slider728 reviewed Pretty Good Thriller, But Could Have Cut Back On The Politics on 6/9/2009 + 44 more book reviews

I am normally not a fiction reader. However, as my kids grow up and I spend more time in the car shuttling them around, I began listening to audio books. I came across a copy of Executive Orders for cheap and decided to give it a listen.

The basic premise of the story is that Jack Ryan unwittingly becomes President of the United States after a Japanese airliner crashes and kills most of the high ranking members of the US government, leaving Ryan as the next successor to the Presidency. Ryan has the gargantuan feat of rebuilding the entire US government. Of course, there is no mercy for the new comer. A skirmish between China and Taiwan breaks out resulting in the deaths of a handful of Americans with both countries pointing the finger at the other. However, the story gets interesting as Iran becomes a puppeteer, manipulating countries and orchestrating events in a covert attempt to take over part of the Middle East. During all this, President Ryan has to deal with a legal attack claiming he is not the President and try to unravel the bureaucracy that had become business as usual in Washington, DC and try to rebuild America.

I found the storyline to be a bit too political, but overall it had a good combination of mental mind games, covert operations, and good old violence. I thought the scene with the attempted kidnapping of Sandbox was one of the pinnacles of the story. This was a beautifully orchestrated, suspenseful scene.

I thought Edward Herrmanns performance in the audiobook version was extraordinary. While sometimes his accents were terribly unrealistic, he gave a great performance that made me feel like I was listening to a live news report with the events unfolding right before me.

Overall, I was pleased with the story. The overall story line seemed reminiscent of the Rocky movies, the underdog man who no one thinks will win takes a beating, but comes off of the ropes swinging their way to victory. If you are looking for a great underdog story, this may be worth a read. However, if political discussions turn you off, you might want to pick a different book.

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