BOOK REVIEW: Red War (A Mitch Rapp Novel Book 15)
by (the late) Vince Flynn and Kyle Mills
Reviewed by Robert Richer
First of all, I need to highlight that I was a personal friend of the late Vince Flynn, and assisted him as he developed the characters of the Mitch Rapp series. Thus, I do have some personal bias when reviewing the books in the series, as authored by Kyle Mills.
Red War’s thrust centers on the deteriorating health of the Russian President, as he wrestles and seeks alternative medical treatment for inoperable brain cancer. The Russian President, Maxim Krupin, is worried that his political opponents will seize on any perceived illness or weakness and move against him. Because of that concern, Krupin reactivates a retired Russian general who has been in isolation for some time but has remained unwaveringly loyal to Krupin. The Russian General is a nationalist of old school Soviet military think.
The Russian President and his loyal General decide that they can protect Krupin’s hold on power by focusing Russia and his political opponents externally. They decide that an invasion of the Baltics will wake Nationalist fervor in Russia and protect Krupin as he undergoes experimental medical treatment. As the reader would expect, the invasion plans are discovered by the CIA, Mitch Rapp and associates.
The advance notice of the invasion plans allows the Baltic nations to prepare and allows NATO to mobilize and limit the Russian invasion to only Latvia. Rapp and his Russian assassin “partner of convenience” manage to infiltrate the Russian President’s guarded and remote medical facility to try and end the rule of the Russian President and free prisoners being held for experimental medical testing.
Sadly, this book is more a narrative about Russia, the Russian President, Nationalism, and two separate Russian Assassins, and less about Mitch Rapp. Rapp’s teammate, Coleman, is back in play after suffering rather serious wounds in the previous novel, but the dialog and interplay between Rapp, Coleman and others has become too stilted and lacks development.
The book, technically, is lacking in a couple of areas. A massive build-up of Russian first line military forces along the borders of the Baltics is overlooked by NATO and the U.S. for much too long. That simply would not happen in today’s world. Timelines make little sense, in terms of the development of various aspects of the story, and Rapp’s ability to infiltrate Russia and get to the Russian President is both unrealistic and hurried at the end of the book. The narrative jumps too quickly from one location or operation to another and is jerky in its flow. A reader has little time to become invested in one aspect of the convoluted storyline before having another storyline thrust upon them.
Ultimately, I feel like this book fails in continuing the development of the Mitch Rapp story. In many ways, it reads more for the casual or young adult reader and appeals much less to those readers who seized on Vince Flynn’s nuanced and more operationally correct writings of Mitch Rapp.
I remain a fan of the stand alone books of Kyle Mills. However, in the Red War, the author has lost his way from Vince’s vision for Rapp and the world Rapp lives and operates in. I likely won’t be reading the next book in the series.
This book earns a rating of 1.5 out of 4 trench coats
Rob Richer retired in November 2005 from the Central Intelligence Agency as the Associate Deputy Director for Operations (ADDO). Prior to his assignment as the ADDO in 2004, Richer was the Chief of the Near East and South Asia Division, responsible for Clandestine Service Operations throughout the Middle East and South Asia. Mr. Richer currently consults on Middle East and national security issues.
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