Jack Ryan, Jr., son of the Jack Ryan, intelligence analyst extraordinaire and now President of the United States, is given his first command post and mission from The Campus, a shadowy clandestine government organisation that is a cross between the CIA and military black ops. Initially a low-grade, low-risk operation, events quickly escalate to the point that Jack, Jr. is fighting to stave off war between the USA and China and to rescue an old friend from certain death at the hands of an extremist organisation.

This book is essentially a set of combat set pieces in various exotic locations (a la James Bond) strung together by rather unconvincing and muddled plot expositions. Is this about the geopolitics of the South China Sea, a revenge novel or corporate greed? Clancy himself was just as good at the politics and geopolitics in his stories as he was at the combat and military hardware pieces.

For existing Clancy fans this is an OK but second division entry to the canon. Beginners might be better served by the early genuine Clancy books. ( )

This is the best book I read this year. In my mind John Krasinski is Jack Ryan Jr and Harrison Ford is Jack Ryan Sr. The first few pages of the book were entertaining and I actually was bummed when the action started. These are not the Tom Clancy of old though. Clancy's book had a new character and plot twist to remember just about every paragraph. This book was a very easy read, one I had a hard time putting down.

Here are the Jack Ryan, Jr. books and my thoughts:

The Teeth of the Tiger by Tom Clancy. I read this a long time ago, so don't remember details other than it was boring. Two stars

Dead or Alive by Grant Blackwood. Well done. Four Stars

Locked On by Mark Greaney. Also four stars

Threat Vector by Mark Greaney. Four Stars.

Command Authority by Mark Greaney. First after Mr. Clancy's death, and start of not great books. Three Stars.

Support and Defend by Grant Blackwood. Three Stars.

Full Force and Effect by Mark Greaney. I enjoyed this book more than I should. Three Stars

Under Fire by Grant Blackwood. Three Stars.

Duty and Honor by Grant Blackwood. Two Stars. Maybe too many books hurting quality? First noticed that Jr is a guy that makes decisions that can only go right if you are a main character in a thriller book series.

Point of Contact by Mike Madden. Three stars so better than previous one.

Line of Sight by Mike Maddn. Three stars. Jack Jr's boss kept telling Jr to stop doing what he was doing. Several times. Jack kept doing what he was doing. I liked the book, but it is hard to get around this fatal flaw.

Oath of Office by Marc Cammeron. Four stars - hard time putting down, and easy to pick up.

Enemy Contact by Mike Madden. Three stars.

Firing Point by Mike Madden. Two stars. This is book I noticed that Jack Jr keeps befriending a female detective who eventually dies. I think Jr's bosses should be concerned about that, even more than Jr being an idiot.

Tom Clancy Target Acquired by Don Bentley. This is a very good read. Action is well written, and main character (Jack Ryan Jr) is impulsive but understandable. Four stars

Tom Clancy Code of Honor by Marc Cameron. In the past I thought the Jack Ryan SR books were better than the Jack Ryan JR books. However, the last two books: Junior's Enemy Contact and then Senior's Code of Honor have switched things for me. Enemy Contact was better than Code of Honor, though I am giving both 3 stars. Enemy Contact had a couple things that knocked rating down to three. Code of Honor was three all the way through. It's all about the authors. I am not crazy about Peter Telep or Grant Blackwood. I enjoy Mark Greaney and Marc Cameron, though this book was not a good one from Cameron. I am happy to say that Mike Maden is getting better. Three stars

Tom Clancy Shadow of the Dragon by Marc Cameron four stars
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74 members; 3.72 average rating; 11/18/2023 ( )

Not bad ( )