By Tom Clancy with Grant Blackwood
G. P. Putnam’s Sons
$28.95 hardcover, 950 pages, 978-0-339-15723-3 (2010)
Tom Clancy is back in a big way. This is his first book in seven years and, with a few small caveats, it’s well worth the wait. I haven’t read a Clancy novel in many years and am glad to report that Clancy, along with the able assistance of co-writer Grant Blackwood, hasn’t lost his touch.
The plot brings major characters from previous books together to fight global terrorism through an entity called the Campus, which was secretly created by President Jack Ryan, Sr. (For those who haven’t read previous Clancy novels, in DEBT OF HONOR Jack Ryan agrees to become Vice President and is elevated to the Presidency when a Japanese airline pilot crashes his 727 into the Capitol during a joint session of Congress, killing nearly everyone there – including the sitting President. In later novels, Ryan goes on to win the next Presidential election but refuses to run for a second term.)
This Campus is not officially connected in any way to the
The Campus learns that the Emir is planning something big and Clancy describes every detail of a sinister scheme that puts hundreds of thousands of lives at risk. As usual, Clancy realistically portrays each and every aspect of various scenarios around the globe. It’s a cat and mouse game with the Emir holding all the cards while the good guys are continuously forced to play catch up. It’s a high stakes chase that keeps you wondering both what the Emir has in mind, and how the people working at the Campus are going to stop him.
Clancy is known for getting details right and is all over the weaponry and technology involved in the fight against terrorism. In an opening sequence, First Sergeant Sam Driscoll has led a special operation team of Rangers in the Hindu Kush mountains of
To the right, fifty meters up the valley, came a pair of headlights. Driscoll turned to see a UAZ-469 jeep skid around the corner and head in their direction. Throwbacks to the Soviet invasion of
Jack Ryan, Sr. is considering a run for the presidency and his son is wondering if he can do more at the Campus than just being an analyst. Like his father before him, Jack Ryan, Jr. wants to be in the thick of the action. As the old adage goes, “be careful what you wish for.”
I have only two minor complaints about this novel. First, its length – at 950 pages it could easily shed 300 pages without compromising the plot. Second, is what occurs at the end of the book with some, let’s call it “unusually aggressive” interrogation methods used by Dr. Pasternak. I just don’t believe that this section of the book was needed to further develop the plot or character of the novel.
Those minor points aside, this intricately woven plot will keep even the hardened Clancy fan reading long into the night. And if you’ve never read a previous Clancy novel, this one is a great place to start.
Buy it on Amazon here.
Good novel but not as great as Rainbow Six, that was a masterpiece.
Posted by: Henry B. | January 31, 2020 at 02:43 AM