The Janson Directive - Hardcover

Ludlum, Robert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312253486 ISBN 13: 9780312253486

Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2002

Synopsis

One of the world's greatest men has been kidnapped.

Nobel laureate, international financier, and philanthropist Peter Novak - a billionaire who has committed his life and fortune to fostering democracy around the world through his Liberty Foundation - has been captured by the forces led by the near-mythical terrorist known as The Caliph. Holding Novak in a near impenetrable fortress, The Caliph has refused to negotiate for his release, planning instead to brutally execute Novak in a matter of days.

Running out of time and hope, Novak's people turn to a man with a long history of defeating impossible odds: Paul Janson. For decades, Janson was an operative and assassin whose skills and exploits made him a legend in the notorious U.S. covert agency Consular Operatations. No longer able to live with the brutality, bloodshed, and personal loss that marked his career, Janson has retired from the field and nothing could lure him back. Nothing except Peter Novak, a man who once saved Janson's life when everyone else was powerless to help.

With the considerable resources of The Liberty Foundation at his disposal, Janson hastily assembles a crack extraction team, setting in motion an ingenious rescue operation. But the operation goes horribly wrong and Janson is marked for death, the target of a "beyond salvage" order issued from the highest level of the government.

Now he is running for his life, pursued by Jessica Kincaid, a young agent of astonishing ability who - as a student of Janson's own lethal arsenal of tactics and techniques - can anticipate and counter his every move. To survive, Janson must outrace a conspiracy that has gone beyond the control of its originators. To win, he must counter it with a conspiracy of his own.

With mere days, perhaps only hours, remaining, and shadowed by a secret that links Janson's violent life with that of the visionary peacemaker Peter Novak, Janson's only hope is to uncover the nearly unimaginable truth behind these events - a truth that has the power to foment wars, topple governments, and change the very course of history.

About this title

Review

Even after death, Robert Ludlum remains the master of the international spy caper, and whether this posthumously published new thriller was cobbled together by a real ghost or already completed before Ludlum died doesn't matter. All the trademarked Ludlum gifts of plotting, pacing, and suspense are on full display in this engrossing mystery about a former covert operative turned private security executive who's stranded, abandoned, and marked for murder by his old colleagues when he manages to survive an unsurvivable mission. Rescuing renowned philanthropist and statesman-without-portfolio Peter Novak from the clutches of the terrorist who murdered his wife and unborn child, Paul Janson watches, unbelieving, as the plane carrying Novak back to freedom explodes before his eyes. Soon after the first post-mission attempt on his life, Janson begins to put the pieces of the puzzle together, but Ludlum keeps the reader from seeing it whole until the last thrilling chapter. A page-turner that doesn't let up, this one will leave Ludlum's fans hoping there are more unpublished manuscripts where this one came from, a not unlikely possibility. --Jane Adams

From the Inside Flap

Explosive praise for Robert Ludlum's

The Sigma Protocol
"Perfectly executed...Packed with all the classic Ludlum elements...thunders forward at breakneck pace."--People

"[A] triumph...Harkens back to the roller coaster ride/thrill-a-minute Bourne Identity."
-The Midwest Book Review

"Ludlum at his best."--Sullivan County Democrat

"Vintage Ludlum."-Houston Chronicle

"Dazzling...a clean launch of the '80s spy novel into a thrilling action/adventure web of intrigue meant for the 21st century."--Publishers Weekly

"It's amazing that 10 pages before the end of the book, you still can't figure out how he's going to resolve the complex plot he's presented. Yet he does, and pretty satisfactorily."
-Colorado Springs Gazette

"[Ludlum] shows that...his storytelling skill was still at an all time high...provides no less suspense than his die-hard fans would expect."-Bookreporter.com

"An accomplished novel...classic Ludlum...moves at breakneck speed...with well-developed players and a fascinating stage, Ludlum has risen to some of his finest work in this clever and enjoyable novel." -Chattanooga Times Free Press

"Better than anything [Ludlum's] done in nearly 20 years...here is vintage Ludlum...the plot is rich with new insight."-Gannett Newspaper

"Ludlum keeps things moving with plenty of gunplay and running about...quite good."
-Booklist

Critical Praise for Robert Ludlum:

"Ludlum stuffs more surprises into his novels than any other six-pack of thriller writers combined."-The New York Times

"Ludlum pulls out all the stops, and dazzles his readers."-Chicago Tribune

"Packed with all the classic Ludlum elements...the intricately engineered plot thunders forward at breakneck pace. Bottom Line: Perfectly executed."-People

"Robert Ludlum continues to jolt his readers with fresh juice...a page-turner of non-stop action that should leave his fans begging for more."-New York Post

"Welcome to Robert Ludlum's world...fast pacing, tight plotting, international intrigue."
-Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Dazzling...a clean launch of the 80's spy novel into a thrilling action/adventure web of intrigue mean for the twenty-first century."-Publishers Weekly

"Reading a Ludlum novel is like watching a James Bond film...slickly paced...all consuming."
-Entertainment Weekly

"Ludlum in light years-beyond his literary competition in piling plot twist upon plot twist, until the mesmerized reader is held captive...He dominates the field in strong, tightly plotted, action-drenched thrillers."-Chicago Tribune

"Readers will remain in the dark right up until the explosive climax."-The San Francisco Chronicle

"Gripping...Robust writing and a breakneck pace."-Boston Herald

"Don't ever begin a Ludlum novel if you have to go to work the next day."--Chicago Sun-Times

About this edition

• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0312253486
• ISBN 13: 9780312253486
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 542