Feb/March books

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Never got around to posting Feb books so here's two months worth. Heck, almost too late to post March books ; )

American Assassin
by Vince Flynn

Chronologically this is the first book in the Mitch Rapp series. It goes all the way back to Mitch's training and recruitment. It's pretty fun reading about Mitch when he was you know, still sort of human instead of the supernatural beast he eventually becomes. All the old gang shows up too of course. Good stuff. 4/5

Term Limits
by Vince Flynn

This was Flynn's first novel and I knew going in it wasn't a Mitch Rapp book. But to my pleasant surprise it took place in the same fictional world, meaning that while Mitch wasn't there a lot of the other characters from the series, like Irene Kennedy, Thomas Stansfield, Scott Coleman, Stan Hurley, etc. (I just felt like listing them). The premise is that a group of fed-up former soldiers try to force the government to start actually running the country via assassinations. Sounds like an idea whose time has come. Very good read, and I'm kind of glad I read it after the Mitch novels. 4/5

Kill Shot
by Vince Flynn

The second book chronologically, in this book Mitch has already become a scourge to terrorists. So much so that they set a trap for him and set him up to take the fall. But of course Mitch survives and exacts his revenge. I really like these prequels, it's fun to take it back to when Mitch was just dealing with terrorists and not having to fight his own government. 4/5

The Guards
by Ken Bruen

I read a collection of short mystery/thriller stories by “up and coming writers” and Bruen wrote the only interesting one of the bunch so I decided to check out this book. It was OK, I wouldn't mind reading more of his stuff sometime. He's Irish and it takes place in Ireland, so there's a lot of Irish slang and terms to spice things up. Apparently “guards” is what they call the cops; this was about a former cop fighting his own demons while trying to help others as a private investigator. Definitely not the superhuman, perfect leading character that often appears in these kind of books. 3/5

The Last Man
by Vince Flynn

An extremely high-level CIA operative has disappeared and Mitch Rapp has to try to track him down before any of the devastating information he has on the CIA comes to light. Mitch suspects something isn't right, and the answer ends up being even worse than anyone had feared. This was Flynn's last novel before his death, and I hoped the series would continue with the same intensity with a new author. 4/5

Modern Romance [audio book]
by Aziz Asani

An audio book?! Been forever since I listened to one. It's not at all what you would expect from Asani; it's basically all about how the internet, technology, interconnectedness, and our shrinking world has effected dating. Not a topic that really matters to me too much, but it was interesting hearing all the different takes on the issues and the methodologies he and his researchers used. 3/5

The Survivor
by Kyle Mills

This is the Mitch Rapp novel that was written after Vince Flynn died...and it might be my favorite of the series. Mills takes up right where Flynn left off, continuing the Rapp style of intrigue and action. He wrote the characters a little more human and believably, and overall I think his version of Rapp's world might be a little better. Looking forward to his second effort in the series, due out this year I believe. 4/5

Rogue Lawyer
by John Grisham

I know a lot of people didn't like Grisham's latest offering because it wasn't exactly like his previous legal thrillers, but I really liked it. At this point Grisham has sold so many books and made so much money that he's kind of figured “heck with it” and started taking some political stances in his books; he figures if it pisses a few people off it doesn't matter at this point. Grey Mountain was about environmental issues (coal mining in particular) which didn't do much for me, but this one takes on the fascist police state we live in now, a topic near and dear to me. I loved how he pointed out some of the awful things that are happening right under our noses in the name of security and safety now. One of my favorite Grisham books ever. 4.5/5

Takedown
by Brad Thor

This is the second book in the Scot Harvath series I've read. They're OK but nothing great; CIA/special forces/terrorist kind of thing. They're supposed to be “thrillers” but there isn't much thrill in them; lots and lots of description and very little action. SO much talk about geography and positioning; the end fight takes place in a building in New York and he spends an unbelievable amount of time talking about the entrances and exits to the building, the streets around it, etc. Yawn. Won't rush to read any more. 2.5/5

Books for Feb/March: 9
Books for 2016: 13