Vince Flynn: Mitch Rapp Series

Discussion in 'TMB Book Club' started by Lucky24Seven, Feb 9, 2013.

  1. Lucky24Seven

    Lucky24Seven Ain't nothing slick to a can of oil
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    Any of y'all get into the Mitch Rapp series by Vince Flynn? Read one this summer and really got into it. Basically, he's like a Jason Bourne contract killer for the government. I couldn't put it down. First book in the series is American Assassin. Here's a little background on it:


    Before he was considered a CIA superagent, before he was thought of as a terrorist’s worst nightmare, and before he was both loathed and admired by the politicians on Capitol Hill, Mitch Rapp was a gifted college athlete without a care in the world . . . and then tragedy struck.

    Two decades of cutthroat, partisan politics has left the CIA and the country in an increasingly vulnerable position. Cold War veteran and CIA Operations Director Thomas Stansfield knows he must prepare his people for the next war. The rise of Islamic terrorism is coming, and it needs to be met abroad before it reaches America’s shores. Stansfield directs his protÉgÉe, Irene Kennedy, and his old Cold War colleague, Stan Hurley, to form a new group of clandestine operatives who will work outside the normal chain of command—men who do not exist.

    What type of man is willing to kill for his country without putting on a uniform? Kennedy finds him in the wake of the Pan Am Lockerbie terrorist attack. Two-hundred and seventy souls perished that cold December night, and thousands of family and friends were left searching for comfort. Mitch Rapp was one of them, but he was not interested in comfort. He wanted retribution.

    Six months of intense training has prepared him to bring the war to the enemy’s doorstep, and he does so with brutal efficiency. Rapp starts in Istanbul, where he assassinates the Turkish arms dealer who sold the explosives used in the Pan Am attack. Rapp then moves onto Hamburg with his team and across Europe, leaving a trail of bodies. All roads lead to Beirut, though, and what Rapp doesn’t know is that the enemy is aware of his existence and has prepared a trap. The hunter is about to become the hunted, and Rapp will need every ounce of skill and cunning if he is to survive the war-ravaged city and its various terrorist factions.

    As action-packed, fast-paced, and brutally realistic as it gets, Flynn’s latest page-turner shows readers how it all began. Behind the steely gaze of the nation’s ultimate hero is a young man primed to become an American Assassin.
     
  2. BTH

    BTH The most precious possession...is your own people.
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    Read the first 4-5 books and they were amazing. They've been rapidly declining in quality since. And that's not the first book in the series it's like the 10th or 11th First book in the series is Transfer of Power. After about book 6 it starts getting redundant and predictable. Quality of writing drops too.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitch_Rapp#Books_Appeared_In
     
  3. chipperk

    chipperk Well-Known Member
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    Yeah, after Consent to Kill they start going down hill. The 2 that are prequels are good, but his latest (Last Man Standing) is not.
     
  4. Lucky24Seven

    Lucky24Seven Ain't nothing slick to a can of oil
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    True, American Assassin isn't the first book written, but it's first chronologically. Still was entertaining. Worth a read if you got some down time.
     
  5. football501

    football501 I once ate a Twix with the wrapper on it
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    Big fan. Have dropped off a bit I still enjoy them.
     
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  6. texasraider

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    Read transfer of power and it wasn't terrible but it was very forgettable and I don't have a desire to keep reading the series
     
  7. One Knight

    One Knight https://www.twitch.tv/thatrescueguy
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    I actually enjoyed Transfer of Power, most of the Mitch Rapp books are very good, Consent to Kill being the best. Not a huge fan of the prequels though.
    Taken as a whole, I have enjoyed Vince Flynn's work as much as anyone since Tom Clancy (who is #1 for me by a country mile).
     
  8. Blackterno

    Blackterno Well-Known Member
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    I still will read them all and look forward to them, but they definitely have slipped. Last Man Standing was easily the worst of the entire series.

    The earlier ones and the prequels were great though.
     
  9. Blackterno

    Blackterno Well-Known Member
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    New Mitch Rapp was released today. Entitled The Survivor and is written by Kyle Mills. I can't wait to read this. Hopefully he does the series justice.
     
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  10. lhprop1

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    I picked it up from B & N yesterday at lunch. Only about 50 pages in so far and it's moving a little slower than a lot of the other ones, but it's what you'd expect.

    Flynn was from here in St Paul, so a lot of the local radio stations have been interviewing Kyle Mills. Dude seems genuinely grateful to be asked/allowed to continue the Mitch Rapp story line.
     
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  11. Blackterno

    Blackterno Well-Known Member
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    I have read pretty much all the anti terror/espionage series out there. Mitch Rapp is the best character of all of them imo. Hopefully Mills continues the character as an ass kicker and not an older guy who is more of a team leader type.
     
  12. lhprop1

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    I just finished it. It's not the usual ass-kicking Rapp that you're used to. He still kicks ass, but it seemed like they're starting to transition him out of the field a little bit. There also seemed to be a bit more focus on other characters than usual, but it's been a while since I read the last one so I might be misremembering.

    Mills' dialogue seemed better than Flynn's, but his storytelling/conspiracy weaving still needs a little work. All in all, I think at least a few more books are warranted.
     
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  13. Blackterno

    Blackterno Well-Known Member
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    I just finished The Survivor. I thought Mills did a really good job. The writing was good. Rapp is definitely "transitioning" but is still involved in Ops which is good. Rapp is still the best character out there. I love the way he goes about his business. When he told Senator Ferris "Get the fuck out dipshit" I cracked up.
     
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  14. rrisher

    rrisher Well-Known Member
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    If you guys enjoyed the first few mitch Rapp novels, try term limits. Flynn wrote it before the mitch Rapp series. The former seal team that helps Rapp out, Coleman is the team leaders name, are some of the main characters in the book.
     
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  15. KJROD20

    KJROD20 the ends will justify the means.
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    Bump. Had no idea they were making a movie. I would have preferred Transfer of Power, but I guess if it does well having a youngster as Rapp makes it easy for the series. Digging Keaton as Stan.

     
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  16. football501

    football501 I once ate a Twix with the wrapper on it
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    Some back story deviations but that's to be expected I guess. Ditto on Keaton making a good Hurley
     
  17. Blackterno

    Blackterno Well-Known Member
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    Looks solid. I look forward to it. I guess I will re-read the book prior to seeing it but I worry that in doing so it will piss me off when I see the movie. Yes I'm a purist and I hate it when they deviate from the actual story. I don't think the Mitch Rapp story needs any changes or embellishments.
     
  18. Truman

    Truman Well-Known Member
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    This series is on my to-do list. Wanted to work my way through Gabriel Allon series first (only 2 books in) but and upcoming movie will make me read this sooner.
     
  19. football501

    football501 I once ate a Twix with the wrapper on it
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    Allon books are fantastic, so are these. Glad you're knocking out both.
     
  20. Truman

    Truman Well-Known Member
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    I loved the first 2. My plan was to work through the Allon series this year as I mix in other books, but Harry Potter is putting a kink in those plans.
     
  21. football501

    football501 I once ate a Twix with the wrapper on it
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    Oh by all means finish HP, they're outstanding and faster reads (though the last two are long). Plus I'm one of many reliving the first time vicariously through you so please hurry.
     
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  22. lhprop1

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    Have you read the Safe Havens: Shadow Masters series by JT Patten yet? http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20661360-safe-havens

    He's only completed the first two books so far, but those were both well done.
     
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  23. Blackterno

    Blackterno Well-Known Member
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    I have not read those. I will check them out.
     
  24. Bill the Butcher

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  25. Bill the Butcher

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    Finished the first one. A little too out there with the bad guys plan and carrying it out. Decent read though, probably wont read the second one. Would recommend to people that like this type of stuff.
     
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  26. TheGrifter

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  27. Truman

    Truman Well-Known Member
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    I will prob read American Assassin first, because of the Movie, but after that, do you recommend reading in story order, or publication order?
     
  28. football501

    football501 I once ate a Twix with the wrapper on it
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    If you're already reading AA just go story order. Read Kill Shot and then Term Limits (good backstory on important characters) then Transfer of Power and go from there
     
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  29. football501

    football501 I once ate a Twix with the wrapper on it
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    I went to a matinee this morning (have Friday's off) and as an action movie it was fine. Liked Keaton as Hurley. Thought O'Brien was okay but as a book adaptation I wasnt a fan.
    There were a few key scenes they carried over but I wish it had followed the source material for conflict more closely. The changes were pretty hokey. I hated that he went vigilante at the beginning and that the CIA knew about it. Rapp was way too emotional and took dumb risks which is way off base. Killing Sharif in his apartment was dumb AF and a stupid change. The girl playing Kennedy was fine but didnt get the analytical genius vibe from her that there is in the books.
     
  30. Blackterno

    Blackterno Well-Known Member
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    I will see it Sunday. Can't wait. I don't expect it to be anything like the book but there's no way it can't be an action-packed thriller.
     
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  31. Bill the Butcher

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    That movie was a major disappointment. Literally nothing like the book
     
  32. Truman

    Truman Well-Known Member
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    Just finished Transfer of Power.

    I liked it. Rapp is basically Jack Bauer. Parts of it didnt age too well. Written in 1999. Lots of the presumptions that Saddam was behind all the terrorism is off in retrospect.

    Im sure the later books will lean into that more after 2001.
     
  33. KJROD20

    KJROD20 the ends will justify the means.
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    I'm still pissed they butchered the movie version of Mitch. Should have started with Transfer of Power instead of American Assassin.
     
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  34. Truman

    Truman Well-Known Member
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    Reading Extreme Measures. About half way through. I thought this was a Mitch Rapp book, not a Mike Nash. Nash is an ok character, but Mitch being on the sidelines sucks.
     
  35. Truman

    Truman Well-Known Member
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    Lethal Agent came out last week. It’s ok. Feels like Mills just went through the paces w this one. The plot was cool but barely did anything w it.

    Sigh
     
  36. terrapinsfan

    terrapinsfan Well-Known Member

    I have the audiobook for the newest one Enemy At The Gates on pre-order. I have enjoyed the entire series. If you like the Mitch Rapp series I would highly recommend the Scot Horvath series by Brad Thor. I just finished the latest one Black Ice and liked it.
     
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  37. Truman

    Truman Well-Known Member
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    Finished Enemy at the Gates last night. The last few books were kind of meh for me. This was really good.
     
  38. Simon Templar

    Simon Templar Well-Known Member
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    Other good series similar to Rapp and Horvath are

    Grey Man by Mark Greaney
    Jesse McDermott books by Wayne Stinnett
     
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  39. Truman

    Truman Well-Known Member
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    Finished Oath of Loyalty, the most recent release. Really enjoyed it. Kyle Mills is doing a good job picking up this series.
     
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  40. football501

    football501 I once ate a Twix with the wrapper on it
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    Man, this one was different but a page turner. Really enjoyed it.
     
  41. Truman

    Truman Well-Known Member
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    Of all the longer running series that I read - Reacher, Gabriel Allon ect, this one has done the best job keeping it fresh.
     
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  42. football501

    football501 I once ate a Twix with the wrapper on it
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    Agreed. This still felt like Rapp where Silva, when he tries to branch out, got really Dan Brown-y.
     
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