Elise Cooper
American Assassin is a vintage Vince Flynn novel, a prequel to his Rapp-Kennedy series. All of his books deal with the issue of terrorism and the methods needed to keep America safe. If you are looking for political correctness this is not the book to read. Mr. Flynn intertwines his fictional plots with real life political situations. Although there is much less political commentary in this novel than in the last two, this book is not completely devoid of politics. Flynn discusses the issue of torture, targeted assassinations, and the need for America to take an aggressive stance in fighting its enemies. NewsRealBlog had the pleasure of interviewing him about American Assassin. This is part 2 of that interview. Part 1 was published yesterday.
NewsRealBlog: The Rapp-Kennedy series consists of eleven books including American Assassin. Should people that have not read any books start with Transfer of Power after reading American Assassin?
Vince Flynn: Yes, definitely. I am thinking of numbering the books on the website. This series has gotten so big it would help track the order. NRB: In writing Extreme Measures and Pursuit of Honor do you want your readers to understand that the CIA is the first line of defense against terrorism?
Flynn: A major theme in all my books is that the CIA is not only the first line of defense, but they should also be the first line of offense. I saw these Jihadists running around in the 80′s and 90′s screaming ‘Death to America’ and I thought to myself, we better go kill these guys before they kill us. That is our government’s first priority which is the National Security of its citizenry. Not whether or not we are liked by a group of intolerant religious zealots.
Flynn: I think I can break it down to four major factors. The first is a solid understanding of history, geo politics and human nature. The second is the vantage point provided by not living in Washington. Any good sonar operator will tell you the trick to picking up an enemy contact is to filter out all the meaningless noise. Living in Minnesota allows me to avoid the constant yammer of Washington. The third reason is where the proverbial rubber meets the road. As a writer I spend four to eight hours a day alone in my office–no TV, no radio, no phone, no email, just me trying to connect the dots and predict where this whole mess is headed. The fourth factor is something that I can’t prove, but I suspect is a crucial component. I’m dyslexic, and I think the dyslexic brain is wired in a way that makes it more open to discerning signs and trends.
NRB: Which book do you see as the most realistic and can you give a realistic scene?
Flynn: I try to make them all realistic, so it’s tough to pick out one scene. Memorial Day was one terrifyingly plausible scene after another. So much so that I’ve been told it inspired a major JSOC operation in Afghanistan that was blocked at the last minute by Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld. The book was also put under Security Review by the Department of Energy and caused quite a stir. More recently, I’d have to say the terrorist attacks on Washington, D.C. in Extreme Measures. The targets in the book are extremely vulnerable and our people know it.
NRB: You are going to write a book with the bestselling novelist, Brian Haig?
Flynn: I wanted to do another series for some time, about five years. One of the most talented writers out there is Brian Haig. It turned out that Brian and I really clicked. The story will be based on an NYPD counter terrorism detective.
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