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 protégé, 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 commandmen 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 doesnt 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.
©2010 Vince Flynn (P)2010 Simon and Schuster Audio
"Flynn never disappoints"
There's a reason Flynn is considered the king of the hill when it comes to this brand of thriller! He's has done it again with American Assassin. Although its been a long time coming, this latest Mitch Rapp adventure does not disappoint and has been worth the wait. It is as fresh as the first installment of the series, Transfer of Power, and continues to be up to date as today's news, as are all his novels. Brad Thor, Daniel Silva, Stephen Coonts, WEB Griffin and maybe even Ted Bell, with the amazing Sir Alexander Hawk are all paying homage to American Assassin this morning as being the new benchmark,
Thank you Mr.Fynn for always producing first rate material that is narrated by the master with a voice that make the words come alive, Mr George Guidall.
This Thriller is worth the credits or dollars and has left me waiting for the next Vince Flynn installment
Les C. Houston TX.
"How it all began! Wow!"
From the moment I heard Vince's customary first interview with Joe Soucheray on Garage Logic last week, I had a feeling this would be an interesting view of the early life of Mitch Rapp. I was NOT disappointed. American Assassin is fantastic! Great insights into the past of some of the key characters in the Rapp series. A gripping storyline that was intense!!! If you are already a Flynn fan, you will love this book. If you are new to Flynn's work... give it a shot, BUT be prepared for some intense action! ...Hopefully none of you ever have to play "20 questions" in the Middle East.
As I sit here in Middle America, I am hopeful that there are "real life" Rapp's and Hurley's in the field with Kennedy's and Stansfield's supporting them stateside.
George Guidall does a great job bringing Flynn's story to life! My only complaint is related to production issues of the audiobook. First version of Part 1 did not play on iPod Touch (had to download the high quality version to listen). Chapter breaks were too long and were not synchronized with the book. Made it slightly inconvenient to navigate, but quality of the story FAR outweighed any production concerns.
Enjoy!!
"Maybe the best one yet!"
The story starts out fast, and has a quick pace throughout. Mitch Rapp fans, get ready to find out how it all started, who trained him, and nurtured his natural abilities. Some real insightful stuff for Rapp fans everywhere. Worst thing about it is, now I am going to have to wait another year to get my next fix! Great read, well worth the listen! If you never listened to or read a Vince Flynn novel, this is a great place to start. It will get you down the path and should have been the book he started with, but having followed the Mitch Rapp career, it makes this listen all the sweeter! Get it you won't be disappointed!
"Flynn is consistently great"
With this first (of hopefully many) Mitch Rapp back story, Flynn continues to deliver. I have enjoyed several of his books in paper, but narrator George Guidall makes them come alive. Now if only we can get these read unabridged by Guidall:
• Memorial Day
• Separation of Power
• Term Limits
• The Third Option
• Transfer of Power
"Great book with action and some very funny parts"
Late in the book, my favorite character Stan Hurley finds himself in a difficult situation. What he does during this time made me laugh so hard that tears were rolling down my face (at least twice). I have been listening to the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child and although I really like the stories, I haven't laughed at anything like this in the first nine books. George Guidall does a fantastic job narrating the story and his character voices coupled with the author's character descriptions are so vivid that your mind will automatically create a real-life image of each character. Fantastic work.
"Not as good as expected"
Maybe I expected to much for my first Flynn novel evolving his popular character Mitch Rapp because as another reviewer pointed out I felt it lacked any real intrigue or suspense, I don't like to quote others but I believe that really sums up my first experience with a Vince Flynn novel. I found the first half which evolves Mitch Rapp's introduction and training into black operations enjoyable but his first adventure (mission) following said intro and training to be rather flat and mostly uneventful, again lacking suspense. Maybe it would have been better if I would have been like so many others and read previous books from the Mitch Rapp series but I know this is the prequel to the first book in the series so I started here, maybe I will enjoy the next book in the series more which is actually the first in the series, got to start somewhere I guess.
"Amazing..."
Love the new book. Great history about the legend that is Mitch. Love George's narration. Perfection. Makes me want to join the Omega Program.
"A Masterpiece"
From the two Masters. What else could you expect? Vince Flynn and George Guidall both masters of their realms. I was glad to pay for this one when I usually wait for a library copy.
"Perfect in every way!"
Flynn hits a home run again! The only thing wrong with the experience of hearing Guidall bring Rapp to life as only he can is that it's just like dining out on a good steak...it's so delicious that you know you should take your time and savor every minute, but just can't help yourself when you devour it like a maniac and suddenly it's over before you know it. Pure genius to take us back to the beginning, Vince. Hold on tight, Rapp fans. Another great kick in the teeth to the PC crowd.
"adequately entertaining"
This may be a very good book in the genre (of which I'm not a regular listener), but I found the plot, prose and character development simplistic at best. Overall, I was entertained (if unimpressed) and I do not regret using a credit on the purchase. The narrator was very good.