Rating: 
Summary: New to Flynn and now a big fan
Review: This was my first Vince Flynn book and I loved it. It is a very fast paced and timely political thriller. The characters are very well developed and and pacing of the book is fast. The political and international plot twists could have been taken out of the newspaper yesterday. I have not read the first books by Flynn yet, and let me emphasize "yet", but this book was good enough for me to purchase his first 2, to read more into the main character (Mitch Rapp)and be ready for the next when it comes out in 2003.
A Must Read!
Rating: 
Summary: Has Vince Flynn come full circle?
Review: After a downer of a start in "Term Limits", Vince Flynn has launched on a series of books whose titles derive from poli sci terminology. "Term Limits" was a perplexing mixture of solid political thriller aimed at the Clancy readerbase and pipe dream of all the anti-government weenies. Fortunately, Flynn settled down a bit in the next two ("Third Option" and "Transfer Of Power") and decided to just tell the story. But now I'm beginning to wonder if maybe Flynn was waiting until he acquired a bit more polish before he got back to using entertainment as a bully pulpit. In this one, Saddam Hussein has gotten nukes and live-in tech support from North Korea. It would be a bit of a reach, were it not for the fact that there's ironic precedent for such states throughout recent history to buy weapons from the athiest Reds to wage war against other believers in the One God. But American satellite reconaissance spots the fact that there's a nuke bunker beneath a major Bhagdad hospital. To just flatten the place with a spread of Tomahawks would only play into the hands of those who call us "The Great Satan". So they send in Mitch Rapp--a hero that's not in the James Bond or Jack Ryan league by a long shot but is engaging enough in his own way--with a commando squad. Meanwhile, Mitch's boss Irene Kennedy is about to go before Congress to be confirmed as the new CIA chief, succeeding the recently deceased Stansfield. The political infighting that accompanies this is the type you always hear the crowd who use the term "goverment" as a four-letter vulgarism ("G-O-V-T") claims to be prevalent in Washington to the exclusion of statesmanship. An egotistical blowhard congressman from the President's own party has a personal animosity against Kennedy--he not only doesn't want her in charge of the CIA, he wants her in jail. Never mind that he's one of those people who wants the Agency disbanded anyway. For some strange reason, Flynn has a WW II generation guy using Boomer generation slang (??). And the dude's backed and secretly bankrolled by a sneaky senator from the other party who's the type to shake your hand with one hand and knife you in the back with the other. Are you kidding or what? Maybe I'm a dinosaur, but early this month I stepped behind a curtain and pulled down some levers as my way of expressing my desires for my country. To me, people who just mouth off about how they can't stand their government aren't that different from those who go off and sulk by themselves. Of course it can't have occurred to this bunch that dysfunctional government in a democracy is usually due to an immature electorate. Single-issue and special interest candidates get nominated by single-issue and special interest voters. Just how mature is the impulse to place 100% of the blame elsewhere, huh? I don't know--maybe we should be thankful that Flynn doesn't drown us in Jeffersonian metaphor the way a less skillful writer would. A lot of anti-G flakes I know do that when the only Jefferson they really know anything about is a certain sitcom businessman who calls his wife "Wezie".
Rating:
Summary: AWESOME READ!
Review: This is definitely a must read. Flynn leaves you wanting more and hoping that there are a few real life Mitch Rapps out there protecting our country.
Rating: 
Summary: Good political thriller
Review: Vince Flynn's latest novel revisits old characters and wraps up loose plot lines from previous books. In particular, his previous novel, The Third Option, concluded with major issues unresolved; now, in this book, Senator Hank Clark, a methodical behind-the-scenes sort of villain is up to additional mechanations to satisfy his desire for the Presidency. On the side of the good guys are Irene Kennedy, the President's nominee for the directorship of the CIA and assassin/super-soldier Mitch Rapp. They are out to find out who were the conspirators from the Third Option and at the same time counteract a nuclear threat from Iraq. Add to this complications in Rapp's love life and there is a lot going on. Flynn writes a generally good suspenseful novel, but there are imperfections, especially with pacing. It takes a while for any real action to occur, and then the concluding acts just zip on by; the book needs a faster start and a slower finish. Nonetheless, this should satisfy Flynn's fans and spy novel fans in general.
Rating:
Summary: superb.
Review: This was, by far, the best of his books. I enjoyed the others, but this one was excellent. The characters were perfectly defined. It was easy to like the good guys and to pick out the bad guys. They were well developed both in thought and in action. It was interesting to read the subplots that were in this book as well. The romance was just the right touch, not too much to make this book a romance, but enough to keep a little bit of human touch to the story. Although this book can stand alone, it works well if you read the others that come prior to this novel. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: New and Improved Flynn
Review: I was less than entusiastic to begin this book after my only other Flynn experience, Term Limits. I found so many unrealistic and contrived plot gaps and rationalizations in that, plus considerable superflous dialogue, I expected this book to be more of the same. I was pleasantly surprised to find how Flynn has grown as a writer, proving the old adage that experience is the best teacher and to become a good writer, one must write, write, write!
This story showed inspired touches of imagination and decent research. The plot concept was also interesting and had some unexpected twists to retain reader interest. Flynn certainly is an aficianado of Washington politics and the ins and outs of that peculiar macrocosm of world society, however having been friends and making many acquaintances with senators, congressmen as well as White House Cabinet members, I can't quite accept that there are so many of our elected officials who practice such nefarious perfidy, but one must accept a certain lassiez faire when dealing with the creative process involved in writing fiction for entertainment.
My only serious criticism, other than some of Flynn's characters being rather two-dimensional, is his tendency to over-describe mundane settings which most readers care little about. The novel is not a travelogue nor a topographical or architectural publication, but rather an action-adventure novel with the emphasis on ACTION. The early stages of the book were, in my opinion, short on that aspect, long on trivial dialogue and description. If the book had been edited down to it's essence, I feel it would have been more enjoyable, but otherwise it was a good read for fans of this genre.
Older established authors such as Deighton, Greene, MacInnes, MacClean, Hamilton, etc, had the knack to write literate yet exciting adventure novels, but surprisingly, there are few newer authors today who can write in this particular genre very well. Some write one or two good books then seem to stumble and thrash around. Flynn seems to be becoming more sure-footed with each novel and is catching up quickly with some of my favorites, Tom Clancy(early work)John Grisham, Vince Patrick, Robin Cook, Mark Bowden, Phillip Carpenter, Dale Brown, etc. Flynn can truthfully claim to have, with this book, joined those ranks.
-Barker Reviews
Rating:
Summary: Subtle abuses
Review: I just finished this book "seperation of power". I was unhappy with the previous endeavor because I was troubled by the character of Senator Hank Clark. I was glad that he received his comeuppance in this newest work.
I have read many books and I am troubled by the notion that Politicians can be so very sinister and conniving. I consider myself to be a logical thinker,and a strategist. It is difficult to recognize that such devious Humans in our 3rd Millenium western culture can rise to such positions.
I happen to like Chess and strategy games. This stuff of evil politicians spooks me (no pun intended).The notion that people can act so selfish and with such callousness is frightening.
Some of my favorite books include "Shogun" and "The Eight" Also about strategists,corruption, and abuses of power. If you enjoyed Seperation of power, you will I am certain like these books as well.
Rating:
Summary: A Page Turner at its Best
Review: Flynn with this novel puts himself in the class of great mystery/espionage/thriller writers. This story takes up where the last one ended. Irene is getting what she may or may not want with the death of her mentor she is now going to be at the helm. But, just was you suspect from the last 2 books the Senator and Representative are not going to let that happen if they can. But, the Senator has a lot more in store, including how to play the Representative. Also, Mitch is back and just as deadly. A great page turner that you don't want to miss. Especially if you have read the first two books.
Rating:
Summary: Is this the end for Mitch?
Review: I had been waiting for this sequel and didn't realize that it had been out for a while. I purchased it during my busiest month (May) and couldn't start it until Memorial Day weekend. Mr. Flynn did it again. The story begins only two weeks after his last story, The Third Option, ended. I really had to think back on all the events of that book, which I absolutely loved. This book COULD stand on its own...however, you'll enjoy it much more if you read Mr. Flynn's other books first. Mitch Rapp is back and better than ever. I love Dr. Kennedy. The President and Anna Reilly came out looking a bit weaker than the prequels. In fact, I didn't even like Anna in this story. She didn't resemble the cool reporter Mitch saved at the WH. But I loved Donatella, and I hope she'll be back. It was good to see Scott, the Navy SEAL, back in the story. The problem with the ending is that some of the loose ends have been tied up and I'm not sure where Mr. Flynn will go from here. I hope Mitch and Donatella can work together. I hope Scott is involved. How long can President Hays stay in office? Oh, I can't wait for the next one!!
Rating:
Summary: What a thriller
Review: Enough techno/espionage and world politics to keep you without sleep until you complete this one. As always the CIA, Mossad, mixed gently with the Arabs make for a moving story that seems less like fiction since 9/11. I will now go back to book one and read forward. Mr. Flynn in my opinion rates up with the finest writers we have at this time.
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