Separation of Power (Mitch Rapp Novels)

Now in a premium edition, the thrilling follow-up to The Third Option by #1 New York Times bestselling author Vince Flynn—featuring hero Mitch Rapp as he once again battles the forces of corrupt Washington politicians and scheming terrorists.

Director Stansfield of the CIA is dead, and the president has named Dr. Irene Kennedy as his successor. What should be a relatively easy confirmation is about to go awry. As the story unfolds, the president, Kennedy, and Rapp find themselves under assault from unknown forces in Washington and from afar. Senator Hank Clark, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has gained the president’s confidence and is immersed in a complicated plot to bring the president’s term to a premature end. To make matters worse, the president is confronted with a crisis in the Middle East involving nuclear weapons. The Israelis have given the president two weeks to take the bombs out, or they will do it themselves. In a race against the clock, Rapp navigates the treacherous alleys of Baghdad and the just-as-hostile streets of Washington, defeating his enemies at every turn, and leaving his customary trail of bodies.

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I can't wait for the next book! To appreciate this book as much as posible it is best to have read Transfer of Power and The Third Choice which very nicely keep us up to date with the major characters in the story.

I have even gone back and bought Term Limits which was his first book. I don't know if it is essential to go there, but this effort has been criticized by some and I am enough of a fan of the author and an aspiring writer that I would like to see for myself how the first one went.

Enough of that. This book is so good that I realy just want to say that and hope it will be enough to interest you to buy it. Nah! All the good people and some of the bad from earlier books ae moving forward with their lives. Mitch Rapp, who is certainly a very important part of Transfer of Power only continues to grow in importance as the books unfold and in this book he is at his zentih. I continue to pray that we have a Mitch Rapp in the employ of the CIA. We all should, but I suspect that the last eight to ten years have cost us dearly in that regard.

Suffice it to say that Flynn lays out all of the trip wires that are there in this day and age and very deftly manuvers around them. If you are into red, white and blue these days, you will love this book. If you are one who has reservations about what we are doing in response to 9/11, you will find instruction in this novel. If you are sitting in Bagdahd, working on weapons of mass destruction, you will pray this is just a figment of the authors imagination. In any event, this book is so worth reading that I can not recommend it enough.

32 of 32 found the following review helpful:

An Excellent Continuation of a Fine Series......Nov 05, 2001
By Dr. Joaquim Leopold
Vince Flynn's fourth political thriller continues with the same characters introduced in his second book, Transfer of Power, and one or two from his thrilling debut, Term Limits. Like in the previous two novels, the Iron Man, Mitch Rapp, is back to destroy the enemies of the United States and find out who attempted to kill him in book three, The Third Option. Separation of Power is a cut above its predecessor due to a number of intriguing subplots concerning Rapp's attempt to catch his attempted murderer; the confirmation battle of Dr. Irene Kennedy to helm the CIA; who wants to kill Rapp's former lover/secret agent; Rapp's relationship with Anna Rielly; and a few more that Flynn puts in to keep the pot boiling. Despite the fact that this novel is part of a series (and most novels like these lose some character development in the process), Flynn has written yet another superb political/military thriller. If he can avoid writing thousand page behemoths like Tom Clancy, Flynn will no doubt be King of the Technothriller. I am eagerly awaiting his fifth pageturner.

25 of 26 found the following review helpful:

Simply Incredible...Perfect Read For Today!!!Jan 02, 2002
By John Vester "Johnny V!"
One might say that Vince Flynn has been hanging around with Michael Crichton in the way this Separation of Power mirrors so much that is going on in today's world. (This reference, of course, is meant to be a reminder of how close Crichton was to predicting the issues presented in his Airframe novel.)

I began reading Flynn's fourth novel just after the events of 9/11 happened. The lines which could be drawn to the 9/11 tragedy are incredible. Needless to say, I could not put down the book until the last page was finally read.

The beginning totally captures your attention, but I do recommend reading Third Option before starting Separation of Power, due to a great deal of the storyline originated in the third book.

There is really not a middle to this book, there is a great setup for a great ending. You find yourself going to four popular sections of the globe before the book finally ends. The ending could not have been better! Flynn does it again!!!

If you are new to Flynn, read Third Option, then Separation of Power. At that point, go back and read Term Limits and Transfer of Power.

Flynn is one of my favorites and I have been a fan since I first read the Term Limits insert in a USA Today I received while traveling a few years ago.

17 of 18 found the following review helpful:

If Vince Told Us Once, He Told Us A Thousand TimesNov 25, 2005
By P. Kingsriter "R.N. Guy"
Vince Flynn's massive popularity is completely justified. He's crafted some explosive and unapologetically red-white-and-blue coated patriotic nail-biting adventure stories. Recurring main character Mitch Rapp is one compelling dude - equal parts skilled tactician and modern warrior. "Separation of Power" has those elements, but takes time to build up steam. A LOT of time.

The basic storyline is as follows (don't worry, no spoilers):

1) Rapp continues the hunt to find those responsible for an attempt on his life;

2) An Iraqi nuclear program plot is fed to the CIA by Israeli intelligence and must be dealt with;

3) Rapp's in love and feeling much angst about his relationship problems.

To coin a phrase from Sesame Street: Which one is not like the others? Is the fact that a skilled assassin has diffictulty seeing eye-to-eye with a female TV reporter necessarily a problem? It didn't have to be, but Flynn examined Rapp's relationship with Anna Rielly by running through the same dysfunctional issues (they come from different worlds, they have different views, Mitch can't tell Anna absolutely everything about what he does, blah-blah-blah) on every plane ride, limo ride, walk through the park, and hot bubble bath in the book. And then Flynn looks at it from Anna's point of view. Flynn washes, rinses, and repeats. And repeats... Though relationship issues for government hired guns may be completely realistic, one ponderous self-examination would have been enough to drive the characters. And in all honesty, the intraspection sessions aren't very enlightening or interesting. There are other authors who do it much better, and that's probably not why you read Flynn's novels in the first place.

One reads Flynn's novels for the politics and the action. Whereas "Transfer of Power" skillfully balanced the behind-the-scenes politicing and decision making with the butt-kicking, this novel's bulk is devoted to back-door dealing in Washington DC. Again, the details seem to be repeated ad nauseum and could have been contracted neatly without almost chapterly recaps that retell the story from the various viewpoints of everyone involved.

After the 18th review of the Mitch/Anna relationship saga and the 27th version of the plot against Irene Kennedy, I found myself skipping pages looking for more "meat" and I'm pretty sure I didn't miss much. The exciting payoff doesn't begin until the last 20-30% of the book. It's a wonder so many stuck around for so long.

In short, Vince Flynn's done better work on both sides of this series. Here's my recommendation: Take a gander at my brief plot outline then skip to about page 300. You'll save time and still have all the fun "Separation of Power" has to offer.

10 of 11 found the following review helpful:

Fantastic ReadOct 09, 2001
By Sheila
This is the latest novel with Mitch Rapp as the hero. Irene Kennedy is going through her confirmation hearings to become the first female Director of the CIA and the wolves are out in Washington! Add that to Saddam building nukes, the Mossad playing games, and Mitch's love life in chaos, you have a great thriller that you won't want to put down! I hope to see more like this soon from this excellent author!

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