GONE, BUT HIS STORIES CONTINUE

Covert One: The Paris Option by
Robert Ludlum and Gayle Lynds

Thriller author Robert Ludlum continues to produce new novels two years after his death. According to the author's web site, Ludlum, who died in March 2001, left completed manuscripts and other work that had not been published when he died.

Included in this material is apparently a series called Covert One, a secret, loose-knit government agency comprised of subject expects in various areas. Not even the CIA is aware of the group's existence, although the president does for obvious reasons. The group can call upon a variety of experts, including an Army colonel who is also a biologist and espionage agent in the best tradition of Ludlum's prior heroes.

Cutting-edge novelist Gayle Lynds has co-authored two of the existing three Covert One novels, including The Paris Option. Lynds was also tapped to write the upcoming fourth novel and acquits herself well here, leaving virtually no seams where Ludlum's work ends and hers begins. In interviews, the author discusses how Ludlum first approached the former pulp fiction writer,

"I took that [series idea] and ran, creating subsidiary characters, a plot, and an outline. We kicked it back and forth. Then I wrote the book, and we repeated the process."

Orson Scott Card, among others, has denounced this form of master-apprentice stewardship as a device used to further an author's brand while the output can suffer. Card claims that the resulting work may not meet either author's standards, but Lynds, a former journalist, think-tank employee and pulp novelist, seemed to mesh well with Ludlum.

The Paris Option is their second novel together and addresses many topical subjects, including molecular computers and Osama bin Laden. Another area Lynds covers exceptionally well is the use of a character, also a doctor, who suffers from Asperger Syndrome. Parents of AS children (I have one myself) typically are as wary of this condition's use as were the parents of ADHD kids a decade ago.

AS, which can best be designed as an extremely high-functioning level of autism, receives a royal treatment in The Paris Option. The OASIS web site, the net's best resource for Asperger families, receives continual mentions throughout the story. Most gratifying, however, is the on-target description of the condition, as well as the descriptive character actions that will sound familiar to many.

The Plot In Exactly One Hundred Words

Colonel Jon Smith must learn who sabotaged a Paris laboratory that built a molecular computer. Smith, a biologist trained in espionage, is a member of Covert-One, a team of espionage agents hidden by the government's executive branch. Knowing that the molecular computer can be used to disarm weapons and crack any computer system in the world, Smith teams with several former associates to hunt the one working prototype. Meanwhile, his friend Marty, who knows more than anyone suspects, lays in a coma in a French hospital. Someone is now stalking Marty, tearing Smith's attention between his case and his friend.

What Works Well

The trademark Ludlum style of multiple characters, settings, red herrings and cliffhanging suspense is present throughout The Paris Option.

Ludlum and Lynds also manage to keep the speculative molecular computer a tangible object without resorting to pseudoscience or other gimmicks. While molecular computing is still in an embryonic stage, IBM researchers announced in October 2002 that they had built a computer circuit at the molecular level. You will not find that kind of circuit in your next Dell or Apple, but the science is real.

Likewise, the treatment of Asperger Syndrome is superb without gnashing of teeth or cries of Alas! The condition is accurately described, and while manifestations vary between patients, those described in the story fit well.

What Doesn't Work As Well

Ludlum novels have always been verbose. They are enjoyable reads for the most part, but brevity is not one of the author's strong suits. Despite the excess verbiage, however, some of Ludlum's travelogue style of describing settings is missing. The attempt is there, but the cosmopolitan author is well known for evoking settings by weaving tour book depth into his work.

There is also a bit too much emphasis on the thriller part of the story. Gunplay is frequent, perhaps a vestige of Lynds' days of writing pulp thrillers. The violence is not graphic, but is constant, one of that genre's most identifiable trademarks.

The Bottom Line, Dog Earred Pages and All

The Paris Option can be read by itself, a welcome departure from most authors' serial work. Mixing the styles of Ludlum's shadow agencies and international locales with Lynds' hard-nosed science and action is a winning combination. This master-apprentice combination works and makes an enjoyable light read, perfect for the upcoming summer months.

Five Things To Remember From This Review

1. This is story number three in the Covert One series.
2. The series was created by Ludlum before his death.
3. Ludlum reportedly also closely collaborated with Lynds on The Paris Option
4. Readers can pick up the series here or start with the first novel.
5. The subject matter is speculative, but with a solid scientific core.

--G. Bounacos