Review: Protect and Defend

5 of 5 stars

Series: Mitch Rapp 10

My version: Paperback
Fiction Thriller, terrorosm
Simon & Schuster
2007
Bought

Only one man can bring the world back from the brink of nuclear war.

In a daring raid, Israel destroys Iran’s main nuclear facility, creating a radioactive tomb and an environmental disaster. An outraged United Nations condemns the attack while Iran swears vengeance against Israel and her chief backer, the USA.

Enter Lebanese master terrorist Imad Mukhtar who’s spent the past decade picking his targets and preparing his cells for this exact moment.

With the US on high alert, the President calls on the one man ruthless enough to counter the fanatical terrorist. Enter Mitch Rapp, America’s terrorist hunter and one-man wrecking crew. Meeting violence with violence, Rapp tracks Mukhtar across Europe to America, where they are pitted against each other in a hunt only one of them can survive.

Vince Flynn’s books are so much more than the unfortunately composed ‘one-man wrecking crew’ line would suggest to the new reader. Yes it delivers on the thrills and spills premise written about on the back, but that really doesn’t cover the half of it. Rapp may not do much thinking beyond where was he tricked and how does he kill the bastard best, but the thinking is being done, by other characters. Irene Kennedy, for example. This frees Rapp up to get on with killing the bastards… It is right about the ‘only one man’ part and that’s also a problem, as really, a country the size of the USA, ‘only one man’ doesn’t really work, does it?

It’s good that Flynn is taking on the US’ ally in the region, here and in some previous books. While Rapp doesn’t get to muse on the legitimacy of the settler’s house-building on ‘occupied’ ground, even having the Israelis in, is good. And good that it’s not just because ‘Mossad are the best ever.’ Obviously, the Arabs have to be the bad guys, but it’s no way one-dimensional in that respect.

With the chasing across the world, from a Middle East start, after a master terrorist, it again reminded me (positively) of Terry Hayes’ I Am Pilgrim that’s good, by the way.

The series is ten books old, for me, now and is really hitting its stride. They’ve continually got better and better, both in terms of character, story, plotting and writing. Vince Flynn has been setting the whole of his world up to edge towards perfection. He’s done it. If there are better thrillers out there…there aren’t, don’t bother looking.

You can buy Protect and Defend at Booksplea.se