24: Rogue, by David Mack, chronicles the continuing adventures of TV's Jack Bauer in the time between the end of the "24" TV series and the "24: Live Another Day" TV miniseries/reboot.
I will say that I liked 24: Rogue better than 24: Deadline, the previous entry in the "Live Another Day" series of books. Rogue seems more like the original TV series (for better and worse) than Deadline did. Jack Bauer is back to fighting terrorists and arms dealers in 24: Rogue, not waging war against a biker gang.
We begin 24: Rogue with Jack infiltrating mercenaries working for a ruthless arms dealer aboard a ship filled with weapons and ammunition. That plan goes awry when Somali pirates hijack the ship off the coast of Africa. But that's just the beginning. Who hired the pirates? What secret cargo is the arms dealer hauling? And who was that most dangerous cargo headed for in the first place?
Honestly, 24: Rogue feels like three short novels bound together following the same storyline. The first is Jack Bauer vs. Somali pirates. The next is Jack Bauer versus private mercenaries. The last is Jack Bauer versus Russian Special Ops soldiers. But I think this novel definitely captures the "feel" of 24 more than Deadline did.
Of the three major plotlines in the book, I'd say the first plotline is the weakest. Why? The author is trying so hard to describe the exact details of many different decks and walkways on the ship that it got me hopelessly confused and definitely pulled me out of the story. This is one of those times where too much detail (and there's a lot of it) gets in the way of the storytelling.
I assumed, incorrectly, that the whole novel would be a standoff on the ship between Jack and the pirates, but that story is just the first act. The story ranges all over Somalia, as well as locations in Russia and the Middle East.
Jack has a pleasant new companion in the person of Abigail Harper, an Australian spy. She proves to be an able ally in Jack's quest to track down and secure the stolen cargo from the weapons ship. Once she enters the story, the narrative becomes much more balanced and less Clancy-esque (yes, Clancy-esque is usually a "bad" thing in my world).
Once the true scope of the nefarious plan is revealed, the stakes are raised to a global level--the type of thing Jack Bauer is very much used to--and Jack has to help save the world while being hunted by the Russians and avoiding being noticed by the Americans.
Like the 24 TV show, there are some unnecessary complications in "24: Rogue" (but nothing as bad as constantly putting Jack's daughter in danger), and the story goes on a bit longer than it needs to. Overall, "24: Rogue" is an exciting read, full of tense battles and devious plots.
If you miss the action of 24, this novel is a good reminder of the TV show.