Robert Ludlum's The Paris Option : A Covert-One Novel (A Covert-One Novel) [BARGAIN PRICE] (Paperback)

by Robert Ludlum (Author), Gayle Lynds (Author) "Diego Garcia Island, Indian Ocean At 0654 hours at the vital U.S. Army, Air Force, and Naval installation on Diego Garcia, the officer commanding the..." (more)
Key Phrases: molecular computer, gel packs, scout helicopter, Abu Auda, Crescent Shield, Robert Ludlum (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
After a 30-year career that engendered dozens of bestselling novels of international intrigue, Ludlum died in the spring of 2001, just before publication of The Cassandra Compact, the second title in the Covert-One biotech series. This third Covert-One opus co-written with spy novelist Gayle Lynds (Mosaic), who also worked on the first Covert-One epic, The Hades Factor reprises the over-the-top, almost parodic tone of its predecessors with more antics from undercover agent army Lt. Col. Jonathan Smith, M.D. A horrific explosion destroys the Paris lab of computer genius Emile Chambord on the eve of his breakthrough in the development of a revolutionary molecular DNA computer that has the ability to control virtually all the world's computerized operations. Overnight, military satellites, international data banks and worldwide communications threaten to crash. Faced with the enormity of this malevolent power play, Dr. Jon Smith sets out to find the perpetrators. Arriving in Paris just as Chambord's daughter, Th‚rŠse, is being abducted, Smith trails the terrorists to Toledo, Spain. Just when this thrilling setup promises a return to vintage Ludlum, Smith's corny pals, CIA spook Randi Russell and British MI6 spy Peter Howell, pop up and they all go bumbling across Europe to avert a nuclear holocaust. Gainsaying the old saw, "You can't take it with you," Ludlum bequeaths yet another ghostly burlesque of his fabled plotting talents.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
Praise for Robert Ludlum's The Hades Factor (Robert Ludlum and Gayle Lynds): 'The new team has a pop hit on their hands that should bounce right up the bestseller lists.' Kirkus Reviews Praise for Robert Ludlum 'A writer who bests the bestsellers.' Daily Telegraph 'Stuffs more surprises into his novels than any other six-pack of thriller writers combined.' New York Times Praise for Gayle Lynds 'Move over Ian Fleming ... an engrossing story of international intrigue with (at last) a female heroine who can hold her own.' New Woman

Third in the late Ludlum's co-authored paperback original series centered on Covert-One and begun with Ludlum/Lynds's The Hades Factor (2000) and the Ludlum/ Philip Shelby The Cassandra Compact (2001). In Paris, Dr. Emile Chambord of the Pasteur Institute successfully finishes his research into a DNA computer faster than all the chips on earth put together. When terrorists-if they are terrorists-blow up the Institute, Chambord disappears. Meanwhile, the satellite network monitoring all Western bombers over Europe and all AWACS, P-3 Orion, and U-2 aircraft crashes for five minutes before returning onscreen. Lt. Col. Jon Smith, agent of Covert-One, is sent to Paris to find Dr. Chambord and discovers that the doctor has not only vanished but his beautiful daughter, Therese, has been kidnapped from her fancy digs. Dare we say that the threat of nuclear holocaust puts "civilization as we know it" in the balance? Hey, with Afterlife Author Robert Ludlum at the keyboard, why hold back? As with The Hades Factor, Lynds offers cloth-of-velvet moods and descriptive passages of various European cities, medicating much of Bipolar Bob's multidimensional paranoid sensibility. Tops in the series. Keep those particles streaming, Bob. (Kirkus Reviews)

When a very popular author begins to write books in tandem, it's usually a bad sign: a signal that the better-known author has come up with a brief synopsis, which is subsequently worked up to a full-length novel by the lesser-known name on the jacket. But this thriller successfully bucks this sorry trend: Ludlum's input may have been minimal, but Lynds has fashioned a solid facsimile of the former's bestselling style: blunt, action-packed and, most importantly, crammed full of the express-train pace that distinguished such Ludlum winners as The Osterman Weekend and The Bourne Identity. This third novel in the Covert-One sequence begins with a detonation in the Pasteur Institute in Paris. A computer scientist has gone missing, while top cyber-specialist Marty Zellerbach lies in a coma. A close friend of the latter, Lt-Col. John Smith, plans to leave his important DNA work in Colorado to travel to Paris, but is handed an assignment by Covert-One's Head Honcho, Klein: track down the missing scientist, creator of a molecular computer. But those behind the bombing have other ideas, and the stakes are very high: nothing less than a radical re-making of Europe and the total annihilation of the United States. Subtlety? Very little. High-octane action? Bags of it, leavened with the kind of narrative energy that makes Ludlum's thrillers such invigorating experiences. It's a massive book, but it reads like a novella - and that's what we all read thrillers like this for, isn't it? (Kirkus UK) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (June 18, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312289871
• ASIN: B0002XH6RA
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,478,450 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ludlum-like but not Ludlum, June 30, 2002

By	R. Shaff "Velocipede" (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Robert Ludlum's The Paris Option: A Covert-One Novel (Paperback)

If one is fond of this genre, one will find an interesting trend beginning to develop. Several well-known authors are taking on co-authors (apprentices actually) in their latest offerings. Patterson with his latest, Cussler with his latest, Clancy for some time and now, Ludlum with his previous two and this one, THE PARIS OPTION. Of course, Mr. Ludlum passed away over a year ago (an incredible loss to the literary world) and anything with his name will be co-authored or a reissue. For those of us who are die-hard Ludlumites, any taste from the Master is welcome. However, these co-authored books are less than authentic and THE PARIS OPTION is no exception.

Robert Ludlum was the absolute ruler of intrigue. If you are reading this review and haven't read a "real" Ludlum, pick up The Parsifal Mosaic or The Matarese Circle or the Bourne series (unlike a previous reviewer, I felt the Bourne movie didn't do the book justice). These books will absolutely put you on your heels. Ludlum had a way of telekenetically transporting the reader into the story. You are there...with the characters....truly spellbinding! In the co-authored books, apparently Mr. Ludlum's only contributions are the short outlines and a mentoring review (this, per an interview with Gayle Lynds). In the combined efforts, Ms. Lynds (and Philip Shelby in THE CASSANDRA COMPACT) develops the storyline and characters, which is what most hard-line Ludlum fans miss the most from Mr. Ludlum himself. While Ms. Lynds does a reasonable job of creating a suspenseful plot, it falls short of Ludlumite expectations. I would even go as far to say that if this was a standalone offering from Ms. Lynds, it might receive a more favorable critical review if for no other reason than not having to live up to the Ludlum standard.

To the story.......Jon Smith, our resident M.D. and superspy of Covert-One, returns from THE HADES FACTOR to unravel the mystery of the missing DNA computer. The brilliant French scientist, Emile' Chambord, is clandestinely putting the finishing touches on the world's first DNA computer (a computer combining life and computational sciences thereby creating a "living" machine) in Paris' own Pasteur Institute when an incredible explosion shatters the Institute and ostensibly Dr. Chambord and his invention. When Smith discovers that his friend, Marty Zellerbach, was in the Institute working with Chambord and was seriously injured in the blast, he drops his current research and heads for Paris.

Once there, the mysterious explosion, the frightening potential of the DNA computer and the uncertainty of Chambord's death throw Smith into the middle of an international crisis. An unknown cabal calling itself the Scarlet Shield, a pan-Islamic organization, is apparently behind the terror. Ultimately, Smith is joined by his spook cohorts from HADES, Randi Russell of the CIA and Peter Howell, retired (sort of) with MI6.

The plot is timely and has the requisite sharp edges. The character definition is moderate (better if one has previously read HADES) and the climax is probably the best part of the book. All-in-all, a decent read but if you're looking for this book to have the delictable flavor of a Ludlum thriller, you're likely to be sorely disappointed.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good spy thriller, February 18, 2006

By	R.C. READER "rose" (Little Rock,AR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Robert Ludlum's The Paris Option : A Covert-One Novel (Audio Cassette)

Fast paced. Good plot line. Sometimes hard to keep up with all the names. I remember characters from previous novel so I enjoyed going through another adventure with them. Ludlum, as usual, keeps you on the edge of your seat. I would recommend it.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An E-Ticket Ride!, November 5, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Robert Ludlum's The Paris Option: A Covert-One Novel (Paperback)

I'm beginning to think that this book has gotten so many negative reviews because the reviewers have decided in advance to resent anything Ludlum coauthored with anyone. If you respect the man's other work, then let's respect his decision to collaborate on whatever level it worked out to be with Lynds, and give the Paris Option and the series a chance.

The Paris Option was, in my mind, even better than the two earlier ones and a heck of a lot better than a lot of Ludlum's standalones, particularly from 1992 to 2000. Many of them were tedious, painfully overwritten, almost unreadable.

This book reads fast, is highly suspenseful, and I learned a lot along the way. Obviously a lot of research went into the authors' creation of the molecular (or DNA) computer. We're going to see one in maybe twenty years, but in this novel we get quantum physics on an understandable and exciting level. I don't know anyone who's written so convincingly about a DNA computer.

Plus, there's the growing political and economic conflicts between the United States and the European Union. Again, Paris Option delivers. Political suspense at its best. Yes, of course, the world is in serious danger in this book. This is not just a spy thriller, it's a political thriller ... a THRILLER. If you want something small and intimate to be the source of conflict, go read one of the wonderful so-called literary books that are out there.

One of my favorite aspects of a Ludlum novel is the intricate intrigue he creates. I don't know how much of this is Ludlum, and how much is Lynds, but it's one heck of a terrific entwining of villains and maybe-villains. One group of terrorists seems to be behind everything, then . . . no! It's another group. Finally, the heroes figure out it's another party. And mind you, the clues are there all along. The authors play fair. When each twist happens, you feel as if you should've spotted it. For someone who usually does, I was really happy. It's no fun if you figure out everything in advance.

And finally, I found the supporting cast ... Peter, Marty, and Randi to be fresh and unusual. Interesting. They're tough, and fun, and they talk like real people. They have moments of black humor. There are times when they're on top of everything, and other times when they fail --- both individually and as a group. You stick with them because you know they're in there pitching, and you hope and hope that they'll triumph in the end. They make a great counterpoint to the seriousness of the hero.

And one final thought about who actually wrote and who actually outlined and who actually edited ... or whatever else one wants to complain about. If Lynds did it all, more power to her. If it was a collaboration based on outline and notes left behind after Ludlum's death, more power to both of them. I've heard that the way the two men who created Ellery Queen collaborated was that one wrote the outline and the other one wrote the book. They grew to detest one another and never met unless they had to. Nevertheless, that's a respected "collaboration." Let's get off our thrones and quit judging.

Personally, I'm going to give Lynds's books a try.