American Assassin (Mitch Rapp, #1) in SSG: Spy/Spec-Ops Group

May 03, 2013 Samuel rated it it was amazing

SHOOTING STAR

Vince Flynn. One word comes to mind. Legend. His tragic passing in 2013 left the Post-9/11 spy thriller world an orphan. After all, he created it, the counter-terrorist sub-genre which saved spy fiction when the USSR disappeared as a valid geopolitical threat. His creation, the CIA's resident hitman Mitch Rapp has inspired countless imitators (including I suspect, Jack Bauer). Rapp came in at the right place and at the right time, the beginning of the war on terror. He embodied the SHOOTING STAR

Vince Flynn. One word comes to mind. Legend. His tragic passing in 2013 left the Post-9/11 spy thriller world an orphan. After all, he created it, the counter-terrorist sub-genre which saved spy fiction when the USSR disappeared as a valid geopolitical threat. His creation, the CIA's resident hitman Mitch Rapp has inspired countless imitators (including I suspect, Jack Bauer). Rapp came in at the right place and at the right time, the beginning of the war on terror. He embodied the wish-fulfillment of many people, as noted by future counter-terrorist thriller writer Brad Taylor. Who wouldn't want a well trained, equipped and motivated killer running around, blowing away assorted Islamist terrorists and other scum without the meddlesome rules holding him back? After book 12 however, Vince decided he needed to refresh himself and hit upon the brilliant idea of writing a (sadly unfinished) prequel trilogy about how Mitch Rapp entered the counter-terrorism game. Now to the review, What sort of man would give up a normal life to protect the country he loves from the newest threat it faces?

The first section of the novel concerns training. Mitch is driven over by future DCI Irene Kennedy to a training facility run by her Uncle Stanley Hurley, a friend of her late father. Hurley does not like Rapp, a civilian without military experience. He makes a mistake that all future hindrances who go up against Mitch fall victim to. Underestimating him. Using his Brazilian jujitsu skills, Mitch thrashes Hurley soundly when the latter tries to do a "preliminary test". Rapp excels at most of the training and things are going well. We then cut to the fine city of Beirut where a Syrian intelligence officer is having his way with a CIA NOC, successfully torturing the man with pliers. This is the final straw for DDO Thomas Stansfield, who orders his subordinates, Kennedy and Hurley to make their special project, go live. Known as The Orion Team, it's a deniable unit tasked with destroying the most pressing geopolitical threat of our time, international terrorism, in the decade where few people realized it would be the problem it is today.

In terms of plot, American Assassin, is simple, yet compelling. By the time he wrote this book, Vince had matured as a writer. The story moves along at a decent pace and the writing style is no longer the clunky animal it was in Flynn's earliest books. Action and settings are also brought to life very well. From the halls of the company's Langley offices to the treacherous ruins of Beirut, the author brings to life the time when counter-terrorism was still developing and the general population was unaware about the growing global threat coming their way.
A surprising thing about this novel it's actually pretty funny. In fact, I would consider it one of the funniest counter-terrorist thrillers ever written. Black comedy is dripping throughout. We have the arguments between the leaders of The Orion Team project, the shenanigans involving the suffering Syrian intelligence officer who has to match wits with the terrorists he liaises among other gems.
One of the most important things about a Mitch Rapp novel is the research. It's what made Flynn so successful, enough technical details and "behind the curtain tiblets" which won't drag your down like a 1990's Tom Clancy thriller. In this book, we get to see the tradecraft/procedures Mitch uses as he's starting out (disposal of weapon in the nearest river once used, for starters) and we even get a decent overlook of the tragedy of Beirut, the first battleground of the war on terror and a cautionary tale of how extremism ruins everything. What's more, Flynn even went to the trouble of having real life terrorist Imad Mughniyah make a significant appearance in the story. It's the little details which made the author a household name and he did not disappoint in this book.

Now to characters. So many standouts in this one.
First, Mitch. American Assassin is a great place to start for first time readers. He's not the loud, brutal badass millions eventually came to know and love. The author established him as a much more quiet, yet enthusiastic guy. A student who wishes to learn and gain the experience needed to get back at the men who stole the woman he wanted to marry from him, in the Lockerbie bombing. But hints of the man he would turn into pop up along the way, the genesis of the original and the best counter-terrorist operative in the business.
Next, there are the CIA staff running The Orion Team. First Doctor Lewis, who helps us explore Mitch and his motivations when he was younger. Next, Irene Kennedy and Thomas Stansfield shine here because we get to see the time when Kennedy wasn't quite the stoic spymaster she became in the future books. As for Stansfield, he's a man ahead of his time despite coming from the cold war. He's also running out of time, a Cassandra who having failed to make the men who run his country sit up and listen, has decided to do something about the new threat on the horizon. Finally, we have Stan Hurley, who stole the show. A bit politically incorrect and a borderline alcoholic, he's also highly competent, a badass and is the source of half the comedy in this book. Underneath that bluster however is a very complex man. A CIA officer who saw his best friend and wife get killed in the American Beirut Embassy bombing, at one point in the novel, he gives a very powerful speech about all the errors, tragedies and screw-ups from both sides which contributed to the need for men like him and Rapp.
A honorable mention is Carl Ohlmeyer, an asset Hurley cultivated who assists with the logistics of The Orion Team project. In one of the quieter, dramatic scenes of the book, the banker takes Rapp of the side and gives him a pretty decent summary of what he would experience in his career, with much foreshadowing about the future books.

Overall, American Assassin is a well executed prequel novel. It shows a writer who was at the top of his game. The plot is simple but compelling. The character interaction is excellent. The themes discussed make this one of the more complex Mitch Rapp novels. And the research is very well done. There are other authors out there. But many of them have followed the tune set by the author of this book. Read it to see the original post 9/11 spy fiction hero began his evolution into the terror of Washington Bureaucrats and the leading cause of death among Islamist Extremists.

A REALLY RECOMMENDED READ.

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