Customer Reviews

The Cassandra Compact: A Covert-One Novel

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

"The Cassandra Compact" is a very exciting and entertaining read. The plot sometimes stretches the bounds of credibility a bit much, but that is to be expected in an action-thriller like this. There are also times when Dr. Jon Smith (the protagonist) borders on becoming a superhero rather than a true character, but he is generally very likeable, if never quite realistic.

In the past I have read some of Philip Shelby's work and thought that he showed promise. I have been impressed by his skills as a wordsmith, but found his story ideas to be somewhat lacking. Combining his writing talents here with the imagination of Robert Ludlum, however, has produced a blockbuster of a novel. This is not great literature by any means, but it is an engrossing story that will definitely keep you turning the pages.

With his death earlier this year, Robert Ludlum left a huge void in the international suspense/thriller genre. Thankfully, we do have writers like Philip Shelby and Gayle Lynds who are eager to take up his mantle. If "The Cassandra Compact" never rises to the level of the best of Ludlum's work -- and it doesn't -- reading it is still a very pleasing way to pass some time.

--David Montgomery, Mystery Ink

I happened to like the Prometheus Deception, and therefore, fully expected to like this book too. Like the Prometheus Deception, you'll find action, suspense, and diabolical characters. However, unlike the Prometheus Deception, this book just didn't add up. It's more like a movie that you go to see that has so much action going on that you don't realize that there really is no compelling story until the end.

The plot was a familiar one and decent, but the events that took place -- at times, seemed a little far-fetched. There wasn't a lot of character development, but what was done was sufficient. However, the inclusion of characters from the earlier book seemed to be just to show continuity -- which isn't a bad thing, but it didn't seem necessary since there was no in-depth interaction among them. Despite its "faults", the book is entertaining enough to pass the time with and it is a decent read. And, there were some pretty good suspenseful scenes in the book that kept me on pins and needles.

If you read the book and don't expect the caliber of story you typically get from a Ludlum book, you'll be okay.

When Mr. Ludlum passed away recently the readers of his work lost one of the true originals in a genre that has becoming overcrowded with imitators. Not all of his books were as special as a given person's favorite, however he wrote with the knowledge that made his stories credible. This second book in, "The Covert One Series", is as bad and possibly worse than the initial volume in the series. The obituary that I read stated he was working on three additional books before he died that will be published. I hope someone has the integrity to publish the work if it was his or be candid with where the book was when he stopped working upon it. At the very least these Covert One amalgams that clearly had a minimal amount of his involvement should not be the final works to carry his name. That would be a travesty of this man's real books, and to his memory.

Between the last of this series and this mess, we had, "The Prometheus Deception", a few minutes with that book proves the difference between a Robert Ludlum Book, and Robert Ludlum's Covert Collaboration. This book is bad from the cover. The word, "Cassandra", has a very specific meaning and it has absolutely nothing to do with this book's contents. In the first few dozen pages you will read the most ridiculous writing. A man is blown back by a shockwave and is unconscious; upon waking he not only can identify the explosive used but how it was detonated. His explanation is absurd, the material is absurd as it is the last thing that would have been used, and the reasons are much clearer than the preposterous statements.

How about the fact that NASA has learned to defy one of the basic laws of nature? Great, explain it to me, don't just toss it in a sentence and expect me to take your word for Science Fiction that would challenge Star Wars. But this continues throughout the book, "military grade bullets", what was military about them? How do you hide behind a Grand Piano so that "expert assassins" shred the piano with these magic bullets and miss you?

Probably the most offensive example of lazy writing, but by no means the only example was as follows. If you wish to demonize someone it's bad enough to drag up the most overused group of the 20th Century and tie the person/company to them. When you then state an absolute falsehood about a fact that anyone who has read about the Historical Period being used would identify as ridiculous, the writer goes beyond lazy, to something just above mentally inert.

There are facts stated at the beginning that change by a factor of 600% later in the book, and other events that are too implausible to mention here.

Mr. Ludlum was one of the best. Having read these Covert One pieces of trash, I am convinced he had little to do with them. Compare any 10 pages from one of his books to one of these 2 alleged collaborations and decide for yourself. My library of this man's work has come to an end as soon as I toss these two in the recycle bin.

As a long-term fan of Robert Ludlum and not knowing how involved Ludlum really was in the actual composition of the Covert One series, I had been hesitant up to this point to give the books a try. Not knowing exactly what to expect, but having read an enjoyed the previous solo works from Philip Shelby, I decided to give the Cassandra Compact a try when faced with a need to pick up a book at an airport bookstore.

In short, I was pleasantly surprised. The tale, although lighter and clearly not nearly as complex as the typical Ludlum, kept me turning the pages. This book, which grabs the reader early and does not let go, contains much of the suspense and plot twists that Ludlum aficionados have come to love in the conspiracy-thriller genre. Upon final evaluation, the Cassandra Compact made my four-hour plane ride easy duty. My first experience with the series will make me go back to the beginning to try some of the others.

*Spoilers below*

I listened to the Abridged 7-hour CD version of the book. I've enjoyed movies based on Robert Ludlum's books, namely the Bourne series, and thought this might be a good read. I was not disappointed.

The book's plot was interesting. Captivating storyline. It is fairly standard international spy-thriller material, but well done. I found myself engrossed in the book and was very interested to watch the story unfold, and find out what was happening to the story's main characters.

There are a few problems with this book:

1. Simply too long. Although the first 75% of the book flew by, the last 25% dragged. The entire "space" section didn't add much to the quality of the book. I understand the need for the smallpox to be used, the nasty effects illustrated, etc -- but the entire section was just too drawn out.

2. Although this is expected and common in a lot of books, movies, in the media, etc the authors were sloppy in describing technical things. Example: Jon talking about the "firewall" on the computer. Get your terms straight and do research before using them. You can't try to be "high-tech" AND confuse basic terms -- sticks out like a sore thumb. The fact that this was written early, was it 2001?, is no excuse.

3. Even though Jon Smith and others poured over the passenger manifests for the three flights from Russia, Jon never noticed Adam Tralore's name on the list? He had already met Adam Tralore earlier, and certainly someone involved in Megan/Dillan/Jon's line of work should stick out. Why were they not looking for a bald guy on the flights after they arrived? (yes, I know JS was on the same flight, but that doesn't mean Heathrow would stop/should stop looking) Even if the bald guy had nothing to do with it, it can't hurt to question all the bald guys on all the flights, especially given the magnitude of the situation.

These problems didn't detract from the overall quality of the book, and I would suggest it to a friend.

Covert-one operative Jon Smith is sent to Venice to help bring out Yuri Danko, who has sent a desperate message for help. Tragedy strikes. Yuri is killed and Smith barely escapes (thanks to a piano). Thus begins Jon Smiths desperate attempt to find out what Yuri knew that cost him his life.

This is what I consider good escapist fiction. International locales with some space shuttle action thrown in, drives this somewhat complex thriller. The idea behind this biological thriller, is using an altered smallpox virus with no possible vaccine, in warfare. Sure it stretches reality but that's what escapist fiction is all about. The motivation behind some of the powerful figures in this plan are??? I'm not sure.

Non-stop action and suspense.

Recommended for thriller fans who want to escape.

I read the first book in this series and laughed my way through it--not because of the writing, but because of the characters (Marty in particular). I finished this book in a few hours, and although it is a good escape from the doldrums of summer, there are a few things to complain about. First---this should be out in just a regular paperback--not the oversized version that is currently available. This book is NOT worth...its price... Mainly because the lines are spread out on the page and the font is WAY bigger than any of the other fonts in Ludlum's books.

Second, while I do agree with another reviewer that there are inconsistencies in the book, I don't think they detract 100% from the story. The story is essentially about how Jon gets on with his life in his new capacity as a cipher for Covert One (which isn't really explained). There are just too many coincidences in the book and characters show up just so that they can be named (Randi, Megan, Klein) and to keep some continuity in the series. The whole point behind to book, the theft of the smallpox virus, is solved in the first 100 pages, (at least to the reader) and then it's just left to the characters to solve the mystery. And, since I read this book after reading the Parsifal Mosiac, I can honestly say that the way the mystery is handled is NOT Ludlum's writing.

Some collaborations work--this one does to a limited extent, but it is trading in on Ludlum's name, and unfortunately, the fact that he recently passed away in order to sell books and hoping that the readers won't really notice.

All in all, even if Ludlum didn't write this book, and there are inconsistencies, enjoy the book for what it is--an escape from the doldrums of summer.

This was a good book, but I'm obviously not the only person who became increasingly frustrated by the close calls of the authorities trying to catch the bad guys and missing by fractions of a microsecond. These are shallow spoilers, so be warned:

1) Authorities realize that a train is set to arrive in 15 minutes. As such they're unable to have more than a half dozen agents in place. The small number of agents are overpowered. BTW, why didn't the general in charge here signal to police, in case they needed backup? The police could have stayed back out of the train station even.

2) Authorities see the key suspect with another person of interest in the airport. They figure that the KS is on one of three planes, and alert anti-terror units to intercept when the planes land. They are unable to find the KS on either filght, so they let all passengers go, _but are too freaking stupid to look for the other guy_. They didn't have a good picture of him, but since the smallpox had already been transferred once it doesn't take Newton to think that maybe this other fellow has it. How's about searching all passengers?

3) That fellow is finally identified TWO MINUTES after he goes through customs. A chase commences and he gets into a limo and speeds off, just as the person chasing him catches up to him. He was literally 10 seconds too slow.

4) A drag net is about to be put over the entire nation to intercept incoming people, but it's EIGHT MINUTES too late.

The first case here may not bother you. The second will interminably piss you off, and the third and fourth are just like WTF is going on here. CATCH THEM PLEASE.

That said, it was a good book and will tide you over on a plane ride.

Summary:
Jon Smith is a special agent for the president's top secret intelligence group Covert One, headed by Nathaniel Klein. When a former Russian KGB agent who now works in BioOperat (where the Russians store their biological weapons, etc.) decides he needs to get out of Russia to tell Klein something he has found out, it is Jon Smith who is sent to help him. Unbeknownst to Klein and Smith, this escape begins their involvement in a plot to steal a sample of smallpox and mutate it into a super virus that is virtually unstoppable.

The plot is being perpetrated by the head of a major pharmaceutical company who is providing the scientific know-how and is working with several members of the US military who are providing cover, location, and muscle to get the job done. Apparently the Cassandra Compact was dreamed up by all involved in order to give the US a super powerful biological weapon and once again place it at the top of the world's superpowers. But the Compact didn't count on two things - Jon Smith and his ability to uncannily show up in the right place at the right time (lots of coincidences). As a result, Jon Smith slowly foils the Compact and in so doing saves most of the good guys.

My Comments:
I have to admit that the book kept my attention up until it entered outer space. At that point there were two problems. First, the CD started skipping so I missed some of what happened and second I began to think this story was never going to end. Well, the CD skipping isn't the authors fault, but the incredibly unwieldy and rambling story is. Like any good spy novel, this one jumps from continent to continent as though they were rocks in a pond resulting in so many locations that you eventually just give up on keeping them straight. I always find it funny that money for travel is never an issue and Jon Smith, like so many other uber-spies, doesn't seem to ever need to sleep or go to the bathroom. Also, there are so many characters involved with the plot that it takes almost 1/3 of the book just to be able to keep them straight.

Though the resolution of the plot is for the most part satisfactory, there are some problems. For instance, two of the major bad guys, a US military general and one of the leaders of the NSA die in a car crash, literally. Sure, they were trying to escape being caught, but they are so preoccupied that they forget how to drive. It's pretty silly actually. Also, there are so many things that have gone on behind the story (like the building of the top secret hangar for destroying the space shuttle) that have to have happened in order for this story to take place that the story has a remarkably contrived feeling. Of course, as an international spy thriller it's okay to be at least somewhat contrived, but this one really pushes the limits.

My last problem with the novel was the main character. Though there were some attempts to develop Jon Smith as a character, by the time the novel ended I really had no idea who he was, just that he was super good at figuring things out, shooting people, and that he had lost his wife/girlfriend to a virus in a previous novel. There is almost no effort at backstory (though this could be because the version I listened to was abridged). The only person I really ended up liking was Smith's friend, Peter Howell, who actually seemed to be a well-trained spy and was witty to boot. Smith came across as more of a bumbling Mr. Magoo who slowly puts the pieces together but never actually seems to be a step ahead of the bad guys until the very end, and that is only by luck.

Overall, though the story kind of starts to grab your attention at the beginning, with such a non-developed character as Jon Smith on the loose, you quickly begin to lose interest. Also, with the book ranging around the world and with so many other characters to try to remember, the scope of the novel is more what you would expect from a 1,000 page James Clavell treatise rather than a relatively short Ludlum novel. Because it's so short, it just doesn't work. Perhaps the actual novel is better, but the abridged CD version just didn't cut it for me. I don't recommend this book.

It has been awhile since I read a Ludlum thriller. However, the reader of 2003 might very well pick up this book looking for a typical thriller from Ludlum and some modern day world events. When the book first released, many readers would likely think the plot and scenarios of a bio-terror threat to the world to be a stretch. Not today! With the threat of terrorists, willing to do anything to obtain biological germs, be interesting today...you bet!

So if a smallpox scare and a space shuttle thriller is on your mind...take a few hours and fly through this one. I recommend it the time to be worth reading.