First of all, a confession.
I have had this book on my Kindle account for a very long time...since the book came out well over a year ago. I have been holding back on reading it because it is Vince Flynn's last novel and that admittedly makes me sad. I didn't want to read it and then have no more Vince Flynn books to read. But this weekend I relented and read it.
As expected, it was a very good read. I actually found it to be quite superior to the last couple of Flynn's books which were both Mitch Rapp prequels that documented how he joined the CIA and his first missions. No, "The Last Man" is a story that takes place in "our" time in (mostly) Afghanistan. The story starts out with the kidnapping of a very valuable CIA asset and the nearly immediate response by the CIA to either 1) get him back or 2) neutralize him to prevent damage. Rapp comes in with his usual subtle approach and gets things rolling right away. And then, before too many chapters have elapsed, Rapp is severely injured in a failed assassination attempt on his own life.
Rapp sustains grievous injuries that include a subdural hematoma that causes some memory loss and even a brief personality change that temporarily strips away his ruthlessness and anti-empathy towards just about all human beings. I wondered while I read these chapters if Flynn was not trying to send his main character out with a new lease on life as a way of resolving his conflicts since this was going to be his last book.
(Flynn was dying of cancer and pretty much knew that this would be his last book at the time that he wrote these chapters)
But...such was not to be the case. In one of the few eye rolls regarding realism in the book, Rapp recovers from the assassination attempt in mere days and almost instantly becomes a credible field operative within a ridiculously short time period following the attack. Now that's good because, hey, that's what Mitch Rapp fans are expecting: Serious bad guy ass kicking action.
Which is not to say that Flynn does not engage in some end of life philosophizing...he does. But that comes in the form of side character Stan Hurley (Rapp's trainer from years gone by) who (it is revealed) is dying of stage 4 lung cancer. Hurley has six months to live and says, repeatedly, that everyone is dying and that some are just going to get on with it quicker than others. I have zero problem with Flynn doing this and would have sort have been surprised if he hadn't. It takes nothing away from an excellent action thriller story that, in my opinion, is the best contribution that Flynn has offered up in over three years.
So...I read this over the last couple of days (it is a page turner and it goes by pretty quick) and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the genre. I guess that now I am going to have to resort to Brad Thor novels to get my spy/action/thriller fix from now on.
RIP, Vince Flynn...you have given me many hours of literary enjoyment over the years. "The Last Man" is a more than fitting way to wrap it up. Thank you and may God bless you and your surviving family members.
