The Review Can Be Found Here: http://thefictionalhangout.blogspot.c...Mitch Rapp, the CIA's top counter-terrorism agent, is sent on his final mission - to eliminate a European industrialist who has been supplying highly sensitive equipment to one of the world's most notorious sponsors of terrorism. He doesn't know that the ultimate target of this mission is himself.Thriller books are generally good for fast paced, action fun, with plenty of quick reads. Lee Child, David Baldacci, Elmore Leonard (having recently read Pronto and am looking for more) and James Patterson are my go to authors in the genre and Vince Flynn has been on my to read list for a while, so it even though The Third Option may be the fourth novel in the series focused on the character Mitch Rapp, I was kind of interested to check it out as I figured they’d be relatively standalone, and hey, it was on sale on the Kindle Fire (I don’t know if it still is), so why not? What could possibly go wrong?I ended up getting a pretty positive reaction out of the book, and although it’s nothing too memorable and will probably be quickly forgotten, it was a nice quick read and a perfect way to keep me distracted, as the fast pace kept me turning the pages as the tension was always high and remained that way throughout the novel (even if, as mentioned later, the main character's safety was never in doubt). Chances are if you’re reading this review you’ll already be familiar with Mitch Rapp, but if you’re not, he’s the CIA’s top counter terrorism agent, a Jack Reacher esque figure only working for the CIA rather than as a lone wolf. He’s sent on his final mission to eliminate a European industrialist, who has been supplying equipment to one of the world’s most notorious sponsors of terrorism, but what he doesn’t know is that it’s actually a trap, and the real target is of course himself.I was going in expecting something similar to the Jason Bourne movies (which are incidentally, my favourite series of thriller films), and Flynn did not disappoint with Bourne fans being right at home, with the European stuff being some of my favourite parts about the book – too often they’re largely US centric so this was a nice breath of fresh air, even if there’s a lot of US content happening here. I didn’t have any problems understanding what was happening even though this was the fourth entry in the series, and also (I didn’t know this until after I finished reading) apparently the first part in an interlinked duology, going into A Separation of Power, so that explains partly why I wasn’t quite as pleased with the ending as I would have perhaps have liked. It’s certainly something that’s been added to my to read list as I plan on returning to the world of Vince Flynn’s series in the future for sure.As you can expect from your standard thriller novel the characters aren’t the most developed and the plot isn’t particularly complicated either, with few apart from Rapp really making an impression on the reader. However, that said, like most good thrillers, The Third Option has a way of keeping you hooked from the word go, plunging into a story that you won’t be able to put down until you finish its pages, and even though the standard Good vs. Evil stuff is there with little moral ambiguity, the tension is engaging enough to keep you reading.However, that said, there’s a distinct lack of tension concerning Rapp’s character. There’s currently fourteen books in the series, with The Survivor coming in October 6th from author Kyle Mills, who replaces Vince Flynn on the series, so it’ll be interesting to see how Mills handles the books differently. What sucks coming onto a series this late is that you know what’s going to happen next and Rapp is obviously going to defeat the bad guys on his mission of revenge, but even so, Flynn manages to keep it entertaining, which is probably the book’s strongest aspect.If you want a good, fast paced read and haven’t already read Mitch Rapp novels and are a fan of the Alex Cross or Jack Reacher series by James Patterson and Lee Child respectively, then you can’t go far wrong with The Third Option – either starting here or going back to the beginning of Mitch Rapp’s novels would work.VERDICT: 7.9/10
So ... I have read hundreds of reviews of this author and everyone praises him or is disgusted. There really arent many middle grounders. So Pro's-Action packed, yes.-Plot that has global implications with baddies who have power, and scope on a plan so convoluted not even our heroes can see clearly... Oh yeah.-People acting in ways we can envision even when we know they are doing the wrong thing. (Perspective of "Don't open that door mentality of the viewer.") Yeah, it has got miles of it. -Impossibly good hero, well it is Mitch Rapp.But don't get me wrong, with all the good, there are its downsides.Con's...- Love interest is too role specific. I think it was even just in this book where Rapp mentions a girl who could help him but if he went there, he would sleep with her. That doesn't scream I am ready to settle down.- Rapp is this super agent, with zero people skills.- Rapp is this super agent, who was trained by a 50 year old who went back in the field with him, and now Rapp is 32 contemplating retirement.- Flynn writes a novel about a super spy, who kills Terrorist, and in 2 books puts him into retirement... (Maybe the books weren't selling, IDK but wow... Not looking good in future scope.)- Female character interaction is odd. Mother interaction is terrible. For people who show no emotion, they certainly aren't rationale or cold enough to think of implications that maybe Rapp goes dark for a reason. - I hire secret well trained assassins to go in regularly to super highly guarded situations, who recognize flaws in security nets, and have only one guard and almost no security alarms.- My boyfriend kills people for a living, I am the daughter of a cop, a rape victim, a reporter who is in the public eye, also I was involved in the ultimate home invasion almost less than a year ago when the white house was broken into... So my apartment door has a single lock and no alarm... *Ummm.... No?!* So basically there are tons of problems. Things I think Flynn over simplifies, things that happen in Washington and there are entirely too many operators running around for hire easily find-able with no trace backs. I just want to see more, hear less, and have more actually happen. In this novel its almost written as the first part of a two part tv episode.
What do You think about The Third Option (2015)?
Poor cousin to Tom Clancy. I'm not a fan of Tom Clancy's politics or ethics, but at least he spins a good yarn. Flynn's characters are not particularly prepossessing, nor is the story that great. In addition the novel is the perfect example of pragmatic consequentialist ethics. A thing is right to do if it can be characterised as being in the interests of the USA, and if it gets the results you desire, justifying the whole "black-ops" thing, extra-judicial killings, lying to Senate Committees, etc. The characters who work for the CIA see themselves as accountable only to the President and therefore perfectly entitled to lie to the people's elected representatives in government. When necessary, however, they also do not inform the President of what they are doing, in the interests of 'deniability' - the President needing to be able to deny knowledge of he and the CIA obviously know the voters and US allies would qualify as unethical and unacceptable behaviour. In the end, it is the CIA, that decides what is in the US' best interests and how to achieve it, an interesting take on democracy and accountability.The most annoying thing about this book, however, is that it doesn't have an ending. It just stops. As I see it, this makes it a collection of chapters, not a novel. Presumably it carries on to the next novel which must be read if any loose ends are to be tied up.
—Ailish
This is really the first spy thriller novel that I've read. I have to say that I really like it.So, someone set up Mitch Rapp in Germany. That was probably the biggest mistake that they could have ever made in their life. They pissed Mitch Rapp off. Through out this novel I have learned that you really don't want to piss Mitch Rapp off.Mitch wants out of the CIA. He has a new life waiting for him and he wants to put all of the killing and other unfortunate tasks his performed behind him. He is a very paranoid person and is pretty much ready for anything. He is smart and lethal. In "The Third Option", you really get to see just how resourceful he is.The plot was really good. Through the perspectives, we got to follow a bunch of people involved with the set up. We also get to see the secrecy and the lies first hand. Which means that we can guess what is going to happen before Mitch figures it out. Flynn did a great job with details and making this novel seem real.I really enjoyed "The Third Option". I look forward to reading more of Flynn's novels.
—Jules Goud
Would you listen to The Third Option again? Why? I would listen any of the Mitch Rapp stories again. Not only is the plot filled twists and turns and political along with military intrigue, Mitch is out killing all the bad guys. Mitch is helped out by a new set of characters who add an extra layer of kick ass to the story. This story and real any of the Mitch Rapp sagas is recommended to readers who like the military/political thriller genre of booksWhat did you like best about this story? The no nonsense way Flynn writes his stories. He has created a hero who is American's answer to terrorist even if the people or politicians don't he out there taken care of the bad guys. The interactions between Kennedy and Rapp are some the most interesting conversations between a boss and worker, but Rapp will assassinate the people in his way and sleep like a baby in the morning.If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be? Framed, Pissed, and out for blood, just another day on the job for Mitch Rapp
—Scott Widener
