The Icarus Agenda was the first Robert Ludlum novel I read. My uncle had given me the paperback and I tore through it. I don’t remember most of the specifics. I’m sure there was a revolver with silencer and a “big car with a powerful engine.” And there was undoubtedly a well-funded secret society up to no good and an everyman hero.

It may sound like I criticizing, but I’m really not. I went on to read everything he wrote. (Okay, maybe I’m criticizing the gun. The silenced revolver is a mistake you should only make once but Ludlum kept at it.)  I loved the Ludlum books and while the details of this particular one escape me, I know I enjoyed it.

Like so many genres, a lot of what made his books cheesy also made them great. A lot of my love for this genre went into the first book I ever wrote, Tortugas Rising. But I still couldn’t help poking some fun at the tropes.

If I had to pick 3 favorites from Ludlum:

The Holcroft Covenant 

The Matarese Circle 

The Bourne Identity

But it all started with The Icarus Agenda

Read The Icarus Agenda

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