"First Daughter" is the first in the Jack McClure series. With a handicap like Dyslexia, does it help or hinder a government agent? This book takes us from the childhood of Jack McClure to late adult, focusing on love, family, work and his handicap. He is overly concerned with his handicap which helps him rather than hinder him. If you are looking for a story that goes from beginning to end, this is not the one. There are continuous flashbacks, not just for one character, but all of them. At times it's hard keeping track of where you are. Jack has a dislike for all organized religion and a profound dislike for the Catholic church and priests. This may be a bit strong, but the book seems to be inclined towards atheism. Putting aside my criticisms, I still like the basic story and am giving it four stars.
Like any novel, it starts of with its list of characters. As the story evolves, most of the them are killed off. It makes a compact story with few characters remaining at the end. It goes back and forth between two time periods: the 60's and the present. I thought it would be an exciting story but it just seemed to drag on. There were boring parts that seemed to have no end. Don't think I'll be reading any more in this series.
"The Bourne Ascendancy" is #12 in the Bourne series. One thing you can always say about a Bourne novel, there is never a dull moment or a lack of bodies. A surprise in this novel is that a couple of the bad guys actually go to jail. Bourne seems that he is always getting beaten to a pulp, but like Hulk Hogan, down on the mat, he raises his hand in the air and comes back from certain defeat.
This is the 11th. book with Jason Bourne. As always it is a never ending roller coaster of Bourne's fights and escapes. The story takes place mostly in Mexico with side trips to Israel and China. He is on the path of revenge for the death of his loved one, resulting in the death of almost every character in the book, friend or foe. More room for new characters in the next book. I like the short write ups on the progress of each character as the story moves on, all aspects of the story gets filled in, each character on its own path, heading for the inevitable crash. And to top it all off, the surprise ending was a surprise.
