Customer Reviews

The Janson Directive

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2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Well, we have two gentlemen to thank for this piece of work, Mr. Ludlum's long time agent, Henry Morrison and his editor, Keith Kahla. With a reported 90% of the manuscript completed, Messrs. Morrison and Kahla rounded out a gem in THE JANSON DIRECTIVE; this book rings true to the REAL Ludlum as opposed to the "Covert One" series carrying his name. This storyline has the same content, feel, flair, and panache as Ludlum's classics (PARSIFAL MOSAIC, THE MATARESE CIRCLE, The BOURNE series...), which makes sense in that he wrote the vast majority of THE JANSON DIRECTIVE. I guess true Ludlumites will be hoping Mr. Ludlum left behind several more uncompleted manuscripts to quench our endless thirst for his works. Regardless, THE JANSON DIRECTIVE certainly was a nice surprise.

For those unfamiliar with Ludlum, the basic premise of most of his thrillers is to create an arguable hero, a villanous cabal or individual, and place our hero against impossible odds. The price of failure? The fate of the world.

Our hero in THE JANSON DIRECTIVE is Paul Janson, a legendary superspook retired from the clandestine covert agency where he made his career. His taste for brutality and violence bitter, the loss of his wife and the desire to live a solitary existence, Janson joins the ranks of the entrepreneur and hires himself out as an industrial consultant. The peaceful life takes a turn south when he is contacted by a representative of the Liberty Foundation, a private organization devoted to peace and democracy throughout the world. The Foundation's founder and nobel prize-winning laureate, Peter Novak, has been kidnapped and is scheduled to be publicly executed...by the same terrorist group responsible for his wife's death. Janson has another reason to consider reactivation; Novak was personally resonsible for saving Janson's life many years ago and Janson is not one to forget a debt owed. Without hesitation, Janson assembles a team of star operatives to rescue Novak.

The mission, against incredible and overwhelming odds, is a success until, moments after Janson bids farewell to his team and Novak, the escape helicopter explodes into a fiery ball of flames as Janson watches. His team, his friend and star pupil, and Novak-gone in a flash. As Janson tries to piece together WHY?, he finds himself marked for death in nearly every city he passes through. Janson believes it must be operatives of the terrorist group seeking revenge for his part in the daring rescue of Novak. However, Janson soon realizes his would-be assassins are American! As the storyline builds, Janson saves one of his latent assassins from rape and certain death. This act creates doubt in the assassin, Jessica Kincaid. As soon as Janson realizes that Kincaid works for the same agency from which he retired, his peerless instincts kick in, making Jason an inexorable opponent for his former agency.

As with most TRUE Ludlum novels, the plot devinely twists and turns keeping the reader absorbed in the storyline until the final twist at climax.

While the Covert One series maintains the broad brush "ideas" of Ludlum, these books are not true Ludlum books. Do not be mistaken, the Covert One authors, Gayle Lynds and Philip Shelby, are fine writers and understand the mechanics of the spy/mystery genre. However, those of us who grew up reading Ludlum know the Covert One books are a mere shadow of what was. Lynds and Shelby lack the characterization and panache of the master; we can only hope they continue to aspire to his literary summit. Kudos again to Messrs. Morrison and Kahla for briefly quenching an insatiable deire for more of Ludlum's gems. Here's hoping there are more.

Initially published one year after the death of Robert Ludlum, the nearly finished manuscript to this action-packed novel of government deception and cover-up was reportedly completed by his editor.

If not for his legendary Jason Bourne character, the main character in this novel - Paul Janson - could have been the Ludlum franchise in movies and successful book sequels.

And it is more than eliminating the first "n" in the last name for the misunderstood hero to be like Jason, as there are a number of close parallels; he is a Vietnam veteran who survived the sadistic manipulations of a commander, worked in a government covert agency that ultimately will try to eliminate him and is haunted by scenes from his past, including the murder of his pregnant wife by a terrorist organization.

The hunt for Janson is started when an "off-the-books" rescue attempt of a billionaire philanthropist goes terribly wrong, which leads to friends becoming enemies in a fast-paced game of searching for answers in the shadows between fact and disinformation.

Meticulous details and patented Ludlum plot twists make this novel more than a summertime read. This recent reissue clearly shows that Ludlum was moving in a direction to produce another seminal hero in the thriller genre.

Suspense - Action - Intricate Plotting - Wonderful Intrigue - All the things which Robert Ludlum provided the reader in his most successful books are contained in THE JANSON DIRECTIVE. This is an action adventure thriller to rival the Jason Bourne trilogy, and fans will hope that a sequel for Paul Janson was also conceptualized before Ludlum's death.

Paul Janson, a retired field operative from the covert agency Consular Ops is clandestinely recruited to attempt an exfiltration of Peter Novak, a billionaire and Nobel Peace Prize winner who has been kidnapped by nationalist rebels on the island kingdom of Anura and is to be executed in three days time. After being informed of the details of the mission by Marta Lang (head of Novak's philanthropy - the Liberty Foundation), when Lang thanked him for providing she and her associates with hope Janson remained silent but concluded that "perhaps false hope was better than none at all". And indeed, on the verge of apparent success a terrible tragedy occurs as Part One ends. For reasons totally unknown to Janson or the reader, a "beyond salvage" is then issued by Janson's former agency and he is targeted for death.

The remaining eighty percent of the book involves unraveling the intertwined mysteries of the life of Peter Novak, the Vietnam wartime experiences of Paul Janson, the role of the secret ops of the U.S. government, the disappearance of Marta Lang, and the continuing role of the masterful Anuran rebel leader, the Caliph, who has also a fateful link with Janson's past.

The intricate nature of the conspiracy as it unfolds rivals the best books of this nature that I have read, and the characters are well drawn, especialy Jessica Kincaid, the young sharpshooter of unbelievable ability (literally, her achievements were a bit too good) who is on the team chosen to pursue Janson, but also several of the bit characters as well including the Russian Grigori Berman. I was especially intrigued by Peter Novak, who Ludlum clearly seemed to model on George Soros in many details. However, Novak chooses to achieve his goals through an activist "directed democracy" rather than Soros' methodology of simply promoting "Open Society". Nevertheless, the existence of Soros as a real life model for the accumulation of such vast wealth makes Novak's character more believeable.

As most of Ludlum's books, this displays deep cynicism regarding the actions of our government, and great understanding of the arrogance of power. I found Janson's contempt for "the best and the brighest" and his analysis of their faults truly refreshing. Several things argue against this being written (rather than plotted) by Ludlum. Most noticably, the contemporary idiom relative to his other books, as well as the more graphic and detailed violence. I was repulsed by a few of the descriptions of torture, as was undoubtedly the intent given their context. However, the fact Ludlum stepped out of character to write THE ROAD TO GANDOLFO and THE ROAD TO OMAHA keep me from reaching a firm conclusion regarding the extent of his role in the preparation of this manuscript. But is is good enough so that the publisher should have informed its readers concerning whatever collaboration occurred in its preparation and provided appropriate credit, as this would not have detracted from its appeal.

If, like me, you have been waiting for that one spectacular posthumous work from the immortal master of international intrigue, then your patience has been richly rewarded. Since his death in March 2001, the first few offerings bearing his name were of the poor-to-bland variety. However, THE JANSON DIRECTIVE is pure, unadulterated, vintage Ludlum.

Security consultant Paul Janson, a retired Consular Ops covert operative, is suddenly thrown back into his former role when he is called upon to rescue Pete Novak, an international businessman, philanthropist and diplomat. Janson's mission eventually goes terribly wrong, and soon he is being targeted for death by the very same people who were once his allies, his former protégé being the assassin who seeks him out. If he wants to live, and save the man who once saved him, he must unravel a conspiracy that permeates the highest government powers.

What makes THE JANSON DIRECTIVE so brilliant is the myriad of detail which gives added color to the storyline. Sometimes the details were a bit to graphic for my taste, but I never once considered putting the book aside, even for a moment. It's true that the dialogue is more "electric" than Ludlum's previous work, however, the plot is just as complex and technical as any of his international conspiracies. The storyline, written prior to 9/11, is right out of the most recent headlines; a true Ludlum trademark. He always seems to know what will make tomorrow's news before it becomes news. Nevertheless, I am perplexed by the publisher's silence as to the true author of this work. Knowing who to give credit to would certainly satisfy my insatiable curiosity.

According to an article (The New York Sun,10/21/2002) which quotes Ludlum's longtime agent, Henry Morrison, the late author started this book during the early months of 2000 and finished it that fall. If true, this would account for the likeness this book has to the Bourne trilogy. However, the same article states that he 'almost" finished it. So which is it? I guess we'll never know.

Cris Cunningham

The Jansen Directive is the second novel published since Ludlum's death. (With each passing book, one is left to wonder if there are any more finished or nearly finished transcripts in the pipeline or even to what degree the last two works were ghost written, at least in part.) Having read almost all of Ludlum's work, the Jansen Directive certainly felt like "a Ludlum." This was a great book....very hard to put down.
This book grabs the reader early and does not let go, leading on more than one occasion to fits of yawning in the morning because I had stayed up too late reading the night before. All in all, the Jansen Directive provides all of the action, suspense, frequent plot twists, and unexpected events that Ludlum aficionados have come to love in the conspiracy-thriller genre. This is clearly among Ludlum's best.

"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.

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

Although this book doesn't differ much from Ludlum's other novels, it is still an enjoyable read. The story is actually very similar to The Matarese Circle, minus the Russian spy. It's about a retired American agent for the State Department's Consular Operations, Paul Janson. Retired from espionage and not quite enjoying his new career as a security consultant for private businesses, Janson is summoned by billionare philanthropist Peter Novak's personal assistant. She asks Janson for his help in freeing Novak from Arab kidnappers who have him confined in a palace on the island of Anura. Janson agrees to participate in the operation because of a personal debt he has incurred to Novak for saving his life. He quickly assembles a crack team of operatives to help him in the exfiltration and they set out to rescue the wealthy humanitarian from his captors. What follows is an interesting sequence of events that keeps both Janson and the reader in the dark while providing just enough information to entice the reader to keep reading.

Without divulging too much of the book's secrets, the high points include the many action sequences that showcase Janson's ability to think quickly and the occasional flashbacks to his days as the leader of a Navy SEAL counterintelligence team in Vietnam. The reason I say this book is similar to The Matarese Circle is because both protagonists have been disavowed by American Intelligence and both have a price on their head; a price being pursued by teams representing more than one interest. The action that follows Janson trying to elude his assailants, while simultaneously trying to find out more about the odd sequence of events that followed the rescue operation, fills much of the novels pages. Therein lies one of the book's letdowns. Almost the entire middle of the book (approx. 275 pgs) is rather uneventful and dull. The beginning and the end are both filled with revelation after revelation but the middle lacks that same development. The occasionial pursuance of Janson by professional killers is interesting but does not make up for the fruitless trials of Janson to discover more about who is after him and who HE needs to chase. That, coupled with the fact that Janson seems to elude death by mere inches one too many times, is my motivation for docking this book by one star. Still, the clever and elegant plot(which is more powerful than it appears on the surface) is what makes this a worthwhile read.

I wasn't really expecting a whole lot going into this book, but I was pleasently surprised. A page turner for sure, I was through the book in a couple days and enjoyed it thoroughly. I would recommend this highly, up there with his best work. Whoever finished the book is to be commended as well.

I can't believe how great this book is, it's even better than his last living works like Apocalypse and Scorpio. Although elements of the story are very timely, I can only guess this was slightly modified from a rough draft Ludlum created back at the peak of his brilliance with the Bourne books, Parsifal, Icarus, Aquitaine. Outstanding book, furious page-turner.