The Janson Directive

By: Robert Ludlum

Narrated by: Paul Michael

Length: 20 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

One of the world's greatest men has been kidnapped! Nobel laureate, financier, and philanthropist Peter Novak - a billionaire committed to fostering global democracy through his Liberty Foundation - has been captured by the Caliph, a near-mythical terrorist who plans to execute him in a matter of days.

Running out of time and hope, Novak's people turn to a man with a history of defeating impossible odds: Paul Janson. For decades, Janson was a legendary covert operative and assassin. Now he has retired, and nothing could lure him back - nothing except Peter Novak, who once saved Janson's life.

Backed by the considerable resources of the Liberty Foundation, Janson assembles a crack extraction team to rescue Novak from his fortress prison. But the operation goes horribly wrong and Janson is marked for death, the target of a "beyond salvage" order.

Now he is running for his life, pursued by Jessica Kincaid, an agent who, as a student of Janson's own lethal arsenal of tactics, can anticipate his every move. To survive, Janson must outrace a conspiracy that has gone beyond the control of its creators. To win, he must counter it with a conspiracy of his own. Janson's only hope is to uncover the nearly unimaginable truth behind these events - a secret that has the power to foment wars, topple governments, and change the course of history.

©2002 Myn Pyn LLC (P)2002 Audio Renaissance, a Division of Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC

Critic reviews

"All the trademarked Ludlum gifts of plotting, pacing, and suspense are on full display in this engrossing mystery." (Amazon.com)
"Vintage Ludlum - big, brawny, and loaded with surprises." (Publishers Weekly)
"A marvel of stunning physical detail...Ludlum's best since The Bourne Identity." (Kirkus Reviews)

Another Ludlum Classic!

One of the best I've heard yet. Great plot, well thought out characters and Paul Michael is one of the best narrators.

Not a

but entertaining. The narrator did a great job. The book itself got a bit long-winded. In what seems to be a Ludlum habit, the scope of the conspiracy is over the top, causing me to roll my eyes when the protagonist overcomes insurmountable odds over and over and over again. I listened to the entire book, but doubt that I would bother to listen to it a second time.

Good start

First, The narrator is one of my favorites. Great accents and flow to his performance.

This is a re-listen for me. I had forgot most of the stuff so it was good to come back to it.

A good story and a pretty fun premise for the book. Overall, good book with some small hiccups. Nothing to to take away from the story at all. Janson is a good character along with his sniper girlfriend. The villain was good but a little too good at times.

I’ve never read any of the other books but will try book 2 shortly.

Paul Michael is always a solid bet!

Paul Janson is one of those tough guys that you can rely on to say and do the right thing. What could be better? Put Paul Michael’s amazing narration in the driver’s seat. The story whips and turns and continues to surprise until the end.

Ludlum Excitement

A non stop action adventure with all the details you expect from a Ludlum book.

Narrator seems to be in a tin can

His voice is fine and the variety of accents is great, but it is ruined by the production. The story seems to be good but my ears could only take an hour of it. I have to give up.

The best produced audiobook I have ever heard

Other's have said plenty about the storyline, and if you are familiar with Ludlum's work, there is no surprise here. However, the reading and production is absolutely top-notch. Paul Michael does and excellent job with the different characters, giving them each a specific tone and accent that is a pleasure to listen to. I've listened to at least a dozen other audiobooks and never knew the experience could be this enjoyable. I highly recommend Paul Michael as a narrator. I will now be seeking books he's read.

Very Good Thriller

Really enjoyed this book. The Paul Janson character seems to be a guy that can think/act his way out of most anything that is thrown at him, especially if weaponry is involved. Sounds like a guy to have on your side if you needed to survive a very bad situation. The reader has quite an array of voices that he uses to portray the various characters. Did a really good job on the narration. I found it very easy to tell one character from another.
Now for what I didn't like. The thing I didn't like the most, or at least got tired of, was the flashbacks to Vietnam. Enough already with Paul Janson Vietnam flashbacks. Either get the whole flashback over with or mention them but don't take so long going in to so much detail where the only purpose seems to be to indicate his resolve at surviving and his being set up. I found this part distracting from the main story line and could have been completely removed and the story would have been even better.
Don't read on if you don't want to read something that may give away the story line: what was with saving Novak at the beginning and the Kalif character (assume the spelling is correct since I can only hear the story, not read it) that was holding Novak just kind of disappears until the end of the story? You'd think there would have been more around the guy being ticked that his hostage was rescued and somehow got away. Seems like there should have been at least a little more mention of what happened when he discovered the hostage was gone. I mean was he mad? Did he slaughter his own people for "dropping the ball," or did he exact some revenge on someone else, or did he fall out of favor and get lashed? Surely something happened right away near the beginning of the story. Why didn't the author at least close the loop up front since this is where the story started? I thought the story would have been fine with much fewer flashbacks.
Having said all this, I enjoyed the book quite a bit though and will read more Ludlum books.

Interesting Addition to the Bourne Universe

High speed Spy novel that has a couple of twists and turns. My opinion that this isn't one of Ludlum's best. The love interest is unreal at best and seemed forced... especially considering what the lady in question did to some of his buddies. The actual case concerning the villain was interesting and active. There is quite a few flashbacks that serve multiple purposes to further the plot and your understanding of Janson. Seminar to the Bourne trilogy only that it is one book long and much more modern.

Terrific listen

This was one terrific listen, full of twists and turns that keep the listener guessing and on the edge of their seats. The narrator is outstanding! The only thing that detracts from the overall brilliance is the music they inserted. It’s distracting, unnecessary Nd doesn’t even come at chapter breaks! It would have been better left out. If I want music I’ll listen to the radio!