, mostly because it seems very plausible. The beauty of the story also lies in its continual sense of movement. In reading the story and creating a mental picture, one gets the impression of a movie, with new scenes being brought forth with each new chapter. While making the story fun to read, it also creates a sense of freedom, allowing the reader to conjure images and emotions to supplement the amazing textual creations of de Mesterton. With the intrigue of the foreground and the struggles of MacMaster to regain his sense of being, plus his toil to regain the woman he loves, and we have a beautifully crafted and well-rounded story. Jean-Jacques de Mesterton's "The Succession" is a highly entertaining and visual story that is a joy to read. We are a given a character who each of us can readily identify with, an alienated soldier of life, trying to cling to a sense of humanity and decency, and a story that is powerful and moving. Bravo, de Mesterton, on creating an excellent piece of literature. As for de Mesterton's work being worse than an airplane magazine, I believe that if all airlines would "The Succession" into their planes, even the coach class would discontinue many of their complaints.
Rating: 
Summary: Review of Jean-Jacques de Mesterton's The Succession
Review: From a frozen .380 in the roof of the mouth to a .50-caliber whistling through the corporate canyons of modern Denver, here is a guy who knows his guns. MacMaster makes a strange hero, an abandoned soldier, bummed and bottomed out, who rebounds only at the hands of a sadistic cop. Given the ultimate veto power, the splattering of his target's brains on the wall convinces him to oppose an evil new politics: succession by assassination. The skills of a shadowy past come back to life as MacMaster discovers his worth in a battle to destroy the freedom-killers. This is a movie in the shape of a book. Imagination provides the details as the scenes flash across the pages. The hardbound medium is not dead in this dangerous digital age. My one complaint about the book is that it ends. I forced myself to put it down between chapters, to savor it a little longer. Mesterton, give us more of this. One is not enough.
Rating:
Summary: A work of classical proportions
Review: Having been under contract with certain govt. agencies (names to remain classified) for over 20 years, I found de Mesterton's brilliant work to be startling!! Jacko, very naughty of you to be scaring some of our good citizens like this. The similarity between this book and some operations of which I am aware gave me a jolt like an electrical shock. Jacko, did our trails ever cross somewhere? To those of you readers who are considering reading this excellent book, I can only compare it to the best of Trevanian and Cussler.
Rating:
Summary: A Romp of a Good Time
Review: I have just finished de Mesterton's The Succession, and I must say that I enjoyed every second of it. I was never a reader of action/suspense tales, until now. This book would encourage even one who detests this genre to give it another chance. The novel is stylistically brilliant. The magnificent irony of killings for the sake of moral decency was my favorite stylistic element, though de Mesterton's diction alone is enough to stimulate the reader. The plot is both complex and comprehensible. Political conspiracy, assassinations, love, and friendship gone amok make this book appealing to all readers. Read it, especially if a romp of a good time interests you.
Rating:
Summary: Very cool and highly charged book
Review: I read these types of books all the time. But this one is very different. It reads like you are watching a movie, which I think is very cool. This is like reading Clancy with a cool writing style.
Rating:
Summary: It's really fast-paced and fun!
Review: I really enjoyed The Succession. It moves quickly, you never lose interest and the characters are unique. I started reading on a flight to Boston. I finished it at the hotel that same evening before going out for dinner. This story is exotic, it takes you into an exciting world that few people ever see. This is a really cool book.
Rating:
Summary: A roller-coaster ride of adventure
Review: In a vein similar to Tom Clancy, De Mesterton has skillfully delivered a hero-driven adventure story, with the aroma of a film in the making. The Succession was mesmerizing from beginning to end. Unlike the flawless hero we have become accustomed, De Mesterton delivers his hero, Jack MacMaster, with honesty, human frailties, and bad baggage to boot. De Mesterton skillfully turns these nagging skeletons into strengths for MacMaster, whom we cheer as the character arcs and grows, and masters (no pun intended) each situation, drawing from his unique skills. I am baffled by the claims of the European from France, if he truly read this trade-published book. The plot was flawless, and I was riveted by this page-turner, finding the literary prowess of De Mesterton (whose work could only have been influenced by real-life experiences), remarkable This being said, two points are quickly obvious - De Mesterton has overcome great obstacles in his own life, and become an extraordinary communicator - but also a man of principle, integrity and honor - and one whom it is probably prudent to befriend and not offend.
Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended by all members of my book club
Review: My action adventure book club rated this book so highly that four of us have posted reviews on this site. We all agreed that The Succession was the most highly-charged and provocative political action thriller we have read in the four years we have been reading and discussing books. Get this book and read it!
Rating:
Summary: A roller coaster read with filmic dimensions
Review: My profession is in the filmed & video entertainment industry, so I'm always on the lookout for a book that could be translated onto the screen. Those that I do find which interest me in that fashion usually require a bit of adjusting to make the fit. As I have already adapted one such publication for the screen, I know of what I speak. In the case of THE SUCCESSION, I was pleased to find that not only was it a zingy, roller coaster of a ride in novel form, but also exactly what I look for as potential screenplay material. Aside from not being able to put the book down until I had read it in its entirety, De Mesterton's vivid images literally leapt from the pages onto the walls of my mind and played there like the hit film I know it will be. Anyone who enjoys a good yarn in book form, only to compare it later to its screen adaptation, will do well to pick up THE SUCCESSION today and begin reading, because it is certainly headed into the theaters in the not too distant future, destined also to be a hit in that venue. Congratulations to you, Mr. De Mesterton P. Hall REPertory Films
|
