Into the Fire

He is . . . The Last Man

 

(Reprinted from November 22, 2012)

 

                               

 

I knew I'd feel like this after I finished Vince Flynn's latest release The Last Man. I tried to take my time with it, but you just can't do that with a Mitch Rapp novel. Huh-uh. Just. Can't. Now I have to wait for the next one, and it's a long wait of course.

The Last Man picks up where Pursuit of Honor left off and follows Vince's two prequels to the Mitch Rapp Series, American Assassin and Kill Shot.

CIA Director Irene Kennedy has dispensed Mitch Rapp and Scott Coleman to Afghanistan after learning that her operative Joe Rickman is missing. Rickman is no basic operative. With his outrageous IQ and his years of experience and accumulated intel, it's imperative that he be found before the enemy extracts the secrets from him which will collapse the CIA for years to come. When Rapp and Coleman examine the scene at Rickman's residence, too many intangibles don't add up. With their former FBI tech pointing out certain characteristics regarding the safe where significant funds and critical intel should be, the four bodyguards sporting professional singular 9 mil gunshot wounds lined up on the floor with one man blasted with a 45, everything just seems "off".

By the time Kennedy arrives, Rapp has already managed to threaten and alienate officials who think they have more power than they actually do. He suspects something he can't quite articulate. A petulant FBI Special Agent fueled by a corrupt senator has sneaked into the picture with a team to expose what he's convinced will put Rapp and Rickman away for hiding millions of dollars in a particular Swiss bank.

Rapp's old arch-nemesis shows up unexpectedly and joins in a firefight which leaves one of Rapp's and Coleman's men dead, one injured and Rapp seriously incapacitated. Irene's got more puzzles to piece together than is humanly possible, must get rid of the FBI pest, learns the Pakistanis are split in their willingness to admit a hand in the problems Rapp faced or support her efforts to find Rickman. As if that's not enough, Mike Nash, who used to be an operative with Rapp, seems squeamish about certain orders she's issued to the point where she's going to reassess his usefulness when all of this chaos is under control.

The intricacies of the different forces working against the CIA Clandestine Services eventually come up against the potency and reach of what Director Irene Kennedy, her mentor Thomas Stansfield, and Mitch Rapp have established over the last several years. The Last Man is a clever title that says it all about Mitch Rapp. This novel delivers a complex multi-level plot that reveals the leverage and power of political rogues, the CIA, and the corruption of some members of foreign governments.

There are deeper issues lying just under the surface and sometimes exposed as the possibilities of life and death for operatives are examined. Justice plays its bold role as always, but there are moments when we wonder how these circumstances can possibly be rectified. With a stunning ending and a few new faces, The Last Man is a terrific adventure via various locations before all is said and done. It will be interesting to see how Vince uses the new faces and if he disposes of some of the old ones in future stories.

I don't know why Vince's novels seem to end up with several typos, but they do. No matter. The story always makes up for them. For those who like to be warned about bad language, there is a fair share of it in The Last Man. Highly recommended for Vince Flynn fans. For those who've yet to read one of his novels, go to the beginning and read through them all for real and full appreciation. I love these books. 

 

Father, I thank you for your mercy and healing for Vince. I ask that you would continue to mend his body and keep him whole. Please bless all of his efforts to honor you and let him know that you are with him. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

 

In a noble . . . Pursuit of Honor

 

(Reprinted from October 28th, 2009; my first read and review of a Vince Flynn novel)

 

                                   

 

Haven’t I described myself as a rule-breaker when it comes to writing? Well, I officially broke my own self-imposed rule of reading only Christian fiction. And let me tell you why. Recently on the radio I heard two interviews with NYT Bestselling Novelist Vince Flynn promoting his latest release Pursuit of Honor. Baited and hooked me. Why? Because he’s willing to expose the ridiculous positions of certain government politicians and their issues when it comes to protecting and preserving this country. So the very next day I headed to Border’s and didn’t even flinch when I picked up the hardcover book and proudly took it to the register, actually anxious to contribute to this novel’s sales. Let me just say there were places in the story where I cheered!

I love Mitch Rapp. The antithesis of politically correct in a world gone mad where injustice so often seems to preside over justice in multiple ways, and the pseudo rule of law prevails over common sense, Mitch Rapp delivers the hammer blows to crooked politicians and evil terrorists. The CIA covert operative, who describes himself as “damaged goods”, is one of the elite few unafraid and willing to do whatever it takes to either get information or silence it. Rapp and his covert cohorts do the unpopular, the ugly stuff, things that remain anonymous to almost everyone. Thank God for these people.

The story opens just after explosions erupted in Washington D.C. at the National Counterterrorism Center killing 185 people including public officials and CIA employees. The heroes of the aftermath, who were able to kill all but three of the terrorists who escaped, are unofficially given instructions to do whatever is necessary to find them in spite of the hand-wringing politicians who still blame the USA for creating its enemies. The calculated, heroic, but daredevil actions taken by Mitch accompanied by his partner Mike Nash to subdue the terrorists in the attack must remain unknown to keep Rapp’s and Nash’s identity a secret.

The hunt for the three remaining terrorists continues with the story moving back and forth between Rapp’s methods for finding them along with the CIA’s political maneuvering to keep their efforts clandestine and effective to revealing the terrorists’ escape routes and botched plans due to the narcissistic desires of their leader who calls himself the Lion of al Qaeda.

When Rapp’s partner and friend Mike Nash shows signs of cracking under the pressure of what is required of them, Rapp figures a way to get Nash “out” which will allow him to keep his beautiful family intact. The unexpected consequence of trying to keep Nash and his family safe results in a new kind of terror.

From the writing standpoint, Flynn shifts POVs against the “rules”, and it’s no problem whatsoever. From the language standpoint, this is a man’s man book and the f-bombs prevail along with other profanities. However, the language flows without shock value just as you would expect to hear it in each instance. If I had written it, I would’ve chosen to write around the specific uses of the cuss words, but I’m certainly not condemning Flynn’s writing for his choices. Even though this is one of the reasons I’ve eliminated secular novels from my reading, this story is too important, Flynn’s storytelling too good to be missed. I’m so glad I read this novel. I hope we get to see the movie. It’ll take one special actor to play Mitch Rapp.

If you love this country and understand the dire position of keeping it defended, you will love this book. If you understand the basis for concealing certain critical information—even at the risk of some of it being polluted and leaked by politicians and used by traitors—you will appreciate this story. If you enjoy do-or-die concepts in action-driven novels with a hero who commands respect with just enough charisma to keep his killing-machine persona admirable and attractive, Pursuit of Honor is the book for you.

 

Father, you have kept the USA in your hands, and I pray you would not abandon us yet. I ask for your personal blessing upon Vince Flynn. I pray you would give him insights into who you are. I also pray that you would continue to give him meaningful important stories to tell. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

 

Sunday's Offerings

 

Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it."

 

Numbers 13:30 (NIV)

Having to use . . . Extreme Measures

 

(Reprinted from July 20th, 2010)

 

                                        

Vince Flynn is a New York Times Bestselling novelist which in all seriousness should speak volumes to that newspaper. He’s a political thriller writer who’s not afraid to portray the shady shameful workings of those people who’ve been voted into office by unsuspecting citizens. He’s bold enough to provide a hero in Mitch Rapp who refuses to take their *%#@! and is quick to let them know what’s really what. Mitch has seen it all in his many years as a lone wolf counterterrorism operative, and he’s fed up with their political correctness and favoritism of “civility” and “rules” when the enemy plays by none.

 

In Extreme Measures Mitch is arrested during an interrogation of a HVT (high value target) in the middle of the night at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan by a cowardly idealist snit by the name of Captain Leland who’s never seen a lick of combat in spite of his location and whose only desire seems to be to show respect for the high-level terrorists they’re holding as prisoners and to not allow the animalistic Mitch Rapp from the CIA to lay a hand on the evil men—especially since an entourage of Congress people have just left the base spouting off about their judicial rights as prisoners.  

 

The Chairwoman of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Barbara Lonsdale, can’t wait to chew up Rapp and his boss CIA Director Irene Kennedy and spit them out of Washington. Her closest friend and political assistant warns her that she’s taken on more than she can handle with Rapp, explaining that if the truth were known, most people consider him a real hero because of his sacrifices and courage in doing what nobody else wants to do. She refuses to listen to his advice, haughty and smug about her choice to put Rapp to the wall and crush him.

 

Meanwhile, a narcissistic zealot soldier is training several young men in the jungles of South America while a terrorist cell operating out of a DC mosque helps to coordinate another huge attack on the Capitol.

 

Rapp’s got a bad feelin’ this group he knows little about, thanks to his arrest as he was making headway with the prisoner, could already be in DC, and when one of their own turns up tortured and burned in the morgue, Rapp’s on his way to the mosque.

 

All kinds of chaos erupts as Rapp apprehends three suspects leaving the mosque. Little does Rapp know that where he must take them is a planned target.

 

Although we learn a lot about the adopted tactics of this particular group of terrorists and their heinous leader, we also get a closer look at Mike Nash, Rapp’s protégé. Once again he’s also married to a woman whose personality is similar to Anna’s (Mitch’s deceased wife) and who elicits zero empathy from this reader. These ladies seem to think their desires matter the most in life, and their self-righteous, obnoxious conduct disgusts me. Geez, what’s with our heroes and their selection of shrews for wives?

 

Dr. Irene Kennedy is fairly absent in this novel—and missed. I would’ve much rather seen her progress from her capture in the last novel Protect and Defend instead of reading about Nash’s shrill wife. We learn Nash thinks Irene’s losing her objectivity as a result of her experience, but it’s neither confirmed nor denied in the story, although her anger issues throb to the surface. What seems more evident is that Nash is losing his fervor and fire for his job.

 

One of the best scenes in this novel is when a cocky deputy attorney from the Attorney General’s office decides to interview and antagonize Rapp while he’s handcuffed to the table in his orange jumpsuit. Priceless. 

 

Vince Flynn created the character of Mitch Rapp. Mitch Rapp is who sells these stories and, believe it or not, makes them believable. It’s Mitch’s attitude, intensity, and skills that keep readers cheering and turning pages so when Vince takes too much focus away from Rapp, at times the reader is tempted to skip ahead.

  

(And also must add if language and violence are a deterrent to your reading selections, both are included in this story.)

 

The book ends with an expected cliffhanger and an unexpected endorsement for when Mitch and Mike have to use Extreme Measures.

  

  

Father, once again I lift up to you those who give it all to restore and preserve and protect this great country you’ve allowed to flourish. I pray above all else they would know you, Jesus. I pray you would give them supernatural protection as they do the terrible and dangerous to protect others. I ask it all in the Name of Jesus, Amen.

 

Determined to . . . Protect and Defend

 

(Reprinted from July 12th, 2010)

 

                         

Vince Flynn’s Protect and Defend could’ve been written today, but it was published in 2007 which means he probably wrote it sometime in 2006, possibly 2005. And that’s the way it is with Vince’s novels. They’re poignant, impeccably researched with sources probably too deep to expose, and they gut-punch the lies handed down by this administration in particular. His stories reveal the real war on terror and those who are determined to protect and defend this country even if it costs them their lives—the unsung and hopefully hidden heroes who aren’t afraid to call the radical Islamists what they truly are.

 

The small and shrill political leader of Iran struts like a peacock with shouts and threats to the United States and Israel after the collapse of Iran’s multi-billion dollar nuclear facility built to withstand “any” bomb the USA could hurl at it. It’s quickly discovered by the CIA that the structure was in fact not bombed but collapsed inward on itself which meant there had to be charges planted from within the facility. Iran’s president accuses both Israel and the United States of “bombing” it even though the leaders all suspect the facility had been infiltrated.

 

The United States is as surprised as the Iranians at its collapse, and although it creates a thunderstorm in the international political arena, they’re grateful the Israelis figured out a way to pull it off. However, getting Israel to admit it was them is another thing entirely. So, enter Mitch Rapp with a bullet-proof way to take the heat off both countries and quell the firestorm of rhetoric exploding from the diminutive Iranian president’s mouth.

 

When a meeting is arranged between the pragmatic and reasonable Iranian Minister of Intelligence and CIA Director Irene Kennedy in Mosul, Iraq, Mitch and the local operatives remain close but concealed with an arsenal in case something goes wrong. As Mitch watches the groupings of men and weaponry outside the meeting, he gets a bad feeling and calls the gathering to a halt in a manner which Irene thinks is much too abrupt. She learns later she should always trust her best operative. Everything that can go wrong does go wrong unbeknownst to the Minister of Intelligence who is forced to travel with the military head of Hezbollah who has collaborated with the loud-mouthed Iranian president to kidnap Director Kennedy.

 

Rapp manages to capture three men to interrogate in order to rescue Irene since he knows she will be treated brutally right from the start. Marcus Dumond is in full operation mode dissecting any and all information on the computers while Rapp uses techniques to extract information which make even the other operatives shudder. These parts are definitely not for the faint-hearted readers. Rapp’s threats to remove the manhood appendages of the prisoners eventually gets them talking, but it isn’t until a mistake made by the Hezbollah head honcho alerts Mitch’s associate to a particular clue to Irene’s location coupled with a surprise call from Rapp to the minister of intelligence and the formation of a secret alliance.

 

Some of the best parts of Vince’s novels comes in the dialogue between Mitch and the gutless politically correct members of Congress, Cabinet, or even in the CIA. Especially where Irene’s concerned, Mitch has no patience for the spineless cowards who fear upsetting or offending other members of Congress or the press, other political figures in foreign governments, and even their own little safe comfort zones where they never have to get their hands dirty but enjoy the liberties provided by those who do.

 

Again, there is some bad language and definitely some gritty violence, but it’s refreshing to read stories where sane and rapid fire judgment catches up to those whose love language is hatred.

  

 

Father, once again I pray for those who serve this country in covert ways, who are dedicated to protecting and defending, who put the safety of citizens above themselves. God, they’re warriors like David was and often war drives them to do ugly things to keep others safe. Please, God, lead them to your Son. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

 

 

 

Committing an . . . Act of Treason

 

(Reprinted from June 30th, 2010)

 

                                           

Consent to Kill by Vince Flynn left off with Mitch Rapp’s version of justice, an ending which brought me to tears and displayed some of Vince Flynn’s best writing to that point. In Act of Treason we pick up on Mitch’s reaction to his loss after the Prologue of an event which leads to the death of a political figure, some Secret Service Agents, and several civilians. This single event jolts Mitch Rapp from his grief and pathos and places him and his team on the island of Cyprus where they watch a man they suspect is responsible for the deaths on US soil near the White House.

 

Act of Treason takes place in a short timeframe. President Hayes is about to hand over the Commander-in-Chief position to President-elect Josh Alexander and VP Mark Ross, a character who returns from Consent to Kill. The new president and his running mate were significantly behind in the polls until the tragic event described in the Prologue, but Mitch discovers something telltale in his capture of the suspect which makes everything look a whole lot different than first suspected.

 

Meanwhile, Director Irene Kennedy examines some clandestine photographs delivered to her in person and that gnawing suspicion that Mitch is eking out in his interrogations begins to take form. Mitch loves to confound the politicians and for the most part Kennedy enjoys that approach as well but in a far more subtle way, and once again, although at first doubts crease her forehead with the little information Mitch gives her, a young agent sworn to secrecy by Mitch gives her the confidence she needs to trust her superior bull-in-a-china-shop operative.

 

This story gives us another look into the depravity of politics at its worst and makes it so utterly believable we’re both saddened by it and cheering on the poetic justice of Mitch and Irene as they get to the ugly bottom of things and take action to solve the perverted attempts to further corrupt the offices in government. When Irene Kennedy shows another side of herself near the end of this story, we can’t help but grin at Mitch’s reaction and Kennedy’s confidence in having done the right thing to solve this Act of Treason. What that says about me, I’m not sure. Justice is somehow extremely important to me, so these stories feed that need in me.

 

This time I will issue a warning to readers about content. I’ve told you before there will be some bad language in Flynn’s novels, but this one amps up both the language and the sexual content. Sexual content in previous novels has been minimal and mostly suggested. This novel contains more frequent bad language—and again it fits the state of mind for Mitch Rapp and depicts the overall character of others in the story—and there are some graphics involved in sexual episodes. So be forewarned if this will offend you. 

 

  

God, bless those who strive to serve you first and minister to those who need to know you in order to make it all count in the big picture. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

When given the . . . Consent to Kill

 

(Reprinted from June 15th, 2010)

 

                          

 

Consent to Kill by Vince Flynn, published in 2005, opens a small window for the reader to see the man Mitch Rapp aside from the CIA operative/assassin Mitch Rapp. The code of freelance assassins for hire differs only slightly from those sanctioned by government authorities doing their best to eliminate targets before those targets hurt or maim citizens, soldiers, or leaders within their governments. The extremes of the training, conditioning, and focus of these assassins can produce a sociopath if the thrill of the hunt and the success and reward of the kill override the moral choices involved in the assignment. In Consent to Kill Mitch Rapp faces the toughest challenge of his old-before-his-time life. Will he morph into an amoral killer or will he stay centered on a form of justice?

 

It’s fairly easy for some Christians to ignore the equalities of justice in the scripture verse “You reap what you sow” in favor of the verses “Turn the other cheek” and “Love your enemies”. When you pervert either of those scriptures and take them out of context, ignoring other verses and the overall picture of God and His Word, you come up with those people who refuse to admit there are consequences for evil. “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.” When you extract godliness from this equation, you get politicians who like to think their mere words and political bartering will subdue those committed to destroying this country. One of the primary battles of the CIA is providing the “woe” to those who call evil good. And their primary tool for achieving this provision is Mitch Rapp loosely directed by Irene Kennedy. No one knows Mitchell Rapp like his boss CIA Director Irene Kennedy, but even Irene loses her cool with Mitch once in awhile when Mitch goes “off the reservation” of her large and flexible allowances for him.

 

In Consent to Kill Irene receives word from a Jordanian operative that there’s a “new” price on Mitch’s head—someone is reaching out to the hired killer providers to assassinate the assassin. Although nothing particularly different in this information, it means someone else has entered the fray, and Mitch needs to be extra alert.

 

As a reader, meeting the assassin who takes on the challenge of killing Mitch Rapp gives us the antithesis of Mitch’s character in that this hired killer has forfeited his moral accountability because of his own selfish disappointments in life and his ensuing bitterness sometimes bordering on rage. He proves he is clearly up to the challenge but his ego and lust for the hunt plus the enormous sum of money he demands from the middle man obscure the reality of his choices.

 

Perhaps some of Vince’s best writing comes in a powerful and gut-wrenching conclusion to this book. Being who I am, this confrontation brought me to tears. Because in this scene both Mitch and the assassin must decide who they are and who they will become. It’s a piece of writing that puts you there in the room, and you read it almost holding your breath. You read through it and go to the end of the book, and you close the book, and you go do what you’ve put off the entire day just so you could read Consent to Kill. And then when you lay your head on the pillow, tears seep out again. And you give thanks to God for people who give their lives for inconsequential people like yourself. And you thank God that He is bigger than you, that He sees people’s hearts, that He knows way beyond what man thinks and professes to know, and that ultimately you can trust Him.

 

Again, this novel is not for sensitive or squeamish readers. It’s tough, it’s harsh, it’s complicated to determine whether it’s revenge or simply justice.

 

 

Lord, someday you will reign in truth and justice. Until then humanity will be what it is. And the only source for Truth and Justice is you and in you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.  

A private celebration of . . . Memorial Day

 

(Reprinted from June 13th, 2010)

 

                                
  

 

Vince Flynn returns to his masterful telling of CIA Counterterrorism adventures and their infamous prized operative Mitch Rapp in the novel published in 2004 titled Memorial Day. Filled with political hacks giving foolish advice to protect their status in upcoming elections mixed with behind the scenes drastic measures accomplishing real solutions to serious threats against America, the story takes place in a matter of just a few intense days during which time Mitch must learn of the location and eliminate a nuclear threat aimed at the president, White House, and people of Washington DC during a special ceremony and tribute to the veterans of World War II on Memorial Day.

 

This novel is not for the squeamish. At stake are the lives of thousands of unsuspecting American citizens, and since time is something Mitch Rapp is desperately short of, he pulls out all the stops to get the information he needs to foil the Islamic terrorist plot to destroy Washington DC. The ugly and disturbing parts of his job press him to get results at any cost. And Mitch knows how to extract answers when he needs them the most.

 

Threatened at the height of the crisis by different people in government, including the president, Mitch would walk away if he didn’t love his country and hate the objectives of the terrorists so much. Tired of the *#&%!, he refuses to adhere to the political correctness when everything depends on crucial time-impacted decisions.

 

Vince Flynn captures the absurdity of the political games, nonsense, ignorance, and total lack of common sense from many government officials plus the hateful, destructive, fanatical idiocy of the Islamic terrorists without a flinch or a shrug. The characters and situations suggest authenticity, and the reader sympathizes and roots for Rapp throughout the story, knowing the toll this life takes on his inner man.

 

I have to say one thing that made this novel so enjoyable was the absence of Mitch’s wife Anna in any significant part of the story. With just the initial mention of her disappointment at his delay in joining her at her family’s place in Wisconsin for the holiday weekend, she manages to pout and demonstrate her lack of understanding for the seriousness of his job. Considering she observed him in the crisis that saved her life, it’s hard to stomach her reactions to anything concerning his job. Memorial Day is one of my favorites, and it’s vintage Vince Flynn.

 

Finishing one of these stories just makes me anxious to read the next one. Few characters have managed to gain my devotion like Mitch Rapp. Yes, he’s larger than life, a true hero, and perhaps we think there couldn’t possibly be anyone who’s really like him, but the heart of warriors like Mitch beats hard and fast in the lives of Special Forces of all kinds and CIA operatives. The crises these brave men and women face, avert, and solve on a regular basis never get noticed or mentioned by most of us, and this is exactly how they must work. Vince sums it all up in Chapter 20 of Memorial Day:

 

America was at a distinct disadvantage in this war. International aid groups and reporters were keen to jump on any story about Americans committing atrocities, while they were seemingly numb to the day-to-day horrors perpetrated by the holy warriors on the other side. In the safe and sterile newsrooms, in the marble halls of Congress, it was easy to second-guess decisions and find fault. Out here on the field of battle things were far less certain. Moral ambiguity, rather than clarity, was the norm. What Rapp was about to do would be seen as barbaric by many of the same people whose lives he was trying to save. This was the sad irony of his life—that he would have to kill to save.

 

These novels are written for real patriots—for people who believe in freedom and who know it doesn’t come cheap or without sacrifice. These novels speak to the heart of America, of a fight to the death for the freedoms achieved by those who laid down their lives in each generation of this country so you and I could live without the chains of a government that wants to tell us how we can and must live under their control. The real heroes are on the field everyday risking their lives here and all over the globe so we can live free.

 

 
Lord Jesus, I pray these warriors would know you, the true Savior of the world.