text: I have an Amazon bookmark that advertises Ludlum's book "The Sigma Protocol". It says "In Ludlum's latest, an ordinary man battles a global conspiracy." Well gee. That's the plot of THIS book as well. Come to think of it, that's the plot of every book by the man that I've read. A 'vast right wing conspiracy' is set to take over the world. They have small armies, a lot of money and a plan. This time around, a group of military men (naturally) plan to foment terror, and use the chaos to implement their vision of the world (laugh not - millions in the Middle East and far Left believe 9-11 was something along the same lines). Enter "ordinary man" Joel Converse. He's a Vietnam vet and P.O,W. who thought he had left that life far behind. It's up to him to save the world. He will survive certain death several times (the bad guys always seem to think they need him alive, and they just HAVE to explain their conspiracy to this total stranger). He will find love, and he'll visit several European cities to boot. Of course, a suspension of disbelief is essential for many novels (how else would you believe that a Nazi and an Israeli are on the same side?), but Ludlum's cliched stories are further worsened by the fact that he just couldn't write. His dialogue writing is always tedious, and sometimes just painful to read. Action scenes are generic. The only thing he could do right is character background, but that's not enough to save this. "The Aquitaine Progression" might make a half decent TV movie, but to endure 700 pages is just too much
  