By Robert Ludlum. Grade: AThe author of 37 novels, Robert Ludlum has been one of the busiest authors in literary circles. The Janson Directive is one of those 5 novels which were credited to Robert Ludlum and published posthumously.The spy game cost Paul Janson everything that was most important to him, so it would take a lot to lure him back into it. But there is one person to whom Janson owes a huge debt- and he’s calling in his marker. Peter Novak has been kidnapped and faces execution at the hands of terrorist extremists. Janson leads a team to extricate him- but something goes horribly wrong and Janson is the only survivor. It appears that the operation had been compromised from the start and the intelligence services are convinced that Janson is responsible. If he is to survive, he must unravel the truth about Novak. But something serious is about to happen- something which threatens the course of history itself.The plot begins in a small island of Anura in the Indian Ocean where a group of extremists have taken over the island with a very important hostage, Peter Novak. Peter Novak is the head of Liberty Foundation, a non-governmental trust working for world peace and democracy. But what makes it complicated is that no government is in a position to come forward and take up negotiations for the release of Peter Novak. The question is- who will come forward and do the task which nobody is willing to.The answer lays in the protagonist Paul Janson, a man who has left behind a past full of demons for a life which is far away from it. But he still wages a battle with his inner demons every single second of his existence. Once a decorated Consular Operations operative (for hardcore R.L. fans, Cons Ops seems to be coming up again and again), the man has put his past behind him for good. He now works as a security consultant and as expected, has created ripples in this world as well. Then one fine day he is approached by an associate of Peter Novak, the man who has been held hostage by the extremists in Anura. The catch is that Paul Janson owes a very heavy debt of honour to this gentleman called Peter Novak. Despite all the qualms he has about his past misgivings, he decides to take up this task to repay the one debt he has from his past. He gets together a team of highly skilled operatives each and every one of whom he has known for and since a long time and pursues this really perilous and near fatal mission. As expected, he is successful in extracting the hostage against all odds. But what follows baffles the minds of both the protagonist and the readers alike.Paul Janson witnesses an explosion in the very craft he was supposed to be, an explosion which killed all of its passengers- Janson’s team and the hostages they had freed. This really makes no sense to him. He decides to get to the bottom of it and vows to unravel the truth about Peter Novak. Since he is the only survivor, it is but natural that the people in swivel chairs in plush, high offices of various countries blame him for this mishap. Paul Janson, henceforth, is declared a traitor and orders are given to kill him. Mysteriously, evidence crops up that frames Janson and the one person who could prove his innocence cannot be contacted. Hence begins a wild goose chase between Janson and his executioners (US enforcement agencies, that is). In the process, he finds a trustworthy companion in Jessie Kincaid, the crème-de-la-crème sniper from Cons Ops, who turns over to his side after learning his story and finding truth in it. Together they begin a quest for the simplest yet the most bizarre piece of this puzzle- truth. Janson’s quest takes them from the lanes of London and Washington D.C. to the streets of Amsterdam to an ancient village in Hungary. In this process, Janson learns the real deal behind this whole Peter Novak incident. And when he finds out the truth, it does what it does best- blows his mind away (and the readers’ too). The question now is- Will Janson be able to do something about it while trying to stay alive or will he fall prey to this diabolical and colossal conspiracy?There are certain things characteristic of the author we know as Robert Ludlum- fluid but slick writing style, involvement of a government agency (the black suit types), a larger-than-life yet unknown-to-all conspiracy, a hero who works against all odds no matter their nature or their enormity and many more. But with the name Robert Ludlum on the cover page of a book comes a promise. A promise of an edge-of-the-seat, nail-biting, tight, pacey, first-rate novel. The Janson Directive is no exception to that.There are certain sequences which need, rather demand special mention. The first of such would be the skydiving free fall sequence. An eight page sequence in a standard paperback edition, this is detailing at its best. The extent of reality one experiences while reading these eight pages is unbelievable. From the sheer thrill of the experience to the expression of the magnitude of responsibility on this exercise to the use of gadgets to the brilliant insight into the human angle, this particular sequence is on top of the table, if any such table exists. Another one would be the Janson v/s the sniper teams sequence in London. Every time the agent in Janson props up, Robert Ludlum gives some kind of an extra edge to his writing which in turn gives the readers a certain kick. It is safe to say that if you keep reading Robert Ludlum’s novels, you have a fair chance in the field yourself. One more thing which is noticeable is the pace of the plot. The first 450-odd pages are fast, the next 150 are simply furious. As soon as the suspense comes out, Robert Ludlum wastes absolutely no time shifting into top gear, making the pace almost breakneck.All-in-all, if you just have time to kill, DO NOT pick this novel up because the next day you will not be able to put it back down.Originally reviewed at : www.the-vault.co.cc
Robert Ludlum, while living or now that he is dead, never fails to astonish me. His works are just different from most of the suspense-thriller novels around. Ludlum books are like a certain kind of apparel brand whose owners and tailors seem to have me in mind whenever they design and produce their clothes. The Janson Directive was first published in 2002, a year after Robert Ludlum’s death. The question of whether he or some hired writers wrote this does not really matter. This book has the quality – size, color, texture and overall appeal – as the ones Robert Ludlum himself wrote when he was still alive. It tells the story of Paul Janson a former member of the Covert One, a secret US government agency that fights corruption, conspiracy and bioweaponary at the highest and most dangerous levels of society. Janson is already retired but he gets an assignment to pay an old debt: to rescue Peter Novak, a Nobel laureate billionaire, international financier and a philanthropist. Novak is in the hands of a militant organization called The Caliph and its members are geared up to kill him. However, just like in any other suspense thrillers, the rescue is not that easy. Janson becomes a target himself when the militant organization come to know about him. Surprisingly, that directive comes from the US Government after several of its top-ranking officials go on dying one after the other. It so happens that he is now the suspect of killing these government officials and so Janson has two issues to resolve: who twisted the truth and framed him up for the deaths and how to rescue Peter Novak.There is a twist in the end that I did not see coming. It is still realistic considering that there is a probability that it can happen no matter how remote it could be for some people.Like the earlier Robert Ludlum books I’ve read, the scenes are many edge-of-your-seat scenes that will keep you breathless as you turn the pages. There are no philosophical musings, metaphors and other literary gimmicks but the book is very readable, engrossing and entertaining. My quest is to read all the 501 and 1001 books but it is nice to have a breather like Robert Ludlum books just to while away the seriousness of the usual hi-brow literary masterpieces.Universal Pictures has been shooting the third Bourne movie here in the Philippines since a couple of months back. Next in line will be a movie adaptation of this book, The Janson Directive. So, all you Ludlum fans do read this book because in the next few years will be another Ludlum movie and it will be for this one. Hope they shoot it again here in the Philippines. and I hope they bring back Matt Damon to play Paul Janson.
What do You think about The Janson Directive (2003)?
Robert Ludlum books are implausible to the extreme; once that fact is accepted, they are great fun. This was my favorite of the few Ludlum novels I have read. This book wasted no time getting to the action, and the ending was both plausible (relatively speaking of course) and unexpected. Somebody always ends up alive who was presented as dead in these books, but the villain and his path to power were both interesting in this case. Furthermore, the protagonist only escaped a gun to the head one time in this book, which is pretty good. I hate it when killing machines suddenly refuse to pull the trigger on the star of a book. It always seems like a completely unnecessary plot device. For a relaxing book, this book is great fun and sufficiently different from other spy thrillers to make it worth reading.
—Michael
I have to admit... despite the other "Robert Ludlum" series that I have already read, I haven't actually read one of Robert Ludlum's original novels written before he had passed and other authors had taken over the various series. Now, I have finally taken the time to read this particular novel because it's his original before recently a second book with the same main character, Paul Janson, has been taken over by another author.I have read the Jason Bourne series, and the Covert-One (Lt. Col. Jon Smith) series created by Robert Ludlum. They're incredible books in my personal opinion. This "different" main character, Paul Janson, to me, comes from a different aspect. The character's coming out of retirement and is a "free agent" with no ties, but resources at his disposal. Other characters from other series came with strings attached, this one's different. Robert Ludlum, in the beginning, takes the time to develop a not-so clear picture of the main character, Paul Janson. Why bring him out of retirement?The novel was explained in such vivid detail of who Paul Janson was in the past as a soldier, and why he all of a sudden had a 180 degree change of heart to leave. And also partially why he was asked back into action. What he went through; who his heroes were; what he had become; and what made him leave. Paul's main mission with a horrid twist that left him re-questioning why was he brought back and what happened in the first place?It's not that rare that a plot from a thriller can capture my attention, but this one really did because instead of answering questions, it actually either added more layers to the problem and/or left-fielded me from what I thought was going to happen. Paul Janson has become more of a problem than a solution with what's been happening to him and just about anyone he reunites from his past. One moment, he's loved and listened to, next paragraph (if not the next sentence later), he's become the most hated and hunted man.Throughout the thriller, the plot just gets more complicated with what Paul Janson is going through with his current situation. The overall question throughout the plot... who's who and why was everything so massively gut-wrenching? Without giving it away... don't believe who ANY of the characters are at first readings. By the time that any of the questions get to get answered, it's still not resolved.The novel is very lengthy and detailed. Four parts in total. But once I was sucked in to the plot mentally, it had become pretty difficult to put down. There are other thrillers that I have read that have detailed and drawn out descriptions of past memories and historical moments, but I have to say, this thriller tops them all in keeping my interest.
—Anthony
I am reviewing the novel The Janson Directive by Robert Ludlum which is an excellent thriller which I bought from a car boot sale. Ludlum was the biggest selling author in the world at one time and does write carefully crafted thrillers. I enjoyed this book which is also a nice length at around 620 pages. The plot is a prominent man has his son kidnapped by terrorists in Sri Lanka and the Americans will help him with intelligence but won't get further involved because it may put American citizens in that country at risk. He has to hire exspecial forces mercenaries to get him back. The mission is compromised and all but 1 of the team get killed and the 1 surviving one has a load of money anonymously been put in his bank account making him look like a traitor. He has to go on the run and try to sort out the mess. He discovers his employer's father was responsible for a massacre in a Hungarian village which was subsequently hushed up. He also discovers a corrupt congressman and there is a happy ending. It keeps you on your toes throughout. Apparently Ludlum worked in film & television prior to becoming an author and he did die some years ago. I think he is most famous for the Jason Bourne series.
—David Roberts
