Day 5: “24 Declassified: Trojan Horse”

The book comes with a definition for what the term “Trojan horse” means in computer terms: a kind of virus. It's debatable whether that was needed, but it sure helped the reading of it for me. I should tell people that the main antagonist in the novel has a tie to a character who plays a very important role in the series: Victor Drazen. I've been hearing the name, but I never actually knew he was part of the show. I can safely say that in terms of action, this novel is the best “24 Declassified” novel so far, with the final six chapters a race to uncover the conspiracy. There are also a fair bit of cyanide pill bites over the course of several interrogations throughout the novel, and this is also the bloodiest book so far. Story-wise, it doesn't cover much new ground, but is still quite enjoyable. Sensitive readers should also note that there is a very gruesome murder of a character, who, early on, seems like she'll be very important. But this is a well-paced and to the point thriller that delivers on what it promises, nothing less and not much more.

Day 4: “24 Declassified: Operation Hell Gate”

After a bit of an absence, I have returned, exhilarated, from reading the next piece of “24”-related media on my list. This is another print book, which means that I'm a little slowed down by their density, but I can safely say that “Operation Hell Gate” is every bit the equal of “Trinity,” and in some cases superior, even. It involves a planned bombing of a plane carrying samples of the 1918 flu outbreak that would effectively wipe out all of NYC in a week. The last two chapters (excepting an epilogue afterwords) are essentially one long, extended, exciting battle, with the epilogue ending the story in a satisfying and “leaving-the-door-open-for-the-following-books” way. I'm really starting to sympathize with the character of Jack Bauer, as so many already have done over the course of the show's nine seasons. He's rough on the outside, but despite that, we still sympathize with him. I'm reading the next chronological book as soon as possible at this point.

Day 3: “24: Nightfall”

This was originally a five-issue comic miniseries that was later collected into a trade paperback graphic novel. It's about a mission by CTU to capture an assassin that has long been eluding them. The mission is a success, but all members of the mission team except for Jack die, and he is presumed dead by everyone in his home country. As far as I know, he's going to spend a lot of time there. The book ends with a preordained cliffhanger that will likely be resolved in the second chronological book in the “24 Declassified” series that I will buy in ebook form when I get the credit.
This particular piece of “24” media is more nail-biting dread than the excitement of the first two, but if you like that sort of thing, especially with the return of endless backstabbing from “good” guys, this is your comic.

Day Two: “24 One Shot” (comic)

I received the comic book through a trade paperback graphic novel simply called “24.” The wiki that I got the chronology off of warned me that there would be certain messed up facts. I think I just got the first taste of those facts, because a character that was introduced in “Trinity” is “reintroduced” in this comic. It's not as complex as “Trinity,” but it's still exciting, and MUCH more successful at mimicking the real-time nature of the show than “Trinity.”

The Actual Things I'm Trying to Go Through

This is the chronology of the things I'm trying to do. I won't be able to do all of them, since the mobile games aren't available anymore, but here's what I'm trying to do.

1. 24 Declassified: Trinity (2008 book; ninth in series)
2. 24 One Shot (2004 one-shot comic book; available through a trade paperback graphic novel simply called “24”)
3. 24: Nightfall (trade paperback graphic novel)
4. 24 Declassified: Operation Hell Gate (2005 book; first in series)
5. 24 Declassified: Trojan Horse (2006 book; third in series)
6. 24 Declassified: Vanishing Point (2007 book; fifth in series)
7. 24 Declassified: Collateral Damage (2008 book; eighth in series)
8. 24 Declassified: Veto Power (2005 book; second in series)
9. 24 Declassified: Cat's Claw (2006 book; fourth in series)
10. 24: Day Zero (2007 webseries; available on YouTube)
11. 24 Declassified: Chaos Theory (2007 book; sixth in series)
12. 24 Declassified: Head Shot (2009 book; tenth in series)
13. 24 Declassified: Death Angel (2010 book; eleventh in series)
14. 24 (TV series; 2001 first season)
15. 24: The House Special Subcommittee's Findings at CTU (2003 book)
16. 24 (TV series; 2002 second season)
17. 24: The Game (2006 video game)
18. 24: Countdown (car racing game available on FOX's website)
19. 24: Midnight Sun (2005 comic book; available in aforementioned TPB)
20. 24: Stories (2005 comic; available in aforementioned TPB)
21. 24 (TV series; 2003 third season)
22. 24: The Mobile Game (no longer available mobile game)
23. 24: Agent Down (another no longer available mobile game)
24. 24 Declassified: Storm Force (2008 book; seventh in series)
25. 24: Cold Warriors (2008 one-shot comic)
26. Season 4 Prequel (available on the season 3 DVD)
27. 24 (TV series; 2004 fourth season)
28. 24: Conspiracy (webseries; available on the season 4 DVD; set parallel to #27)
29. Season 5 Prequel (available on the season 4 DVD)
30. 24 (TV series; 2006 fifth season)
31. Season 6 Prequel (available on the season 5 DVD)
32. 24 (TV series; 2007 sixth season)
33. 24: Day 6 Debrief (2007 webseries; available on the season 6 DVD)
34. 24: Redemption (2009 TV movie)
35. 24: Dossier (webseries)
36. 24 (TV series; 2009 seventh season)
37. 24 (TV series; 2010 eighth season)
38. the 24 film

Introduction and First Day: “24 Declassified: Trinity”

Hello. My name is… sorry, can't give my name out to the people who don't know it. Anyway, I think you need to read this blog if you are a fan of the TV series “24,” staring Kiefer Sutherland as federal agent Jack Bauer, and pass this along to anyone who is a fan of the show. Recently, the creators of the TV series announced that they are making a theatrical movie very soon out of it. They've got the script done and the financing in place, so all they need to do now is to wait for Kiefer Sutherland to be available in April. There are innumerable pieces of “24”-related media: comics, books, games, web series, mobile serie, prequels to seasons on DVD box sets, etc. Since I pay great attention to detail, I like to experience things in the order they happen in, so I'm going through each piece of media in the rough chronology set down by an independent wiki devoted to “24.” This is the first post of what I hope will be a very long and successful blog about my journey through the story of “24” and Jack Bauer. I must also ask you to please not reveal too much information about certain double-crosses or scandals, because I'm sure I know too much already.
So, the first piece of “24”-related media I'll start with is a book in a series called “24 Declassified,” which looks at certain early CTU (Counter Terrorism Unit) missions, and this, while not the first book in the series, is the one that's set the earliest. It's called “Trinity.” It attempts to mimick the real-time structure of the TV show, while simultaneously trying to be a book more focused on character than plot, and sometimes that doesn't work out. However, as a truly complex, entertaining, exciting, tense, and occasionally very violent introduction to the characters, it succeeds beyond all expectations. The core conspiracy had three false trails leaked so the LAPD and CTU would stay busy on other things, so the organization spends most of its time going around in circles, before finally realizing that they were being played the whole time. They find it out as we do, so for a while, things don't gell, and the story seems to go in a million different directions at once, but it all gets pulled together masterfully at the end. Some may be put off by the striking depictions of violence in some scenes, as well as the death of two major characters in the book, but overall, it's quite successful.