The Janson Directive
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Robert Ludlum is famous for big, slick, bestselling thrillers crammed with hair-raising action and outrageous plot twists: The Janson Directive shows the maestro in good form.
Retired US agent Paul Janson, a top man in corporate security, is lured back to the old game by a personal debt of loyalty. Peter Novak, billionaire and revered peacemaker, gets captured when Muslim revolutionaries topple an island democracy in the Indian Ocean--and within days will be beheaded. Janson sets up a near-impossible "exfiltration" operation to pull Novak from his massively guarded prison, and against all the odds seems on the very brink of success when a shockingly unexpected disaster casts doubt on everything that's happened so far.
Janson needs all his wealth, competence and tradecraft to stay alive through the international shenanigans that follow, with his old US agency and another shadowy organisation both hell-bent on terminating him. He barely escapes a well-laid trap in Greece, becomes the target for world-class snipers in London, lands in the middle of a pitched battle with assault weaponry across the roofs of Amsterdam, meets further mayhem in Hungary, and ends up in the USA for a Bond-like chase sequence, incredible reversals, and a final razor-edge showdown in the United Nations building. Meanwhile there are flashbacks--vitally important, it emerges--to Janson's horrific experience 30 years before in Vietnam.
At every stage Ludlum offers ingenious escapes, cunning ploys, and increasingly sophisticated means of evasion or assassination. With luck, detective skill, and help from a gorgeous female who's a crack shot, Janson painfully reaches the heart of the mystery. Fast-moving, clever, and violent--though occasionally going a fraction over the top--The Janson Directive delivers all the goods we expect from Robert Ludlum. --David Langford --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
Included in THE SUNDAY TIMES round-up of summer reading on 13/7/02
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
55 of 57 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
There continue to be two types of books offered that carry the name Robert Ludlum. There is the, "Covert One", series that has been abysmal since its first appearance and has shown no signs of improvement. And there are the 11 books that it has been said he left outlines for at the time of his death. The latter series that are the traditional Ludlum fare have remained far above the previously mentioned series, and they have been surprisingly good. "The Janson Directive", is by far the best book since the death of this author that helped define this genre. It has been clear that a new pen was introduced when the first unfinished book was completed after Ludlum's death, and with this book it is clear that from beginning to end, while possibly based on a Ludlum outline, this is another author's work. Happily whoever he/she is can really write, maintaining the storyline style that Ludlum continues to be famous for, while bringing a more contemporary flair to the work.
When I use the word contemporary it is often the dialogue that has changed. It is not only much crisper, edgier, and wittier than Ludlum, it also uses dialogue from movies like, "Pulp Fiction", that would never have been found in the late author's work. What puzzles me is where the publishers find a writer this good who is willing to remain anonymous. Perhaps these contributions will launch a new career eventually, but in the meantime I hope that whoever is writing these books is being very well paid. One only has to look to the last, "Ludlum", book and its time spent on the bestseller lists to hope this is true.
The author has created one of the most entertaining players in the form of Grigori Berman. This Russian now considers himself absolutely the English gentleman, and to prove it one need only visit his home which was decorated with a single purchase. For on the day Merchant and Ivory Films completed one of their period pieces, our Russian simply bought the sets in their entirety and furnished his home in fashionable London. The paintings are not quite finished, and the furniture looks a bit strange without studio lighting, but for Grigori they are perfection. Grigori's butler is also a riot as he trains his "English" boss, and the nurses that attend to Grigori's needs have to be read about to be believed.
Whoever did write this tale they are very well schooled in the art of the extraordinary marksmen known as snipers. There are several very well written sequences that are very tense and also very informative as the three dimensional world of a sniper and teams of snipers is explained as the action takes place. The writing does not glorify what they do; these characters are not mindless killers or assassins for hire. They are people with amazing discipline and talent, and also people you want to stay a good mile or more away from.
I do think it matters who wrote this book, and I wish they were given the appropriate credit. The talent that is writing these books is extending the literary life and legacy of Mr. Ludlum, and he or she deserves to be recognized.
32 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Janson Directive is typical Ludlum and a welcome return it is after the abysmal Covert-One novels of recent years. It has all the classic ingredients such as a very secret government agency getting up to no good, a man on the run, plots within plots, lots of violence and an unlikely love-interest. It even has a small reference to the greatest thriller ever written, the Bourne Identity.
There are one or two points though that make you wonder how much of this was actually written by Mr Ludlum himself and how much was written by another author to fill in the gaps. I did not like for example the way the story kept hopping from one country to another without an explanation as to how Mr Janson actually managed this, considering he is a man on the run. Also, one has to wonder, what happenend to Barry after he got shot?
Anyway, I did very much enjoy this, and would not hesitate to buy the next few Robert Ludlum novels that are due out soon. Even though they may be written by someone else.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
After reading some books of other similar genres by other authors, I was searching for my next read and came across The Janson Directive - my first Ludlum book.
Well, it is one of the most exciting books I've read in a while.
The character is strong and well formed, and even though you are dipped into his past life throughout, it is done in such a way that you aren't left confused as to what is then and what is now.
The plot thickens, twists and pushes against the barriers of possibilities, but just without breaking through to become implausible. It's enough to keep you wondering to yourself about what's to happen next as soon as you lay the book down to get some sleep.
Downsides...nahh. It's all good.
Read it and you'll see why.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
has power under the hood
This is a classic Ludlum thriller--full of surprises, and frequently the action shifts into high gear like a race car with a SPICA fuel injection system, roll cage, Auto Pro M-22... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Roger Weston
Janson directive
brilliantly written.Robert Ludlum: The Second Bourne Trilogy: The Bourne Legacy, The Bourne Betrayal, The Bourne Sanction: The Bourne Trilogy
Published 16 months ago by OC
megatallis
as usual reading a ruburt ludlum novel is like walking into the labyrinth of parallel shadows of light and darkness in a blend of good and evil themes cumbed up in conspiracy thin... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Omar Farid
Good story let down by a few inaccuracies
Generally a good book. Am about 2/3rds of the way through it, but there are a couple of inaccuracies that are a bit inexcusable. Read more
Published on 22 Feb 2010 by Calvin Chann
Excting and entertaining
If Robert Ludlum had stuck with the same characters he might have been the Ian Fleming of his time. This book was my introduction to his work and I was impressed by the dense,... Read more
Published on 30 Oct 2007 by discerningreader
A Far Fetched Yarn
What starts out as an entirely plausible story full of exciting twists and turns eventually becomes a far fetched yarn which loses credibility over the most elementary factual... Read more
Published on 27 Sep 2005
Not so good
Like the other reviewers I thought this book started off at a cracking pace and I was really enjoying it. Read more
Published on 9 Nov 2004
Unputdownable!
I eagerly awaited the arrival of The Janson Directive in paperback, and lo and behold, there it was at the airport on my way to France last year. Read more
Published on 11 Aug 2004 by T. Crease
Gripping until the end!
Robert Ludlum is probably the most prestigious novel writer of the spy-thriller, nay, of all time!
And The Janson Directive comes as no exception. Read more
And The Janson Directive comes as no exception. Read more
Published on 9 Dec 2003 by Mr. T. Richards
Classic Ludlum-only better
This book reads, in some places, like a film screenplay. Which is no criticism: the almost cinematic feel to the action scenes is exciting and engaging. Read more
Published on 4 May 2003 by "kendalian"
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