Background Info
on novels

Date first published	7/12/2010
ISBN Number	978 0718 15741 8
Page Count	736 h/b
h/b= hardback : p/b= paperback

Storyline

For years, Jack Ryan, Jr. and his colleagues at the Campus have waged an unofficial and highly effective campaign against the terrorists who threaten western civilisation. The most dangerous of these is the Emir. This sadistic killer has masterminded the most vicious attacks on the west and has eluded capture by the world’s law enforcement agencies.

Now the Campus is on his trail. Joined by their latest recruits, John Clark and Ding Chavez, Jack Ryan, Jr. and his cousins, Dominic and Brian Caruso, are determined to catch the Emir and they will bring him in . . . dead or alive.

Review

So after a wait over 8 years the promised Jack Ryan Jnr novel is here. So the big question is was it worth the wait?

The main difference between this book and his last is of course that he has employed a co-writer to help him out. I have come across Grant Blackwood's work as he has co-written books with Clive Cussler, another favourite author of mine. I have to say that I have no qualms about reading his stuff.

This book sets out to do a lot. It needs to re-establish characters who have been out of circulation a long time, it needs to bring some old hands back into the fold, and it needs to sort out what Jack Ryan senior is up to, and I have to say that it does it all remarkably well. So how is it done?

First off, we find that Jack Ryan (Snr) did not run for a second term, preferring to let his best friend Robbie run instead. However this seems to have ended in tragedy with the assassination of Robbie. However Jack is manoeuvred into running for a second term by the cunning Arnie Van Damme who seems to dislike retirement.

Next we find that John Clark and Chavez, have been stationed with Rainbow, and are rotating off shift, and due to political changes at CIA out of the door, so where better for them to end up than in the Campus.

The changes have happened at CIA two with Ed Foley having retired, just leaving his wife on watch, but as the link between officialdom and the Campus, a link that will be needed in the future.

So having reset the scene, and considering the story is set some 2-3 years after Teeth of the Tiger how does it compare. I actually think that this story is better than Teeth. Whilst the investigation does eventually track the Emir down, it is by hard graft rather than just bumping into him on the street. The story is also a grim reminder of how people in the cosy environment of central government decide that a soldier disabling terrorists in a camp can be murder, where in fact he is just trying to keep himself and his men alive.

The story is really a lot leaner than some of the previous books, Red Rabbit springs to mind. We spend more time on the story than hearing for the umpteenth time how Jack junior needs his morning coffee. Not to say that this sort of verbiage doesn't appear, it does, but far less often. Perhaps where it doesn't appear is where it has been written by Blackwood. This has been the main difference between Clancy on hot form, and some of his poorer efforts. The early Clancy novels up to Executive Orders, were renown for the sharp story telling. There was background detail, but it was all relevant. In later books poor editing allowed for a lot of pointless detail, which was often repeated. This might be fine for some simpletons, but most Clancy readers had a much longer memory span and could remember that Jack needed coffee (or whatever).

So where does the book lie in terms of quality? It is still not as good as the books up to Executive Orders, but is better than Teeth of the Tiger. It has a simpler plot line, and is obviously the kicking off point for a new series. As such the book needs to make up for 8 years of silence, and does a reasonable job of doing so. It also has to move geopolitically as well. The threats faced 8 years ago are somewhat different to now, and perhaps greater than then.

If this is your first Clancy novel then look for the older books - my index will help, and see what you were missing.

I'll give the book a 3 and a half, or in school report terms a B+, improvement needed but definitely headed in the right direction.

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