Transfer of Power

Mitch Rapp Series

By: Vince Flynn

Narrated by: Nick Sullivan

Length: 16 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

On a busy Washington morning, the stately calm of the White House is shattered in a deadly terrorist attack on the executive mansion. The president is evacuated to an underground bunker, but not before nearly 100 hostages are taken.

Mitch Rapp, the CIA’s top counterterrorism operative, is sent in to take control of the crisis and determines that the president is not as safe as Washington’s power elite had thought. Indeed, Rapp has made a chilling discovery that could rock Washington to its core: someone within his own government wants his rescue attempt to fail.

Hear Mitch Rapp, the CIA's top operative, battle global terrorism in more of Vince Flynn's political thrillers.

©1999 Vince Flynn (P)2011 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"Endless intrigue... Flynn mixes in a spicy broth of brutal terrorists, heroic commandos, and enough secret-agent hijinks to keep the confrontation bubbling until its flag-raising end." ( Publishers Weekly)

" Transfer of Power emerges in its sense of authenticity, depth of research, and almost seamless dramatic scenario....One of Flynn's finest skills as an up-and-coming young master of the genre of political thrillers is his ability to create a cast of compelling characters." ( Bookpage)

You can't replace George Guidall!

Although I'm a devoted fan of Vince Flynn and Mitch Rapp, I must admit I found the voice of Nick Sullivan to be annoying and poorly engaging. I almost stopped listening. Many of the characters sound like Smithers from "The Simpsons".
George Guidall does a much better job.

Coming back to listen to the first in the Series!

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) I had previously passed on the first 5 Vince Flynn novels because Audible did not have them in an Unabridged format. When I saw they did I jumped on the opportunity and this book did not disappoint. It's no surprise that Mitch Rapp has been such a huge success for Flynn because this was a great start to the series.

Plot: If you've read/listened to any Flynn books this does not deviate from the standard. Middle Eastern terrorists have taken over the White House and with the President locked inside one of the WH safe rooms the fate of all the individuals trapped inside is riding on the shoulders of an incompetent Vice President who's sole concern is getting elected as POTUS once the crisis is over. With heads butting between the CIA, FBI, Secret Service and Military this book has it all as they race against time to save the President and minimize hostage casualties.

Narrator: Not a bad performance, but unfortunately I've been spoiled by Mr. George Guidall, who narrates the last 7 books in the series. As with most audio books there are several mispronunciations of military terms, the only major one is; the snipers use a .50 cal Barret (pronounced BEAR-et - NOT - "barrette" - like for your hair). Not a big deal but a weapon that can reach out and touch someone a mile away should be given it's proper pronunciation! 8-)

Take Another Listen

If you're a big Mitch Rapp fan like myself then you might have the whole series too. Like myself you might have picked books by content and being on sale so you never really went in order. That was the case with this book. I passed this book up because of so many negative reviews because of a different reader. However I'm glad I finally picked it up because it filled in a lot of blanks to the on going series and now I also know how he met the reporter....

For all those who seem to have totally concentrated on a different performer rather than the book....Listen through and concentrate on the book...It's actually pretty good.

I've listened to this and one other read by someone other than George Gidal. The other author really didn't have a strong enough presence so that one really took some to get past the reading, but in time I did. This performer was much stronger and really wasn't all that bad with utilizing different personas for each character. I totally got past the fact that it was a different reader within ten minutes or so and really enjoyed the book.

One thing that's consistant with Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp....There's always two sets of bad guys. One set is the terrorists who Mitch Rapp loves to kill, and the other is Washington politicians who Mitch would love to kill, but usually doesn't. As usual there some poiticians and advisors who through their own actions are making things worse. I like the way these books always seem to have a two point attack on the missions, It makes for a lot of fun wondering how he's going to manage.

If you are a fan, but have stayed away from this one because of the negative comments about the reader. I'm glad I finally checked it out to find it really wasn't as bad as some who only consider Gidal as the one and only performer for the Mitch Rapp series....

Good story, despite some technical flaws

Where does Transfer of Power rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I'd rank Transfer of Power in the upper 50%. I've read a great number of audiobooks, back to when Books on Tape still did rentals, so it's hard to really say how it compares to them all. The narrator was not as good as George Guidall, but was certainly acceptable. Whether a particular performer is great or awful can be very subjective, though I have found a few that really did make the story impossible to enjoy, and others that made a very weak story tolerable.

What did you like best about this story?

The political chicanery and lust for power, as well as the oftentimes paralyzing lack of decisiveness by bureaucrats and even military "leaders".

What aspect of Nick Sullivan’s performance would you have changed?

I think he did fine. A performer can only do so much with his voice and pacing. I think this reader was acceptable, though some others might have been better. I almost skipped this book because of the harsh criticism of the reader by some reviews, but am glad I did get it.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not really. I do wish authors of this type of work would get more accurate information on firearms and how they function as well as how humans react to being shot. It would also help if the performer would also do a little research on things rather than guess at the pronunciation. The rifle-maker Barrett is not pronounced like a girls hair clip.

Any additional comments?

Readers/listeners to this genre of books, especially ones with a lot of detail often know a lot of these technical details themselves, so it is grating when ammo magazines are called clips, and subguns that fire from an "open bolt" have a round racked into the chamber by the protagonist prior to going into action. Still, I'll likely listen to at least several more in this series, unless Mitch starts meditating on his navel or something.

THE START OF A LEGEND

Would you listen to Transfer of Power again? Why?

I have read it more than once and would continue to read and listen-what a great follow up to a great start. Flynn has continuously been a best selling author for strong obvious reasons.

What does Nick Sullivan bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I don't understand people antipathy for this narrator and their like of George guidal in all the others. his voice is better suited-it is stronger and not so particular as georges.

excellent as always

the story was excellent. The reader was terrible I did not like him I truly like the first reader that read the first two books. that's why I gave it all over all of 4 stars.

Don't quit the series because of narrator change

I nearly dropped the series when I found out George Guidall had been replaced as narrator. Glad I stuck with it though, especially when I noticed that from Book 6 Guidall is back.

Once you get over the difference in narrator this was a good solid Mitch Rapp book. The timeline seems to have jumped markedly forward from the previous Book 2, so much so that on more than one occasion I was sure I'd missed one or more books by accident.

All that aside I really enjoyed this book and will continue with Book 4 and 5, with the knowledge that the series returns to it's original and best narrator George Guidall. Nick Sullivan was good... a bit wooden perhaps.. but that's comparing him to an elite like Guidall.

Another Hit!

As a Mitch Rapp fan, I have to give this one a thumbs up! As a listener, I didn't want to get out of the car.

Great start to an aswome series

What did you love best about Transfer of Power?

Love the story and action pack story line!!!

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The plot was great and fast pace.

What three words best describe Nick Sullivan’s voice?

Not that great but OK.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It kepet me interested and wanting more.

Good spy thriller

Vince Flynn knows how to write a spy thriller, he knows how to make charachters believeable and entertaining.... you love it right away and you are left wanting more...Mitch Rapp is a great charachter who deserves your time!