Robert Ludlum's The Paris Option : A Covert-One Novel

Rating:
Summary: The Paris Option
Review: I rented the book on CD and listened to over 3 weeks on the way to and from work. I found my thoughts wandering on several occasions and knew that if I had been reading the book instead of listening to it, it would now be in my unfinished book pile.

I found the characters very interesting, but the plot dragged on and on in several places and a lot of the story could have been left out without affecting the meaning at all. Granted, there were several places that got my attention and I waited an extra 5 minutes in the car to see what would happen, but those situations were few and far between.

The one other annoying thing is that the protagonists always seem to win out in the plethora of tight situations they got themselves in to, so by the 4th disc you never had that "edge-of-the-seat" feeling because you knew they'd come out all right. The ending too was very predictable and left me with the feeling that the evil plot should have gone off without a hitch...I know it would have made the book a lot more interesting...though I'd probably have to sit through 12 more discs while they worked that out.

Rating:
Summary: An E-Ticket Ride!
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Ludlum-like but not Ludlum
Review: 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.