The Janson Command - Paul Garrison

   2012; 436 pages.  Book  2 (out of 4) in the “Janson Directive” series.   New Author? : Yes.  Action-Adventure; Intrigue; Espionage.  Overall Rating : 7½*/10.

    Paul Janson just landed a job, and a well-paying one to boot.  The Houston-based American Synergy Corporation (“ASC”), the largest oil company in America, wants him to “retrieve” one of their trauma doctors, Terry Flannigan, and bring him home.

    This could be quite the challenge, since the doctor has been taken hostage by rebel forces on the Isle de Foree, a small island country off the west coast of Africa, close to Nigeria.  But Janson is a former black-ops agent, so he’s well-qualified for the task.  With some careful planning and a world-class sharpshooter for a partner, things should go swimmingly.

    And they do.  Oh, there were a couple of surprises, including a bunch of Russian tanks and a fighter jet of unknown origin, but a few hiccups along the way were to be expected.  The doctor is rescued and it’s time to take him back home.  

    Alas, that's when everything goes haywire.  Terry Flannigan insists he’s not an employee of ASC, never has been, is happy where he is as he nurses the rebel leader back to health, and frankly thinks Janson’s been sent here to kill him.

    And when the doctor slips away to parts unknown, Paul can feel his “retrieval fee” slipping away as well.

What’s To Like...

    The Janson Command is the second book in a 4-book series, that appear to be completed, since the fourth one was published in 2015.  Robert Ludlum penned the first book in the series, Paul Garrison wrote #2 and #3, and Douglas Corleone authored the last one.  This is the only book in the series I’ve read.

    The action starts immediately, the pacing is fast, and the only time things slow down a tad is when Paul Garrison wants to introduce some intrigue into the tale.  There are a bunch of settings, most of which are exotic: Nigeria, New York, Cartagena in Spain, Zurich, Baghdad, Sydney and Canberra in Australia, Corsica and Sardinia, and Singapore.  The last one resonated with me, as I spent 24 hours there on business one time, and Garrison’s portrayal of it felt very “real” to me.

    I liked the “Janson Rules” that he plays by, and expects anyone work for him to abide by as well: 1.) no torture, 2.) no civilian casualties, 3.) no killing anyone who doesn’t try to kill you.  Those are difficult rules to follow when you’re doing covert espionage missions, and Janson in particular is sorely tested by them.

    You’ll learn a little bit of French (the fictitious Isle de Foree appears to be a former French colony), including a French cussword or two; and a smidgen of Spanish as well.  On a more practical note, you’ll learn how to make a smoke bomb using only items that are available in a cruise line gift shop.  There are 44 chapters plus a prologue, and the book is divided into four parts, each one signaling the main plot thread is about to become deeper and twistier, which leaves both the reader and Janson wondering just what the heck is really going on.

    The ending is suitably exciting, although not particularly twisty.  Everything goes according to Janson’s well-contrived plans, and despite their numerical superiority, the bad guys seem to be outmatched.  Some of the secondary plot threads, such as who’s really behind all this, remain unresolved, presumably to be addressed in the next book.  Nonetheless, The Janson Command is a standalone novel, and I didn’t feel I was missing anything by having not read the first book.

Excerpts...

    “The downside I see to working with a woman is that in the clutch, when the lead is flying, it’s only natural that you’d be distracted, worried about her getting hurt.  Particularly if she’s your protégée.  Devoted followers have a habit of getting killed in our line of work.  I’ve lost them; so have you."

    “Jessica is predator, not prey.”  (pg. 40)

    “Isle de Foreens dislike Nigerians.  They accuse us of being overbearing.  It is relatively typical of small nations to dislike big nations.  As many nations hate America, so many hate Nigeria.”

    “To have Nigeria as a neighbor is to sleep with a hippopotamus.”

    “My nation and your island are separated by two hundred miles of open gulf.”

    “Hippos can swim.”  (pg. 310)

“What’s our Coast Guard doing six thousand miles from home?”  (pg. 78 )

    There’s not a lot to nitpick about in The Janson Command.  There’s a fair amount of cussing, but I didn’t feel it was overdone.  There’s one instance of sex, and one instance of sexual abuse; but both are handled deftly.  A bunch of acronyms crop up in the story, so you might want to keep notes about what things like SR, Cons Ops, ASC, GRA, and FFM stand for.

    Judging from the Amazon reviews, the biggest gripe seems to be the book cover itself.  Glance at the image above.  What jumps out at you?  Robert Ludlum and Jason Bourne, right?  Well, the first one didn’t write this book, and the second one doesn’t appear in it.

    Some readers apparently were duped and irked by this, but honestly a second glance should have told them who the actual author and protagonist were.  Further, it should be noted that utilizing a replacement when a well-known author of a series passes away is not an uncommon practice.  It’s been done for Tony Hillerman, Lawrence Sanders, and Robert Jordan, just to name a couple right off the top of my head.  Yes, it’s a marketing ploy, but I think it’s more savvy than misleading.

    In closing, I enjoyed The Janson Command, mostly from the aspect of being an “airport novel”.  Is it as good as the Bourne series?  No, but how many other action-adventure stories are, including ones penned by Ludlum himself?  I expected to be entertained from the first page to the last, and didn't care if the writing wasn't elegant and deep.  By those standards, The Janson Command measured up quite well.     

    7½ Stars.

The Janus Reprisal - Jamie Freveletti

   2012; 430 pages.  New Author? : Yes.  Book #9 (out of 10) in the “Covert-One” series.  Genre : Action-Intrigue; Thriller.  Overall Rating : 6½*/10.

    It’s a lousy night to be in Brussels.  Bombs are going off at the train station, the airport, and the International Criminal Court.  And terrorists have taken over a hotel where a worldwide conference on viruses and bacteria is being held, and they are killing everybody staying there.

    Colonel Jon Smith is one of the guests at the hotel.  He’s a renowned microbiologist, so his attendance at the conference makes sense.  But he’s also a Covert-One agent.  And it appears a couple of the terrorists are singling him out for elimination.

What’s To Like...
    If you’re looking for bangs and booms, spies and chases, and a save-the-world scenario, The Janus Reprisal is your kind of book.  The action starts literally with the first sentence and doesn’t let up.  The combined career of special-ops agent and microbiologist is kewl (akin to being a PhD astrophysicist and the lead guitarist in the band Queen).  The underlying scientific premise of how to spread the boogers is original, at least to me.  There is a smattering of humor and a smidgen of romance; both are blended into the storyline nicely.

    Alas, there are weaknesses.  The characters are all either white-hats or black-hats, and anyone from Pakistan is worse-than-black.  The Ultimate Evil dude has no redeeming traits at all.

  The writing itself is good, but the storytelling falters.  There is a “mole” in the good-guys crowd, but you the reader will figure out who it is long before our heroes do.  There really aren’t any plot twists, and the ending seems rushed and contrived, with all of the baddies conveniently gathering in one place for easy resolution.  And ignore the title; it has virtually nothing to do with the story.

    YFKM (“You’re Freaking Kidding Me”) moments abound.  Here’s a couple.  (a.) The conference attendees apparently bring viruses/bacteria for show-and-tell.  Really?  I rather doubt that.  (b.) You can apparently get a sniper, in Brussels, at night, at a moment’s notice; and he will instantly know where to position himself to get a kill-shot.  He also seems to have a cloak of invisibility.  (c.) Our female lead is a savvy techie, yet can’t figure out how Smith can constantly track her every time she turns on her tablet to do stock transactions. There are a bunch more YFKM’s; you can read them in the Amazon reviews.

Excerpts...
    “It looks like they may be after me.  Or at least someone is.  There’s a dead guy in my room carrying photos of me, Peter Howell, and a woman that I can’t identify.”
    “A dead man?  Did you kill him?”
   “I didn’t touch him.  He just . . . died.”  (pg. 7)

    She reached for her tablet.
    “Do not touch that thing.  It’s supposed to be turned off.  In fact, let’s just throw it away.”
    Nolan shook her head.  “I refuse.  My whole life is loaded onto this hard drive.”  Smith wanted to grab it and throw it across the room.
    “I’m going to have real trouble going dark while I’m around Ms. Nolan.  She refuses to give up her computer,” he said to Marty.  “Says it’s her whole life.”
    “I think I could love this woman,” Marty said.  (pg. 219)

“How is it that if there is any disaster in the world at any given time, you’re there?”  (pg. 34)
    As can be seen on the book cover, The Janus Reprisal is written by Jamie Freveletti on behalf of the Robert Ludlum estate, who want to remind you that Ludlum is the author of (some of) the Jason Bourne books.  I’m sure this is a savvy marketing strategy, but Ludlum novels were known for their complex plotlines, compelling writing, and “gray” characters.

    None of that applies to TJR.  I recognize it is a daunting task to write a novel on the level that Ludlum did, but if you’re going to namedrop on the cover, then you ought to at least make an effort to emulate his fortes.  The Janus Reprisal is too straightforward and simplistic to have his name associated with it.

    6½ Stars.  Add two stars if you prefer action-thrillers that don’t require much thinking.  Subtract one star if you haven’t figured out yet that Robert Ludlum has been dead for a dozen years now, and any “new releases” that bear his name really aren’t penned by him.

The Bancroft Strategy - Robert Ludlum (kinda)

2006; 708 pages. Genre : Spy Novel. Author : anybody's guess. Overall Rating : B..

    Robert Ludlum died in 2001, but five years later, using a ouija board and a magic marker, he communicated The Bancroft Strategy to his Estate. I know this, because his name is plastered on the cover of the book in huge, gold letters.

.    Todd Bellknap is no Jason Bourne, but when his mentor and best friend in the Consular Operations agency is kidnapped, he is forced to go rogue to go to the rescue. Meanwhile, Andrea Bancroft suddenly finds herself 6 million dollars richer, with just one catch. She has to sit on the board of her estranged family's Bancroft Foundation. When their two paths inevitably cross, they have to learn to trust each other in order to track down the sinister and elusive "Genesis".

What's To Like...
    It's the classic Ludlum storyline - one lone agent up against a sizable and mysterious conspiracy, on the run from his agency, and never knowing who's good and who's bad. There are lots of plot twists, lots of action, and lots of worldwide settings. The overall ending surprised me (although in retrospect, it shouldn't have), and at the very, very end, there's a neat little ethical twist that will make you smile.

.    OTOH, the book is 700+ freakin' pages long. Where was the editor in all this? And if you've read one-too-many Bournish "one agent beats all the other trained killers in the world" books, you might find this a slow go.

.I'm as paranormal as the next guy.
    Okay, I lied. Despite the bookcover, Robert Ludlum didn't write TBS. In small print, on the credits page, it says, "Since his death, the Estate of Robert Ludlum has worked with a carefully selected author and editor to prepare and edit this work for publication."
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    Most of the criticism of this book has to do with the authorship. Some people felt suckered in by Ludlum's name splashed across the cover. Others felt this was a poor copycat of the Bourne plots. Those points have merits, I guess.

.   Personally, I enjoyed ths book, despite its length. Most people who read this genre know Ludlum passed away a while back, so one shouldn't feel duped. And if you can forget about the Bourne trilogy (all six books of it), and read The Bancroft Strategy for its own merits, it's pretty good. I even have some sympathy for the unknown author. He writes a good book, and no one will ever know.

The Bourne Identity - Robert Ludlum

Overall Rating : A-.

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Thanks to the Matt Damon movie, The Bourne Identity is undoubtedly Robert Ludlum's best-known novel. A bullet-riddled-yet-still-alive guy gets plucked out of the briny and discovers he's got a bad case of amnesia. He spends the rest of the book/movie trying to regain his memory; dodging bullets from (and then killing) a slew of professional assassins; and attempting to figure who is so all-fired anxious to kill him.

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What's To Like...

The book is radically different from the movie, so there's a totally new plot and ending. In fact, the only similarities between the two are :

.1.) Our hero has amnesia.
2.) The heroine pulls a "Patty Hearst", gradually morphing from unwilling kidnappee to active GF and confederate of Jason Bourne.
3.) There is an outfit called Treadstone.

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The plot is complex; the action is non-stop; and the book is a page-turner. There is both a good climax and a "door" left open for a sequel or two.

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What's Not To Like...

I'm still nonplussed about the amazing foresight of Jason Bourne to have the number of his Swiss bank account implanted in his hip. Sheesh, how convenient.

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The Treadstone in the book (which is very different from the movie's version) seems to be suicidally lax in security when it comes to high-level meetings.

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Lots of other people b*tched about the movie being so different from the book, and this is probably valid if you read the book first. I didn't, so this isn't an issue for me.

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Sequel, Threequel, Fourquel, Fivequel...

Ludlum of course mapped this out to be a trilogy, so one should expect some huge loose ends at the conclusion of Bourne-1. In addition to the Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum, a guy named Eric van Lustbader has penned another two books in the series (after Ludlum was so rude as to die), titled The Bourne Legacy and The Bourne Betrayal.

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So if you can't get enough of the saga, there's a couple thousands pages-worth of sequels out there. I'll take it one book at a time. Bourne-1 was a great read. We'll see if Bourne-2 can keep up the pace.