Transfer of Power (Mitch Rapp #1) ★★★★☆

 

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Title: Transfer of Power
Series: Mitch Rapp #1
Author: Vince Flynn
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Action/Adventure
Pages: 458
Words: 168K

Synopsis:

From Wikipedia.com

Rapp is introduced while he is performing a covert operation in Iran and he discovers a possible terrorist attack planned for the nation's capital to happen in the near future. Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., Anna Reilly is starting her first day as a White House correspondent for NBC. It also happens to be the day where the terrorist, using a secret entrance, takes over the White House and holds it hostage. The president, who barely escaped the hostage situation, remains trapped in the unfinished bomb shelter. With the vice president using this opportunity as commander in chief to glorify his political career by being lenient towards the terrorist demands, Rapp must find a way to fight the terrorists from the inside of the White House. It is here where he saves Anna Reilly from being raped by one of the terrorists and their relationship, which will be seen throughout the later books, begins.

Several Navy SEALs sneak into the White House while Rapp eliminates the terrorists, and saves the hostages and the president. The leader of the terrorist group manages to escape the White House while detonating his strategically placed explosives. He is later found in South America only to be killed by Rapp

My Thoughts:

This was a thoroughly enjoyable macho man book without the macho-ness dragging along a boatload of jerkitis. I hate when testosterone turns to stupidity. That was my main issue with the Scott Harvath series (which I touched on in the Currently Reading & Quote post last week). I did go into this a bit gingerly because of that. Even 4 years later Harvath sticks in my mind as an icon of douchebaggery. Thankfully, Mitch Rapp doesn't seem to be that way. While he's not a smooth tongued political serpent, he doesn't go out of his way to be a jerk either.

I am a little concerned with the romance angle. Most Operators aren't the kind of people who can focus and do what needs to be done AND have a perfectly balanced family life. While I'm rooting for Rapp and Reilly to work out I'm not letting it become a big thing in my mind. That way if it doesn't work out or she dies or becomes a terrorist or WAS a terrorist the entire time, I won't be torn up about it.

I'm also currently reading the Delta Force novels by Dalton Fury and that has given me a lot of background into certain terms and processes used by teams like Delta, that while not necessary to completely understand here, certainly make for a fuller reading. In the final assault on the White House Flynn talks about small helicopters loaded up with 4 Delta members on the skids. It's a 2 sentence description that by itself you just kind of read over. But Dalton references the practice in much fuller detail in his books and so I was able to transpose the knowledge from that to this. Not a big thing but reading books like these are all about the experience and that made for a fuller experience. I'm happy about that.

One word of warning. There is a scene where Anna is going to be raped by one of the terrorists. She isn't because Rapp steps in. However, if reading about attempted rape is something that bothers you, you should be aware of that. I'm not a fan of reading about that situation and should it be used again I'll have to think hard about the series. But it made sense for the situation (ie, it wasn't thrown in as titillation), wasn't graphic and in the end, doesn't happen because a good man puts a stop to it.

The title refers to the Transfer of Power from an incapacitated President to the Vice President. Said VP is a real scumsucking politician being advised by an even worse scumsucking politician and they both get their just desserts by the end of the book. Too bad real life can't follow certain parts of this book.

I've got 17 more Mitch Rapp books to read by Flynn. Flynn died and another author stepped in at book 13 or so, so we'll see how the series goes. Sometimes a series is long because it is good and sometimes it is long because it is pablum for an undiscerning audience. I am pulling for the Good option here!

★★★★☆