Chapter by Chapter features me reading one chapter (or possibly multiple chapter for this one) of the selected book at the time and reviewing it as if I were reviewing an episode of a TV show or an issue of a comic. There will be spoilers if you haven’t read to the point I have, and if you’ve read further I ask that you don’t spoil anything further into the book. Think of it as read-along book club.

In our last installment we saw our hero get spotted. What will happen to him? I don’t know, we’re checking in with the title idiots instead.

In the first book the Op-Center stuff was the least interesting. They weren’t very good, they had little to know teamwork, they got hacked, and their first mission was a failure. Outside of Paul Hood, the character leaving for vacation in the second story involving an evil counterpart, I didn’t like any of them. Now when we go to Op-Center they’re going to be the people we deal with, and I can see so many ways this is going to go badly based on the first novel.

Conflict is important for drama, and this is still a new way to gather intel and use it in the field, but you’d think they would be extra careful in hiring the right people for the job even in politics. How is it the only one they got right is the politician, or at least someone who better works within the system? Paul Hood is the anti-Maverick and now they’re leaving poor man’s Maverick in charge at the worst time possible. That doesn’t give me high hopes for any part of the story they’re involved in, and I’m counting on the British agent to make this story interesting. I also want to be proven wrong, but I’m not holding my breath.

Sunday, 9 AM, Washington, DC

Well, if they were trying to convince me Mike Rogers was any better from the last novel, they definitely didn’t. While he gives Paul credit for doing a good job, he’s still in action first mode, believing Op-Center shouldn’t be working in the shadows or coordinating with other agencies before committing an action. That’s the opposite of what Op-Center was created to be, working to stop crises from happening or getting worse, while Mike’s preferred actions would probably cause more troubles than it stops. Remember, this is the guy who should have been in Op-Center helping to coordinate things during last novels’ incident in Korea, which gets mentioned this chapter and apparently the South Koreans were given credit for stopping the missiles that would have dragged Japan into a war between North and South Korea (though why the anti-unification people would want Japan involved I either forgot or never understood). Instead he kicked a perfectly capable soldier off the mission so he could get involved. Also, he doesn’t want to be second banana to Paul, even while acknowledging his capabilities.

This is the man who is going to fight Commie Op-Center and somehow NOT cause World War III just as the Cold War is ending.

Mike gets a call from Bob Herbert, the National Intelligence Officer of Op-Center. He is the guy who coordinates info with the other bureaus. And it seems he actually did learn something from the first novel’s events as he now sees the value in the satellite systems while Mike’s philosophy is spelled out in an easy sentence. “Intelligence work should be physically exhausting, like love making, not electronic voyeurism.” Funny enough he mentions, in his internal mental rant provided by the narrator, the ballet sequence from the second Flint movie. Unless you’ve seen it, and lucky for me I have, the reference is going to go over your head, and it’s not like the Derek Flint movies are as well known as 007.

Bob, on the other hand, seems to have learned after seeing how well modern technology helped them finally contribute positively to stopping the terrorists on the Korea bombing mission. They’ve detected something funny going on at the supposed museum television network, a quick check showed some odd money amounts going over there, and even the call to the bagel shop that they’re sure was a long-hidden Russian operation now being put into use. At least Mike has the good sense to be concerned about all this. It’s nice that somebody in this group underwent some character growth. Let’s just hope Mike does before the nukes go flying, which will probably be his fault.

Next time will be shorter chapter, with just enough pages to qualify to stand on its own, which given the chapter after it is a bit longer is a good thing. We’re also leaving the recurring cast, which is an even better thing.