The Janson Directive

I really enjoyed this gripping thriller. A little unbelivable plot-wise in places the story is so well told that you hardly notice. A special operative, Janson, gets drawn back into a covert world he thought he'd left behind, in order to rescue his former mentor. A tragic accident later, he realises nothing is as it seemed and he sets out to investigate the "real truth" in countries across the world with allies in strange places - who is working for whom and who can be trusted?

The super-agent on the run from his own agency story is one I usually find entertaining, but this book was way too long and tedious. Janson's past trauma seems tacked on, not well enough integrated with his character, and while we get to see lots of gritty gruesomeness from his time in Vietnam, but more as violence-porn than as insight into Janson's character and situation. Similarly, the politics and economics that are tacked on as vital elements of the plot are sparse and awkward, so that the plot seems like more of an excuse to see more violence-porn. Not my favorite spy thriller.

The Janson Directive was published after Robert Ludlum’s death. It’s very typical of a Ludlum novel filled with high-wire action scenes and loaded with twists and turns. In this novel, Paul Janson, a former assassin for the United States government who now runs a private security company is hired to rescue kidnapped Nobel Peace prize winner, Peter Novak. He is being held captive by Muslim extremists in the Indian Ocean. Just after his rescue attempt, Novak is killed in a fiery explosion. Instead of this being the end of the novel, it’s just the beginning. Janson is then targeted by assassins throughout Europe, leaving a trail of dead bodies in the process.

This novel certainly moves at a fast pace and is enjoyable to read. The show more reveal behind the novel is absolutely preposterous, which is typical of Ludlum. I wouldn’t say it kills the novel, but it certainly made me groan. Believability is not one of Ludlum’s strengths, but action is, and this novel has it in spades. A fun novel, but not one that requires a great deal of deep thought.

Carl Alves – author of Blood Street show less

Like all Ludlums, this is a very interesting book. Liked it a lot, the twists, turns and the betrayal where you don't expect it.
It's often (in this case also) that his books are very close to reality, one might wake up one ordinary morning and....

This type of fast-paced spy novel is a popular request in a library. A billionaire philanthropist is kidnapped by terrorists and must be rescued. In this case, the rescue is botched and the would-be hero is on the run. All the clues come together for a thrilling end.

Oh my! It has seemed to take me 'forever' to read this novel. I always thought of Robert Ludlum as a writer of suspense and thrillers. In the midst of reading this book, I did something I have never done before. I came back to the Goodreads web site to read the reviews of others. As I learned that this novel was an unfinished work at the time of Ludlum's death on 12-Mar-2001, my suspicions were confirmed. I know that an adult should rarely use the word 'never' in their vocabulary so I do not state this lightly, "I will never read another Robert Ludlum title with a publication date after his death." This tedious experience of one was enough. For more details, see
http://blog.stephenleary.com/2006/07/who-is-writing-robert-ludlums-books.html

### Review

**“Loaded with all the intrigue, paranoia, and real-life parallels that made Ludlum famous.”—_People_**

### Product Description

When billionaire philanthropist Peter Novak is kidnapped by a terrorist known as The Caliph, it’s up to Paul Janson—a legend in the notorious U.S. covert agency Consular Operations—to save him. But Janson’s rescue operation goes horribly wrong…and soon Janson is marked for death, the target of a "beyond salvage" order issued from the highest level of the government. Now Janson is running for his life, pursued by Jessica Kincaid, a young agent of astonishing ability who can anticipate and counter his every move. To survive, Janson must outrace a conspiracy that has gone beyond the show more control of its originators. To win, he must counter it with a conspiracy of his own... show less